The B industry keeps brewing spicy and sassy stories that knock us out. And celebs revealing their sexuality is one of the hottest topics ever. So, whenever I get to learn about the Indian Gays coming out of their closets, I have one of the greatest feelings in the world. I feel like we are creating a safe and trustable environment for people who were living a false life in terms of their sexuality for so long.
The hush-hush talks about one celebrity being gay… the other being a lesbian is not a BIG DEAL! But the deal is, what to believe and what not to believe.
Moreover, let us take this talk further and make it more meaningful. Let’s talk about the people who greatly contributed to the legalisation of this gender under the Indian Constitution. After all, they should be the ones in the headlines, so here is my contribution to the same.
Find the list of all the famous gay personalities in India:
1. Navtej Singh Johar
The first name on the list is Navtej Singh Johar, who is the first LGBT Sikh to take up the Bharatnatyam dance form. This Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee is on the top of this list because he, with other 5 LGBT community members, filed a petition challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code with the Supreme Court of India.
In the year 2018, the court unanimously declared 377 unconstitutional as it criminalised consensual sex between adults of the same sex. It became a landmark case and the rest of the LGBTQIA+ (Indian Gays) are forever grateful to these people.
2. Gauri Sawant
Before Navtej fought against 377, Gauri Sawant was the first person who filed a petition with the Supreme Court of India to give adoption rights to transgender people in 2014.
In addition to this, she was also a part of the petition in the National Legal Services Authority case. In this case, the LGBT (Indian Gays) community was fighting for recognition of their gender which they eventually got and the Supreme Court started considering transgender as the third gender.
3. Dutee Chand
A professional sprinter from India, Dutee Chand has numerous rewards to her name but what brings her into the limelight is the fact that she is a lesbian. She publicly declared that she is involved in a same-sex relationship. This incident made her the first and only openly gay athlete in India. Emerging India and other Indian Gays couldn’t be more proud of her.
4. Harish Iyer
Harish Iyer is on this list because he is the first openly gay person in India who joined a political party even after coming out of his closet. In addition to being a member of the political party of India, Harish also appeared on Amir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate where he put forward his strong opinions in support of the LGBTQIA+ (Indian Gays) community members.
5. Anwesh Sahoo
We all had and some of us still might have stereotypes about LGBTQIA+ people. Anwesh Sahoo worked extensively to fix these stereotypes for Indian Gays through his writing. He was bullied as a child in his school, so it was important to him.
Later he became the youngest winner at the Mr Gay World India in the year 2016 which brought in the opportunity of becoming a public speaker for him.
6. Keshav Suri
The Executive Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, Keshav Suri is also a social activist. He uses his entrepreneurial ventures to create safe spaces and professional opportunities for LGBTQIA+ (Indian Gays) people. So, if you are one of those who can’t find a job because of their sexual orientation and gender, then The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group will surely have something for you.
7. Karan Johar
The all-time famous Karan gained most of his popularity with his show- Koffee with Karan.
But that’s not the only thing he is famous for. The rumour of Shahrukh Khan and him being together is something that we all have grinned at. Even the B-industry never left a chance to mock actors being cast in Karan’s movies only after ……ahem….casting couch!
But are there any strong grounds for that?
Well, to our rescue the all-time controversy about the sexual orientation of this fine filmmaker was put to an end by none other than Karan Johar himself.
While talking about the book- ‘The Unsuitable boy’ he openly said, ”Everybody knows what my sexual orientation is. I don’t need to scream it out. If I need to spell it out, I won’t only because I live in a country where I could possibly be jailed for saying this. Which is why I Karan Johar will not say the three words that possibly everybody knows about me”.
I don’t think any other explanation is required. Enough said Karan!!
8. Bobby Darling
Even after playing LGBT characters in 18 different projects, this Big-boss fame has been in the limelight for obvious reasons.
Born as a boy named ‘Pankaj Sharma’, life wasn’t easy for her. And obviously, being a transsexual she ran into problems with her family and society as well.
But as she grew older, she became vocal about her sexual orientation and went ahead for a breast implant in 2010. Moving ahead with her strong determination, she got her sex reassignment surgery done in Bangkok.
The following year she married her boyfriend in a private ceremony and later changed her name to Pakhi Sharma. But sadly, marriage wasn’t smooth sailing for her.
In 2017, she accused her husband of domestic violence and dowry for which he got arrested as well. A sad ending for this one!!
9. Imam Siddique
Imam, who is an Indian fashion stylist and television personality gained popularity for all the wrong reasons.
After becoming a contestant in Big Boss season 6, his fame amplified. He was known for his crazy dressing sense and for getting in trouble with the housemates in Big Boss. “Time-out” used to be his favourite tagline. He notoriously got into a fight with Salman Khan and made the headlines.
Imam even declared that he was gay in Big Boss 6 but in a recent interview, he changed tracks and confessed that he was indeed straight.
Ummmm……so what was the confession in Big Boss?
Anyway, to add up to the controversy Imam is now looking for a bride. If we go by the rumours, it might be in a Swayamwar style. God bless the bride!!
10. Manish Malhotra
When it comes to the top designers of Bollywood, Manish Malhotra is a name that would keep ringing in your ears. True! But, there’s one another thing that keeps echoing in the B-industry, which is – Manish Malhotra is gay.
There have been rumours in the past linking him with Karan Johar and that they were a couple.
As a matter of fact, on his 50th birthday, the newspaper Mumbai Mirror covered the story and named it “50 Shades of Gay’. I know that was too much….right? But whatever the reason, this talented designer has reached the zenith of success in the fashion industry and still is doing great with his talent.
11. VJ Andy
The V-channel VJ got his share of fame after participating in a number of TV shows including Big Boss season 7.
Rumours of this VJ being gay have been in circulation ever since he came on TV. However, this did not stop him from being strong about his choices.
He has appeared in several reality shows and also hosted the reality series- Dare to Date.
The traits of him being a homosexual person can be clearly seen in the way he acts out in his appearances. He also supports the LGBT and has been quoted saying,’Who you sleep with, doesn’t define you.’
In addition to his views during an interview with PTI, he was quoted saying, “I am given the ‘gay’ tag regularly. I would like to be known for what I do and say in the advancement of society and not for my personal life.”
Now, if that statement doesn’t mean that he is a part of the LGBT community, I don’t know what does??
12. Rohit K. Verma
A cross-dresser and very open about his sexual orientation. It somehow makes me wonder- if there is a strong connection between being a designer and being gay.
What-so-ever be the reason, this Big Boss Season 3 participant was always seen bitching around. And the comment he made about homosexuality being a psychological disorder pissed everyone off to the core.
Even with such a bipolar attitude, Rohit never failed to attract attention. Be it his clothes or his way of talking, he made sure that he is being watched. But as I mentioned earlier about him being all bitchy….well, that still went on even after Big Boss ended.
Later, he was seen upset with the Supreme Court’s ruling that homosexuality is a crime. He even went ahead and commented that he doesn’t feel free. Well…..well… Mr Verma….choose a side and stick to it! We know that truth after all!
13. Sabyasachi Mukherjee
The very well-known designer Sabyasachi has triumphed over the fashion industry with his immaculate talents and made everyone a fan in a short span of time. His soft-spoken nature always shielded him from being the centre of attraction in relation to his sexuality.
Even though he is a homosexual, it never appeared to affect him or his passion towards creating a worldwide craze for Indian fashion. He is shy in nature and is seldom seen or heard speaking about his sexual orientation in public.
The thing is ……… his designer fashion clothing speaks for him. And it all works out pretty well for him. His show ‘Band Baja Bride’ is still running successfully and has completed several seasons.
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14. Poonam Pandey
This so-called Indian glamour model and film actress are known for the explicit videos that she posts on YouTube(and not for her work in Indian cinema). However, this wasn’t the case at the beginning of her career.
She was one of the top 9 contestants of the Gladrags contest and also went on to feature in their calendar as well.
She has always been extremely vocal about her sexuality and is seen to never leave a chance of gaining free publicity. Who could forget the promise that she made to the Indian cricket team during the World cup 2011? Fortunately, she was banned by the BCCI and nothing of that sort happened! (*sigh*)
However, there are videos freely available of Poonam confessing that she is a lesbian on YouTube.
15. Veena Malik
Hailing from Pakistan, Veena Malik gained quite a bit of fame in India after participating in Big Boss season 4.
Even though she didn’t win big boss, she sparked enough fire in the Muslim community altogether. She was called the voice of liberal Muslims by some leading dailies who supported her free thinking and bold personality.
Moving ahead with her career, she became a part of several photo shoots, songs, and acts in support of the LGBT community. She has never confessed though, but her raunchy lesbian acts can be seen freely on various websites to date.
Whether it proves if she is actually lesbian or not …is a whole other ball game. But hey, that’s what we read!
16. Sara Khan
The life of this Bhopal-based TV actress began with her role as ‘Sadhna’ in the show Bidaai on Star Plus.
She has worked for several reality shows, TV serials and even some Pakistani daily soaps. Big Boss 4 definitely became one of the milestones in her television career and she still acts as a female antagonist for the daily soap ‘Woh Apna Sa’ on Zee TV.
In addition to her existing fame, she also made the headlines when she locked her lips with actress Pratuysha Banerjee.
However, she claims that a lip kiss doesn’t make her a lesbian…but who knows!! She has never confessed her sexuality anyway.
Following the same pattern for free publicity, a video of Sara in the bathtub was allegedly posted on her sister’s Instagram account. And again…she claims it was done by mistake. (Seriously Sara….just forget it!!)
17. Mink Brar
The ‘Mujhko Rana Ji Maf Karna’ fame Mink Brar began her early career in 2006.
Right from the beginning, Mink had a bold outlook towards the world. She made a number of appearances in several Indian films and also a few South-Indian movies. She also participated in Big Boss season 6 as a wild card contestant.
But the news that made her even more famous than she actually was- were the wrong ones.
In 2011, the posters of a Hollywood porn film named- Desert Queen surfaced which featured Mink on it. In the same year, a video of her kissing a South-African girl went viral.
She never admitted to being a part of the movie and confessed that she is a lesbian -in reaction to the video.
She later denied being a lesbian and said that she was drunk in the video which is why she ended up kissing a girl. Well, that’s that. What do you think is the truth?
I know, I know…..it hurts. But, don’t go in an epileptic shock if you have the hots for any of these celebs!!
I mean…Who knows where the real truth behind all these lies… But hey, this is what we heard!
Conclusion
Here is the list of the people who are open about their sexuality in India. These Famous LGBT in India have either done something for the LGBTQIA+ community or taken a stand for themselves. Both of these eventually inspire the ones still hiding behind their false realities to come out in the open and breathe in the fresh air for once.
Please share this article with people who need to learn that it is okay to not fit the traditional gender roles and pick the other lane.
