“I’m Nakshatra Bagwe, an actor, a filmmaker and I happen to be India’s first gay brand ambassador. I have been an equal rights activist for a long time now and I have been a part of various homosexuality awareness projects from the time I came out. My passion lies in filmmaking and acting in feature films. My journey started off with low budget films with a few people I knew who supported me in this cause. I have tried to always incorporate and propagate the current LGBT scenario in India through the films I made and acted in.
I hail from Masure, Malvan from the far off Konkan coastal region. I came out to the world at the age of 21 and the journey after that has been quite a rollercoaster. It’s being 9 years right now since I first came out and when I look back to those times, I can’t thank enough to my family for being with me and supporting me when I required them the most. My family was the key element which made me so strong to take up my stand and fight for my rights in this world. The most encouraging and proud moment for me is that my family attended LGBT pride marches and gatherings with me. I actually came out to society when I participated in Asia’s first LGBT flash mob. Since then, I have participated in many queer flash mobs.
It’s very heartening to see that K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering took up this cause to support the LGBT community through their social initiative, Parvaah. A college so upbeat, modern and ahead of its times is a rare element in today’s world. The students of the future generation are spreading an awareness about this cause amongst the people which makes me believe that the future is in good hands. Through my end, my next step would be to connect with the LGBT people from the rural areas and support them in every step. Metropolitan cities now have enough LGBT societies and communities to spread the word and help people come out. I believe in meeting the ones who are still trying to tackle this situation, finding answers and looking for a way out. As a part of this community, our only aim is to clear the misconceptions, and stereotypes that lie in the society and to let the world know that our basic rights are our human rights and these are not special rights.”
KJSCE Live 