‘Dubai is Modern But Not When It Comes to LGBT Rights’: Gay Man on Lightyear Ban – The Quint

When the sensational Call Me by Your Name released in 2017, the entire world was raving about it. It was almost a celebration for the queer community. But I had to wait until I could travel out of the country to watch it.

Accessing censored movies here is a complicated, exhausting process – but you are tempted to take that risk because that’s how much representation matters. We either download queer-themed films in handheld devices when we are abroad or use a VPN. Some even go to the extent of installing personal satellite devices in their homes, knowing well that it could backfire at them any moment.

Bollywood movies, such as Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) and the recent super-hit Badhaai Do, which have been appreciated for representation (with all their problems, of course), did not even air here in the UAE.