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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat.  The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...

All About Section 377 (Hindi) (Web Series)

This series takes its name from Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes homosexuality in India. India is getting better at producing at least web content wrt LGBt society, something that Indian mainstream cinema yet has to feel comfortable with. While a lot of people outside the country will not appreciate humour and the local lingo since these things get lost in translation; this series is tailor-made for the Indian youth aiming to offer a fresh perspective of LGBT life in India.

A young wide-eyed man Suresh moves to Mumbai from Delhi with dreams of making it big. He moves into the apartment of his cousin Rohit who happens to be a well-established fashion photographer. Rohit is gay and lives with his model boyfriend Sid and indifferent domestic helper Chhotu. In this 8-part series, we take a look at how Suresh, slowly gets comfortable with being around a gay couple. We look at the cute fights that Rohit and Sid have; how Rohit verbally abuses his servant for fun but then respects him and is ready to help him at any given instant. We see Suresh’s frustration in not knowing any girls and worrying what will happen to it. We see how Rohit starts to appreciate the fact that LGBT folks don’t have it easy and ultimately its all about love. Sexuality doesn’t matter and that gays are no different. In a very subtle effort, viewers are given a quick recap of how Section 377 has played out over a few years.

The series takes places mostly inside an apartment that provides the backdrop for the situational comedy I enjoyed every bit of it. Barring 2 serious scenes, which also brought a lump to my throat, the series is mostly good fun. I mean you have to excuse sloppy editing and some poorly scripted scenes, but once you are over that you will realize it is good fun series discussing homosexuality in India without making it overtly melodramatic. All the characters indulge in profanity & risqué humour and it was total fun. Main character Rohit, who also happens to be the creator and director of the series is lovely. He really stands out. In fact all the 4 main actors are good fun. I loved the banter between Rohit and Chhotu, the cute little arguments between fat Rohit and hunky Sid. As the actor-director, Rohit injects his brand of entertainment with a conscientiousness that should be applauded. Don’t get me wrong, this series has a lot of issues of editing, a little over acting and some poor scripting and continuity in places; but I am still willing to give it a higher rating just in the hope that it will reach a wider audience.

Despite its technical shortcomings, the series does manage to shine a light on the representation of LGBT culture in a very entertaining fashion in the landscape of India. it is a novice start, but it holds out the promise of better things to come. (6.5/10)

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