Homosexuality has been a topic of debate in India for ages. But on 6th September 2018 when India’s Supreme Court legalized article 377, various Indian Bollywood celebrities started revealing their original sexuality. Famous Bollywood actors like Amir Khan, Akshay Kumar started supporting this cause and slowly society has started accepting these facts. “Recognising everyone’s right to love” should be accepted by all and with the continuous support of various LGBT+ activists this decision was reached.
As of 2022, various Bollywood celebrities have spoken up regarding their sexual choice with the increase in acceptance by society. Some are still yet to confirm their choice. But it actually takes time for everyone to speak up. Having said so, here is the list of the Bollywood celebrities who are gay, lesbian and bisexual.
1. Imam A Siddique
Imam A Siddique, one of the famous casting directors, designers and image consultants has accepted the fact that he is homosexual in the reality show Big Boss. From the very beginning, his body language used to depict that he is gay but he never confessed anything about his sexuality in public till Big Boss. According to him both men and women are equal to him and he loves himself for the way he is.
2. VJ Andy
VJ Andy also known as Andy Kumar is a renowned video jockey and host. Reports confirm that he is bi-sexual but personally he never confessed this truth. Rather according to certain sources, he was forcibly tagged as gay during his childhood because of his personality. He believes in keeping professional and personal life separate and wants to be famous because of his work and not his personality.
3. Bobby darling
Bobby Darling also known as Pakhi Sharma (previously Pankaj Sharma) has been part of various Bollywood movies and tv series. Right from the very beginning, she has been a supporter of the LGBT community but was often confused as transgender because of her traits. Presently, Bobby has confirmed that she is a transwoman after going through several surgeries.
4. Karan Johar
Karan Johar is a widely popular Bollywood director, actor, television personality and recipient of several awards. From Kuch Kuch Hota Hae to Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham he is known for his emotional and heart-touching family movies. Karan Johar has never accepted the fact that he is gay publicly but at the same time, he has also acknowledged the fact that he is not straight. Karan also believes in keeping his personal life separate from professional life and believes that homosexuality is still a taboo in India. But several hints from the past make it quite evident that Karan Johar is gay.
5. Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra is one of the biggest fashion designers and costume designers in India. He is known for his amazing designing qualities, especially in the Bollywood industry. Currently, he is also known as an entrepreneur for making it into the jewelry and beauty industry with his famous brand. Manish has never accepted it publicly that he is gay and believes it’s never possible to open up on a public platform about one’s personal life especially when you are very popular. Although, he is the father of two children as of 2022 through surrogacy but very less is known about his partner. He is often rumored to be in a relationship with Karan Johar but that is also not confirmed.
6. Rohit Verma
Rohit Verma is an Indian fashion designer who has also been in various Bollywood movies and an ex-contestant of Big Boss. Rohit claims himself to be a cross-dresser and not gay. According to him, India is a free nation and everyone has their own right to love and live with anyone irrespective of gender. He has been taking part in various LGBT activities and became very happy after the introduction of the 377 law.
7. Rohit Bal
Rohit Bal is another Indian fashion designer who has received several awards and is extensively famous for his amazing designing skills. Rohit has claimed himself to be gay as he was in a relationship with Lalit Tehlan for three years. He believes that the gay community in India is still a taboo and has not been entirely accepted by society. One should be left free on choosing whom he loves.
8. Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth is one of the most renowned novelists and poets. His awards list includes Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy award and so on. From the very beginning, Vikram has been clear about his sexuality and has accepted the fact that he is gay publicly. He actively took part in opposing Section 377 with his “Not a criminal” quotation. He became very happy when the Court legalized article 377 and made several tweets about it.
9. Manish Arora
Manish Arora, the world celebrated designer is famous for his fashion designing skills and open-minded attitude. From the age of 17, he was very clear about himself being gay and never felt bad about it. Being open-minded he was very clear about his homosexuality and also confessed that he had a long-term relationship with a guy since that age. Being a ’90s guy he knew that society wouldn’t understand him at that time, as a result, he never thought of being too expressive about this topic. According to him, LGBTQIA+ people are judged a lot in their various fields which shouldn’t be the case. Society should learn to accept certain facts, especially in this era.
10. Deepak Parashar
Deepak Parashar is a very famous actor cum model in the Bollywood industry. He has been a famous face of various Indian television shows and is loved by many. Deepak Parashar was married to Sarita Parashar and has a daughter. Despite living a heterosexual life previously, he announced that he is gay on the reality show Bigg Boss. According to him, he hide his sexual orientation fearing that society would never accept him. But later on, he developed courage and stated this fact in front of the whole world.
11. Ismail Merchant
Ismail Merchant was a very popular Indian film producer. He was also known for his writings about cooking. Although Ismail never mentioned it publicly that he was gay but in his food writings he has mentioned the fact about him being gay. He was in a relationship with James Ivory where they both kept the relationship secret, afraid of being judged by society. Merchant died in 2005 while still in a relationship with Ivory.
12. Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh was a very popular film director, actor and writer during his time. He was very popular in the art film industry and made great achievements when it comes to Bengali cinemas. Rituparno discovered that he is gay during the 2000’s but wasn’t afraid of telling the world about his sexuality. The only thing that made him paranoid was how will society react to this. During his later life, he went through various surgeries to match his sexuality.
13. Vikas Gupta
Vikas Gupta is a famous producer, director and host. He became famous after his appearance on the reality TV show “Bigg Boss”. Right from the very beginning Vikas was confused about his sexuality and never wished to talk about it in front of the media. Later on, in his Instagram post, Vikas revealed that he is bi-sexual and thanked God for making him how he is. Times were not easy for him from the very beginning but later after getting intense support and appreciation from his friends he gained enough courage to reveal the truth.
14. Harish Iyer
Harish Iyer is an Indian activist for the LGBT community and especially for homosexuals. He dedicated his life to bringing various social problems in India into the limelight. From LGBTQ rights to stopping child sexual abuse, he has stood up for everything. Harish was sure about his sexuality from the very beginning but wasn’t sure about how society would react to it. As a result, he led a heterosexual life, but soon he realized that this affected his mental stability. He concludes with the fact that he is gay and fabulous.
So here is the list of the Bollywood celebrities who are gay, lesbian and bisexual as of 2022. Loving and accepting people for the way they are has been very hard for society to accept. But after the legalization of the 377 law society has started accepting this fact and many celebrities are already acknowledging this fact.
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