Sushant Divgikar: If I can be celebrated globally, why not here?

It was in 2021 during their time spent as contestants on the drag queen singing reality show Queen of the Universe that Sushant Divgikar first met Grag Queen The duo who ldquoare very similar in many waysrdquo instantly hit it off and made a pact to collaborate when the show concluded Their latest release Brazindia says Divgikar is an effort to ldquokeep our wordrdquoAlso Read Sushant Divgikar to feature in Indias first Pride AnthemldquoOn the Graham Nortonhosted show we became best friends The idea behind this track is to show that Brazil and India have a lot in common mdash we celebrate and respect our cultures We also wanted to showcase the drag culture in both countries In this track she being a Brazilian artiste wears Indian outfits such as lehengas And I wear Brazilian outfits which are performancebasedrdquo Celebrating their sisterhood in the offering Divgikar who goes by the name Rani KoHeNur wanted to showcase a different aspect of the drag culture ldquoWe wanted to show that drag isnrsquot all about being bitchy and catty but it can also be about the beautiful sisterhood that we have We also had a special appearance from the legendary drag queen Manila Luzon Sharing screen space with Grag Queen is fantastic We plan to present more stuffrdquoDivgikar who gained fame among the masses after his stint on the eight season of Bigg Boss has been among the most prominent faces of the Indian queer community But even though he has spent 16 years in the entertainment industry he admits that significant change for the betterment of the transgender community hasnrsquot come aboutWatch Video Sushant Divgikar bares it allldquoThere are more artistes coming forward today but not much has changed when one considers how we are perceived Why canrsquot we simply be referred to as artistes instead of lsquoqueer artistesrsquo I donrsquot see enough representation in mainstream media either Why do cisgender men and women play transgender roles when we could get the chance to play ourselves I see so many talented artistes who belong to the queer community but they donrsquot get the time of dayrdquoHe questions that if an artiste like him who has spent close to two decades in the industry must fight for essentials like equal pay receiving payment on time and substantial work he can only wonder what the plight of new queer artiste would be ldquoWe should not need to fight so hard If I can be celebrated on several global platforms and have billboards with my face on them on Times Square why canrsquot I be celebrated here When we go abroad we are celebrated for representing our countryrdquoPointing out that several transgender individuals are forced into sex work because of societyrsquos inability to give them enough opportunities he says governmentbacked sensitisation programmes are the need of the hour ldquoIt is time for people to let go of the notion that we are less than only because we come from this community People from the queer community are fighting for basic things in the largest democracy of the world This is dichotomous and questionablerdquoOn Divgikarrsquos plate is his new podcast series Jan Gan Man created with the aim of enabling listeners to reconsider the meaning of ldquoazadirdquo ldquoIt is my effort to look at our freedom fighters in a more humane wayrdquoPlay Quiz Are you excited to celebrate Ganeshotsav 2022