KISS AND TELL 

A few weeks ago, MTV took a giant step forward, showing a lesbian kiss, a rarity on Indian television. The show? Big F, hosted by Bigg Boss 8 hottie Gautam Gulati, that strives to uncover our ‘forbidden fantasies’. From showing an overweight girl, ridiculed by her peers, who loses her virginity to a tennis star she’s grown up idolising to a neglected homemaker who has a sexual tryst with a stranger on a plane, Big F’s big thumbs-up moment came in episode 6 titled I Kissed A Girl.

The 45-minute episode focused on Sharmistha, a student of fashion design, who is confused about her sexual orientation. But when she sets her eyes on a model called Madhurima, Sharmistha finds herself hopelessly attracted to her. Madhurima seems to reciprocate Sharmistha’s interest, but things go awry when Sharmistha realises that her best friend Ritesh is also attracted to Madhurima. The kiss between the two women — running into less than 20 seconds — takes place when the three friends are partying one evening and Madhurima goes out to say bye to Sharmistha — with a hug and then a lip lock (right). What happens finally? Ritesh bows out, with Sharmistha and Madhurima embarking on a relationship.

Lauded by most for its courage in recognising same-sex relationships and supporting the LGBT community in its own way, the episode has also met with criticism, with some not liking the way homosexuality was approached only physically without exploring the emotional highs and lows of the characters.

But this isn’t the first time that MTV has taken this route —contestants Karishma Talwar and Sharika Raina locked lips in the recently concluded Splitsvilla 8. I Kissed A Girl may have run into trouble with the government — since homosexuality is illegal in India and the show was aired in a time slot (Sunday at 7pm) when “adult” content cannot be screened — but we give two thumbs up for devoting screen time to a topic still taboo, and tainted, in our country.