Every year month of June is celebrated as pride month acknowledging and accepting all types of sexual orientations. Even though homosexuality is still a taboo for many people in India but it’s nice to see that change is coming as Indians are becoming more accepting of LGBTQ+ community. The change can be seen in the success of films made on the theme of homosexuality.
Today we are going to tell you about bollywood stars who have openly supported LGBTQ+ community long before it was widely accepted some of these stars have even risked their careers by producing or acting in gay-themed films.
Sonam Kapoor
Sonam Kapoor is vocal in her support for LGBTQ+ rights in India for more than a decade. She has done everything from supporting queer events like the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival to playing role of Sweety, a closeted lesbian in film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga to raise awareness about gay rights.
According to her “A person’s sexuality is something one is born with, and it is high time people understand that, be it a man or a woman; it’s a basic human right. It’s not about lesbian, gay, male, female or transsexual. It’s about being able to be who you want to be and being somebody who is just themselves.”
Ayushmann Khurrana
Ayushmann rules the heart of his millions of fans not just for his spectacular acting but also for his film choices. His movies are revolutionary questioning various taboos prevalent in Indian society from erectile dysfunction to homosexuality.
His role of a gay man in Bollywood’s first gay romcom Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is a game changer for LGBTQ+ representation in Indian cinema normalising same-sex relationship on the big screen.
Celina Jaitly
Former Miss India Celina Jaitly is one of the earliest supporters of LGBTQ+ rights. Her real-life interactions with her teen boyfriend coming out as a gay man to her transgender make-up artist made her realise the importance of acceptance.
She has been closely working with NGOs and the UN to support gay rights as she feels that fighting for their rights is her duty.
Divya Dutta
Actress who will be seen playing Swara Bhasker’s love interest, in Faraz Arif Ansari’s upcoming film Sheer Khurma, says “I am extremely close to the LGBTQIA+ community and I feel they have the right to live the way they want to live and express themselves and not be undercover and hide. I, on my part, try to be part of the change. A few times, some of my friends came out to me first, and it felt good to be there and celebrate that moment with them. We must all celebrate them.”
Nandita Das
Nandita has actively taken part in many panel discussions and gay events like Hijra Habba to raise awareness in society. She played the role of a lesbian in 1998’s Fire i.e. long before most of the people in India even knew about homosexuality.
