BENGALURU: There’s no better time than August 15 to promote freedom of self-expression in India. This is what motivated Nilay Joshi, who also goes by the performance name of Miss Bhenji, to organise an event for drag performers in India. Called ‘All About Me Season 2’, the online initiative, scheduled for Saturday, will have performances by nine drag artistes from different cities. “Being a drag performer is just as normal as being any other performer.
And since drag queens break gender barriers, it is a form of freedom of expression as well,” says Miss Bhenji, who hails from Nagpur. The other performing artistes are Rita Squirter, Bahaar and Seventeen from Bengaluru; Tropical Marca and Glorious Luna from Mumbai; and Betta Naan Stop, Divine Scarlett and Hiten Noonwal from Delhi.
The 45 to 60 minutes long event will have pre-recorded performances by each of them exploring different themes related to Indian culture and drag. “Whenever someone thinks of a drag show, they always associate it with Western culture or RuPaul. But I wanted to bring about a collaboration between the high fashion that is prevalent in the West and Indian music and dance moves,” says Miss Bhenji. Her seven-minute performance pays homage to the different divas of Bollywood, while exploring the music and dance of different eras. Divine Scarlett, on the other hand, will create looks from Indian mythology in an attempt to show that drag has always been related to Indian culture.
City-based drag artiste Bahaar, who also runs a men’s clothing brand called Destollo Clothing, hopes to pay tribute to divas from the ’70s and ’80s, like Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. “Despite our many years of Independence, the drag community is not free. This show is our way of celebrating the freedom of self-acceptance,” says the artiste, who made her drag debut in January. “Nightclubs are closed and all physical shows have been cancelled, including my second performance in April.
We hope that through the funds we raise, we can help each other through these times,” she adds. While there is no fee for the event, they have been holding a crowdfunding campaign on Impact Guru, and the sum will be distributed among the artistes. In the three weeks since it was started, the campaign has gathered Rs 57,000 so far. The event will be streamed on Miss Bhenji’s YouTube and Twitch channels on August 15, 7pm onwards.