Rainbow Rishta review: Poignant series about queer love is a touching mixture of candour, vulnerability

Gauhati-based lesbian couple Aneez and Sanam, tired of finding space for themselves in their natal homes, are in search of a flat. But their being a couple keeps becoming a deal-breaker, as they go through one refusal after another from prospective landlords. Trinetra Haldar, an MBBS doctor-turned-actor whose trans character left such a strong impact in the second season of ‘Made In Heaven’, speaks of how hard it is to find that special someone who will accept her for who she is. Once the layers of make-up are off, Drag Queen Lush Monsoon who is such a hit on the gay clubbing circuit in Delhi, is Ayushmann-from-Ranchi, who keeps wondering just how he will reveal all to his parents. Will he ever be able to? Sadam, who lives in Imphal, is getting ready to meet someone new from Mumbai: will he be lucky this time around? The primal desire to be a parent, and bring up children, is paramount in the long-term relationship between Soham and Suresh: will they be able to adopt?

Watch the trailer of Rainbow Rishta here

The series, created by Jaydeep Sarkar, and directed by Sarkar, Shubhra Chatterjee and Hridaye A Nagpal, comes at a time when the negative Supreme Court judgement on same-sex marriages has turned out to be such a blow for the community. On the outskirts of Mumbai, we meet transwoman Daniella and her prospective groom Joel as they gear up for a wedding ceremony, choosing the most affordable invitation cards, the perfect wedding dress, and finally, the ceremony itself: it is a dream-come-true for the former, coming out of a traumatic past, and advancing towards a future where all, hopefully, be well.

Not everything in the six episodes is as riveting: sometimes the banality of life-as-it-is-lived takes over the story-telling. But as a collective, these stories foregrounding real people have real poignance and warmth. You feel for them, and you wish them well.