Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

“An uphill climb in a country where homosexuality was decriminalised only last year, and is still widely regarded an aberration…. This could have been a bolder and more explicit film, but sometimes cinema should work like a street play. Sometimes we need to preach beyond the choir.”

Rating: 3.5 stars | Full review

“It would have been better for both critic and viewer if Chopra Dhar’s directorial debut had revealed its trump card early on, rather than circling around the truth about its lead character, the gentle-natured Sweety (Sonam K Ahuja). In doing so, Ek Ladki borrows some of Sweety’s timidity, thereby undercutting its radical theme and determination to champion an unorthodox romance.”

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“In the context of a commercial filmmaking tradition that has usually been appallingly uncaring of LGBTQ sensibilities, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is a whiff of fresh air, a huge leap forward from 2008’s Dostana. It does not seek to derive mirth and frivolity from the theme, offering instead an earnest, unapologetic depiction of the act of coming out in a conservative society.”

Rating: 4 stars | Full review

“What it comes down to is this: yes, we want to make a progressive film, but we have to show our women getting freed up only after getting male approval-and-help.”

Rating: 1.5 stars | Full review

“Hidebound Bollywood embracing progressive politics…  It’s all in there – the mustard fields, the Punjabi family, the headiness of first love – but the conventions have been upturned: a film about lesbian romance, written by a trans woman (Dhaliwal), produced by a major production house… But Sonam Kapoor looks woefully superficial and clueless – her limited acting abilities diluting a complex character.”

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“Same sex love isn’t a frequently broached topic in Hindi cinema. More often than not, it’s an exercise in caricature to score distasteful laughs. To that end, Shelly Chopra Dhar’s directorial debut is quite welcome. Her subtle hand and gently moving characters share no resemblance to Bollywood’s outlandish perception of homosexuals.”

Rating: 2.5 stars | Full review