I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
This series continues from where it left. Rohit's partner Sid is back in his village and has no courage to come out to his parents. He breaks up with Rohit over phone and agrees to marry a girl. On his cousin Suresh's insistence (who now has become a TV star), Rohit, Suresh and Chhotu decide to come to the village to win back over Sid. Sid lives in a joint family and the bride's family is in the neighbourhood. Slowly, Rohit takes over himself to win hearts of everyone in the family while hiding the actual relationship between him and Sid. Sid's girlfriend slowly realizes the truth and supports them. After a bit of drama, the relationship is partially accepted. There is a simultaneous parallel track about the struggles faced by the hijra (eunuch) community, especially in rural India. We meet Bhakti, who is constantly shunned by villagers. This is when Suresh comes into her life, gives her the respect and friendship that every human being deserve. Yes, Bhakti falls in love with him but she knows her limits but this never stops Suresh from being a true friend to her.
Unlike the prequel, this series is not only funny but also highlights some major aspects of LGBT community that needs addressing and the eunuch track adds that extra speciality to this. I can't remember if and when such subjects in Indian context were handled on screen. But thankfully the makers have not made it all teary-eyed. The sassiness and sarcasm and fun from part 1 is all maintained here as well. Bhakti's poems are all very good and so is the acting by all actors. My one big complaint about these total of 9 episodes is that, there was a lot of background music in pretty much every episode which slowed down the proceedings for me. Web-series needs to be fast paced and those moments sometimes feel stretched forcing me to fast forward some of them, and this is definitely not good when you can't hold audience's attention for full 100%. But that doesn't take away the fact that makers need to be applauded for the brilliant subject and execution and respect that they have given to the subject. For some people (including myself sometimes), Rohit (played by writer/director Amit Khanna) might seem too stereotypically feminine, but I appreciate the different types of queer men this series continues to show. There is no correct way for gay men to act. Everyone expresses themselves differently and that’s a good thing.
If you are looking for queer content to make you laugh and think at the same time while addressing issues queer people face in India, I highly recommend watching Still About Section 377. (6.5/10)
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