"Dunno Y . . . Na Jaane Kyun" Prepares To Open In India Despite Controversy, Will Break New Ground

The groundbreaking Bollywood film has posters and trailers.

Earlier this year, we brought the Bollywood film Dunno Y . . . Na Jaane Kyun to your attention, along with the steamy promotional poster above. The film was a first for Bollywood, a love story about two gay men. It was not expected to come to market without controversy, especially since it features India's first male gay kiss in a movie not played for laughs.

With the movie set to open, more is being written about the groundbreaking film. Sanjay Sharma, the film's director, says he believes that Indian audiences are "mature enough" to handle gay subject matter despite the fact the country only recently did away with colonial-era laws outlawing homosexuality.

The storyline follows a gay model forced to compromise his morals for his career. That includes entering into a gay relationship, in part to get ahead as a model. It stars a relative newcomer, Kapil Sharma, the director's brother, who  feels Indian audiences can handle a gay couple onscreen.

Being called India's answer to Brokeback Mountain, the film is already being marketed and opens in a  few weeks. Screenings have been held for gay activists and the media, and according to Ashok Row Kavi, the editor of the country's first gay magazine Bombay Dost, ''It talks of the complexities [of being gay] in India. Taboos are still very strong and hopefully it will change things.''

As for mainstream "gay" movies in India, by far the highest profile Indian movie to date was 2008 comedy Dostana which had two straight men pretending to be gay for convoluted reasons. The two men do kiss at one point, but it is as a "punishment" for their deceit. 

Still, it's worth noting that most established Bollywood stars are hesitant to kiss onscreen, and it was only this year that Love, Sex aur Dhoka was released, showing the first graphic heterosexual love scene, and while a media storm raged over that film, the public didn't seem upset.

We can only hope the same sensibility prevails for Dunno Y ... Na Jaane Kyun.

Photo via Bollywood Hungama