I identify as a gay man and I came out of the closet when I was 18 years old.

Have you ever faced discrimination due to your sexuality or gender identity? 

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

I have faced a lot of discrimination. In these 13 years of experience in the entertainment industry, I have faced such discrimination time and again but I do believe it is a learning process. It makes you stronger. It definitely has made me strong from inside.

Can you elaborate about your journey so far from coming out of the closet to date?

I think it’s been an amazing journey. I have learnt a lot and I think once I came out of the closet I was free and felt more comfortable with myself. I could offer so much more of myself than I would if I was still inside the closet. It’s so boring and suffocating inside the closet. (he jokes).

Did coming out affect your relationships (parents, siblings, friends) in a negative/ positive way? 

When I came out of the closet, my mother already knew and even told me so. I thought there would be some drama around it, but thankfully nothing happened. I’m blessed to have the parents that I have. My dad is a superhero and everybody knows about it. He just asked me point blank “Are you gay?” and I said yes. He hugged me and we were done. There was literally no drama in my coming out story. They have been extremely supportive and so have my friends. My friends were my friends regardless I was straight or gay.

What are the challenges that LGBTQ members face today in a country like India?

I think the first issue is that of knowledge. People are not aware of the LGBT community. I think it’s all about... All of us are humans, all of us bleed red, breathe the same air, so you should accept everybody for who they are. I think it’s just that they don’t understand us and they are scared of what they don’t know, so Google it. It’s simple.

If you had to advise or educate the society about the LGBTQ community, what would you say?

I am nobody to educate you. You are the one who should educate yourself. Nobody taught me how to deal with homophobic people. I am privileged that I come from Bandra, I could judge you for living in Dombivali, but I don’t, because everybody deserves the space, unconditional love and support. So I support you just in the way I expect you to support me. I don’t judge people because they are not from Bandra, so they shouldn’t judge me because I’m not straight.

Can you elaborate how about the Drag queen concept? How does it feel to be the first Drag Queen of India?

I am the most fabulous drag queen of India and I am the sexiest, it’s a known fact. There are many more who arrived on the scene before me, but I am the first to get into mainstream and a reality show. When you challenge gender stereotypes that we create for ourselves and I get to break those stereotypes, I feel really powerful. I represent women when I perform as a woman. I represent all sorts of women, and that’s something that’s extremely gratifying as an artist.

He explained that 'drag queen' is a performer that performs as the opposite gender and that’s an art.

"You transform into being a character. Drag is a performing art and not just cross-dressing. It’s all performing art wherein you have everything from the way you walk, talk, dress and perform is all a part of the drag. The term drag comes from the west. But we always had performers who have performed as the opposite sex. You have men dressing as women for Ram Leela. India is so rich in culture and we should celebrate drag as it is a part of our culture for years."

How was your journey as Rani Ko-He-Nur in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa?

I had a blast, an absolute blast! Because I don’t think that everybody was ready for what I had to give them, Rani didn't come to play, she came to slay. I made a lot of friends. I loved Sona Mohapatra, she is a bomb! Then there was Richa Sharma, an amazing singer. Also, Wajid Sir and Shekar sir were amazing as mentors. My journey as Rani on the show was historic because nobody else has been on the show as a drag or from LGBTQ community or in a dual voice. Legendary Bappi Lahiri sang with me and praised me. He also said that I was the real Ko-He-Nur of the country.

Can you tell us a little more about the Pride Parade

The reason why the LGBTQ community celebrates Pride is to show people that we exist. And we are proud of who we are because we fought for our rights and because we have been shunned by so many people. Also not giving the opportunities that we should have been given. People look down upon us because we are a sexual minority. We come out in large numbers to advocate that everybody is human and there’s only one race called humanity. We are proud to be human and we want everybody to be a part of it. Pride means to celebrate diversity, love and unconditional acceptance of everybody.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates