Is Ameesha Patel struggling to stay relevant by fighting 'gayism-lesbianism'?

Ameesha Patel is known as an actor but not necessarily known for her acting skills. After a stint in unmemorable 2010s films, Patel is ready to revisit her 2001 blockbuster Gadar with a sequel that releases this August. And while she is at it, Patel is also garnering attention for her reservations with “gayism” and “lesbianism”. Oh, and she also spoiled the ending of Gadar 2!

Talking to Bollywood Hungama, Patel remarked that she finds OTT content to be heavily non-family friendly these days because of the increased “homosexuality” and “gayism-lesbianism”. She added that people need “clean cinema” and that the present-day OTT content “is not something you really want your kids to watch”. 

While several Netflix and Prime originals are indeed sprinkled with profanity and sexual content, Patel singling out only homosexual themes in such content is rubbing many netizens the wrong way. 

Controversial actress and social media influencer Uorfi Javed also lashed out at Patel’s statement via an Instagram story in which she wrote, “So when she said kaho na pyaar hai, she only meant for straight people? Public figures speaking without educating themselves on such sensitive topics irks me!”

Others are also sharing stills from Lazy Lamhe, a sexually charged song that finds a bikini-clad Patel sensually romancing Saif Ali Khan at a pool party. The irony of it all? The song was from Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, a children’s comedy and the Indian remake of Mary Poppins. 

As doctor, influencer and LGBTQIA+ advocate Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju sums it up in an Instagram comment, “I remember watching Lazy Lamhe as a literal 10 year old in a movie theatre and being creeped out. Please. Heterosexuality at its sleaziest has been shoved down our throats for decades now. OTT just democratised it.” 

Leave alone the heterosexuality of Lazy Lamhe, it’s also ironic that Patel’s character in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd was married to a closeted gay man. The actress clearly spoke a bit too much to stay relevant as is evident from most of the negative backlash she has been getting online. 

Patel might have thought that in morally opposing homosexuality in popular culture, she would be able to stay in relevance. And people are indeed talking about her but for all the wrong reasons. Patel’s struggles to regain her popularity are coming out in situations where she’s clearly shooting her mouth off. 

Just a few weeks back, she spoiled the ending of her own movie when she addressed fan concerns over her Gadar character dying in the sequel. In an Instagram post (the comments have now been restricted), Patel clarified that even though the teaser featured a still of Sunny Deol crying next to a grave, Patel’s Sakina doesn’t die in the movie. 

From casually dropping spoilers to starting a feud with LGBTQIA+ audiences, it’s clear that Patel’s PR agents are off duty or not bothered to keep her in check anymore. It does seem like Patel is trying hard to get back to the spotlight but unfortunately, she’s just resorting to meme-worthy antics in the end. 

Uorfi Javed went even more ballistic as she continued roasting Patel by saying, “Not getting work for 25 years has made her into a very bitter person.”