Sushant Divgikar: Mumbai has shaped me to become the best version of myself

MumbainativeSushant Divgikar is a performer winning hearts across mediums and nations Known for their drag persona Rani KoHeNur the trans artiste has emerged as an LGBTQIA icon and made it to the prestigious list of ForbesTop 100 Digital Stars 2022 as well as a billboard at Times Square in New York City Recently Divgikar performed at RuPaulrsquos DragCon alongside 49 top drag queens from around the worldIn an exclusive chat with Midday online the iconic queen talks about their experiences in the industry representing India globally and their life in MumbaiHow has Mumbai shaped and fostered your queer identityI was born brought up and raised in Mumbai I think that the Mumbai queer culture has also sort of seen so many revolutions and evolutions within them Im so happy that Ive been present to kind of see the baton being passed from generation to generationIts a very special feeling to kind of see the togetherness of all these three generations to fight for equal rights and equality and to spearhead the queer movementBollywood is in Mumbai So we used to emulate of course what we used to see on screen And what we did see on screen was cishet cisgender heterosexual representation So we didnt really feel represented in the films But what did happen is that we saw a lot of underground movements taking place and a lot of queer groups that used to meet and celebrate themselves which is when I felt like Im not alone I dont need to go through this journey alone There are people who shared my journey struggles and accomplishments I think that was the turning point for me when I realised that definitely we all have biological families well most of us at least And then you have chosen families And the best part about the LGBTQIA community is that we get to choose our familiesThis city has really shaped me to become the best version of myself I think you can take me away from Mumbai but you cant take Mumbai away from meYour stints on reality TV introduced drag to the Indian masses Would you say it is becoming mainstreamI will take a lot of credit for mainstreaming drag on Indian television when at a time people didnt know what drag was or maybe they did know but a very small fraction of society knew what drag as a performance art is Everybody knew what crossdressing was but crossdressing is not the same as drag Drag is actually a performance art form I think that its more than just crossdressing It could be a part of the art of drag but its not all of itYou could be singing dancing doing comedy while doing drag there are multiple intersectionalities within this multidisciplinary art form After I came on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2018 is when people really saw what drag was and it started getting more recognised Im taking the Indian context and Indian drag to the international platform such as RuPauls Dragon I went on Queen of the Universe where I stood third runner up and very few publications actually covered it Yours being the foremost I would say Midday was one of my biggest supporters and they are the only ones in fact who covered me back thenIm so glad to tell you that I will be doing my OTT platform debut through a web series I think its going to be epic spectacular and one for the history booksDivgikar is the only Indian trans artiste to have performed twice at RuPauls DragCon Photo courtesy Sushant DivgikarWhat would you say to the media and brands who turn to drag for tokenismI have worked with the best talent in this country and internationally whether it is production houses artists or performers I can tell you that Ive faced this not just in India but even abroad Theres a lot of tokenism theres a lot of rainbow washing that happens I do think that it is also a function of us turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to when people cry about these things which are ground realities I have realised only after I have done certain campaigns that these people are pinkwashing and they really dont do ground level work but its a learning curve for all of us After I have learned the reality of the situation I dont really work with them Even a lot of media houses practise tokenism because something is trending We live in these realities every day of our lives and to monetise that to get TRPs out of it is a very sad state of affairsYoursquove performed in India and abroad and interacted with the diverse queer community How differently is your work received Please share any insights about Indian audiencesI performed in India and internationally but the one thing I have seen in India is that we are very quick to judge peopleIve seen women bring down women queers bringing down queers even drag queens bring down drag queens I think that we are also to blame as communities as anticommunities for doing this to each otherIve seen so many cishet people come to a bar or a performance arena to watch a burlesque show performance theatre production regardless of what their gender or identity is while fully knowing that the performers belong to the LGBTQIA community Because the art is so beautiful that it transcends all these characteristics Art has no barriers we are the ones who create it So I think that what I have perceived is that when Im on stage abroad Im perceived as an artist first and everything else later But sometimes here I do feel that Im perceived as trans or a drag queen first and an artist laterYoursquove been in the entertainment industry for 17 years we hear a Bollywood debut is on the cards Tell us about the changes yoursquove seen in the industry in terms of inclusiveness Are drag queens paid the sameYou just made me feel very very old I have been in the entertainment industry as a performer singer dancer VJ model and TV host Whether its reality television as a columnist as an interviewer I have seen a lot of changes in the industry in terms of inclusiveness What has changed is that not only are they narrating stories beautifully but queer stories are being narrated by queer writers and directorsWhen the community asks for queer roles to be played by queer actors people say an artist should be able to play any sort of role if thatrsquos true then let trans people also play cisgender roles I cant wait for my Bollywood debut to kind of forget my gender sexuality and simply exist as pure artAre drag queens paid the same If I have to be honest I will say no We are not paid as much as non queer artists and they are definitely paid at least a substantial amount more than usI think times are changing Im pushing but I just want to tell other queer artists that if you do the same job that I said no to do at that rate if you do it then were never going to improve the market I just like to say that hang in there it will get better But we need to stand in unityHow was your experience representing India at RauPaulrsquos DragCon where 50 top drag queens from around the world were chosen to performIm the only queen from India who has made it to two consecutive DragCons in different countries I always take my sarees wherever I go I had such a blast showcasing my culture and mixing it with Western culture as well RuPaul performed on the same stage and so did so many other wonderful queens and I was the lone representation from India I definitely hope to take India and the queer community in India many folds higher and to many more countries and every other urban and nonurban and rural place within India as wellAlso ReadThere is an essential need for space in which people can experience the fullest extent of their grief Alok VaidMenon