Sonam Kapoor stars in trailer for landmark lesbian Bollywood film
Sonam Kapoor and Regina Cassandra play lesbian lovers in this groundbreaking blockbuster (Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga)
Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor is set to star opposite her father Anil Kapoor in a groundbreaking lesbian love story—and the trailer is amazing.
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, which translates as How I Felt When I Saw That Girl, marks the first time mainstream Indian cinema has embraced a same-sex romance on the big screen.
Watch the film’s trailer here:
On February 1, 2019, less than five months after India’s Supreme Court overturned Section 377 and decriminalised gay sex, audiences will see Sonam Kapoor fall in love with a woman.
Her Punjabi family repeatedly attempts to find a man for her character, Sweety Chaudhary, but she declines all suitors because she’s secretly in love with Kuku, played by Regina Cassandra.
Without spoiling too much, Sweety eventually comes out to her family and seeks their acceptance over the course of several heart-rending scenes.
Sonam Kapoor and her dad Anil Kapoor will star in a film together for the first time (STRDEL/AFP/Getty)
The film, which has the same name as Anil Kapoor’s song from the 1994 blockbuster 1942: A Love Story, and also features Rajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla, will mark the first time that the Slumdog Millionaire star has appeared on screen with his daughter.
In an interview with Latestly, Sonam Kapoor explained that after years as an A-list actress, she chose this film to be the first she’s starred in alongside her dad because of its story.
“I was very sceptical [of being in] a film with my father,” she said. “We have been approached for films several times,” she said.
“I said yes to director Shelly Chopra as I loved the story.”
— Sonam Kapoor
“I said yes to (director) Shelly Chopra as I loved the story and I felt this is the film that dad and I should do together. I was enthusiastic about the film.
“I trusted the director, she was clear about the film. I never found authenticity or idealism in any of the other films. I felt nobody besides me and my father (were suited) to do Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.”
Sonam Kapoor has long advocated for LGBT+ rights
Sonam Kapoor has spoken out in favour of LGBT+ equality for many years, so it’s no surprise to see her starring in a film with the tagline “Let love be.”
In 2014, she criticised Section 377, a 157-year-old law which, up until September this year, banned gay sex in the country. Kapoor said: “Well you know, unfortunately, in our country right now recently there is a law which… has said that homosexuality is not legal, which is very sad.”
The actress added that it was “completely okay to be gay” before saying that “movies can influence the way people think sometimes, and if we do start making love stories… I think people will start appreciating them more.”
Earlier this year, after gay sex was decriminalised, Sonam Kapoor celebrated the news.
The star of Raanjhanaa, Khoobsurat and Dolly Ki Doli tweeted: “This is the India I want to live in.
“Not one filled with hate, bigotry, sexism homophobia and intolerance. THIS is the India I love. “
