“Maryada”

Dakssh Ajit Singh "Gaurav"

There has been a lot of talk about the gay angle being portrayed on the Indian small screen in the serial “Maryada”.

The portrayal from the clip we have embedded (see below) from youtube shows a breaking of quite a few stereotypes of most representations of homosexuality within Bollywood.

The actors who have taken on the mantle of portraying two men in love are Dakssh Ajit Singh and Karaan Singh.

Karaan Singh mentioned in an interview, “I had sleepless nights thinking on the character because essaying a gay character is not that easy a job and an actor has to maintain the thin line of the character so that it doesn’t get vulgar.”

While Dakssh Ajit Singh’s concern was how sensitively the character would be portrayed. This is what he had to say:

“Frankly, my first concern was the portrayal of the character. In Indian cinema, homosexuals are depicted as non-serious and funny. Thankfully, the creative team of the show will not be handling my character insensitively.

Karaan Singh "Karan"

They are making no attempts to establish the track of homosexuality through the language or the way I dress up in the show. Abhi tak kuch aisa nahin dikhaya ki audience ko lage ki main homosexual hoon. The team is looking at exploring the emotional aspect rather than a physical relationship of the character. Kyun koi ek insaan kisi ke itne kareeb ho sakta hai. It’s about how I’m emotionally involved with another man and can’t connect with others. My parents, who know nothing about homosexuality, will learn about it from the show.”

Whatever the reactions of the general populace and the following ratings of the show, surely this is a step-up in the portrayal of gay characters on the small and big screen. More power to Dakssh and Karaan, and of course, to the creative team of “Maryada” and Star Plus.