“I am an artist, a phenomenal and hardworking artiste and everyone should enjoy the art without worrying about my gender! Therefore, I have been perpetuating and advocating for the idea and facet that art has no gender and that it has the capacity in and by itself to transcend man-made boundaries and borders.”
In India, traditional values and societal norms have shaped attitudes for a long time. However, in recent years, there has been a growing movement of people who are standing up against this oppression – all thanks to increased awareness and advocacy. Sushant Divgikar’s words and journey is like no other. From being HE to SHE, exploring herself and deciding to stand for a cause, Sushant has now come a long way! In their drag avatar, she is known as the popular Rani Ko-HE-Nur and has been ruling the showbiz for over 15 years now.
Despite being in the industry for more than a decade now, Sushant feels that her work gets sidelined due to her gender identity. In an exclusive conversation with Times Now Digital, she said, “Even to date, my work and the extensive and rigorous training, honing and practising my skills, are all trivialised or ignored because of several preconceived notions about my gender and sexual orientation. Somehow, when I walk into the room, ‘some’ people can only see me for my gender expression or worry about my pronouns whereas I am so much more than my pronouns. My content and existence have definitely changed mindsets and people’s viewpoints on how they must perceive a human being for what they come to the table with and that is my biggest win! I am not going to be modest and say my content doesn’t move people because it absolutely and completely does!”
While our country is a bit more accepting now, it was not the same a few years back. When Sushant came out of the closet and decided to live her “true authentic life” 17 years back, it was not at all easy. “But I am fortunate to have parents who, in my opinion, are the avatars of Shiva and Parvati! Maybe it was destined that they meet to create me so that I can further create this change in and around the performing arts! A change that has only been long overdue,” she told us.
The Concept of ‘Chosen Family’
On being asked about the family pressure/struggle that queer people have to deal with, Sushant explained the concept of “chosen family” within the rainbow spectrum. She said, “Family is very important to queer people just like it is for our ‘cishet’ (Term used to describe someone who is both cisgender and heterosexual) friends. However, there is a concept of chosen family which is very beautiful and so important for like minded individuals from with the community. We choose our families! Our friends, partners, co-workers, and colleagues become our chosen family in the course of this life. Probably everyone has experienced being closer to people they have met during their life and that they feel attached to even more than their extended biological family sometimes. We choose our tribes and that is lovely! So people who don’t get the love from their biological families, always have chosen family to fall back on because we believe there is somebody for everybody.”
Rani Ko-HE-Nur’s Journey
Sushant is the first trans Indian drag artist to attend RuPaul’s Drag Con and represent India for the second time in a row. Their avatar, Rani Ko-HE-Nur was born after Kitty Su’s Keshav Suri (Executive Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group) asked her to perform drag for his club’s anniversary celebrations. Sushant describes Rani as an ode and tribute to all the powerful women in the world. “Rani is the voice for the voiceless and is undoubtedly and unabashedly the undisputed QUEEN of entertainment! Find me another queen who can sing in multiple genres, dance, act, do backflips, kicks, and turn in a saree on stage, having a 4-octave vocal range and can sing in both, the male and female voice all while looking like she just stepped out of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film! Not to sound boastful but it won’t happen,” Sushant shares.
Rani has had the opportunity to touch so many lives and build a community whether online or offline of hope, faith, and unconditional love. Sushant says that Rani has helped many queer children in India and around the world to embrace their true authentic selves and be celebratory of their uniqueness rather than feel ashamed of it. “This is Rani’s biggest accomplishment! No award or money compares to that one child’s smile who feels represented when they see me on stage or on screen. For that one smile, I can move mountains because that is the smile of the divine, which is my fuel to keep doing what I do, against all odds, against all the people who love to make me dinner table conversations, vilify me, and try to break me. I am invincible and even after I’m physically not here, my legacy will live on with my art- my music and my films,” Sushant explains.