It’s mind-boggling that even in today’s day and age, there exists a law in our country that criminalises homosexuality. As LGBT activists continue to fight to get section 377 scrapped, the support of celebrities is important because it’s acts a boost. A number of people idolise actors and when they speak out in favour of equal rights for all, it gets the ball rolling. Recently, Dhadak actor Jhanvi Kapoor was asked about her views on it, she said, “I think everyone should have the freedom to love because love is such a pure and sacred emotion, I believe that everyone does what they do in search of love. So I don’t see why their love should be compartmentalised, generalised or made into something bitter. Everyone deserves the freedom to love who they want to love.”
Here are 7 other Bollywood celebrities who have spoken in favour of LGBT rights:
Farhan Akhtar
The actor, who has launched MARD (Men Against Rape and Discrimination) to promote gender equality, said in an interview, “I feel it is a primitive law and does not have any place in today’s society. People have the freedom to choose who they want to be with. As long as they are consenting adults, they have the right to do what they want and I don’t think we should be peeping inside people’s bedrooms and telling them what to do.”
Sonam Kapoor
One of the few mainstream actors who is not afraid to identify as feminist, Sonam has voiced her support to the LGBT community on multiple occasions. Sample her tweets: ‘Homophobia should be a crime. It’s so shameful that a country which is known for its tolerance for a few thousand years had come to this!’, ‘As Indians, we are known for our tolerance and love for all. I hope this will continue to stand true.’ You go, girl!
Kangana Ranaut
The firebrand actor is known for speaking her mind, be it her views on politics or nepotism in Bollywood. She didn’t mince her words when talking about Section 377 as well. In an interview, she said, “It’s so funny that they’ve called homosexuality a crime. What’s so wrong or criminal about it? I mean, first they make oral sex illegal, now homosexuality. At this rate, everyone will be a criminal.”
Vishal Dadlani
The singer tweeted that in a fair and logical world, the government/law had no business in the bedrooms of consenting adults. He also added that it was time to shed the hypocritical prudery of Section 377. He wrote, ‘The sexual preference of citizens isn’t something the government, the police or prudes get to decide. The law should protect the freedom of choice’.
Nandita Das
Having acted in a love story about lesbians, Fire, in 1998, it’s not surprising that Das is a champion of LGBT rights. Talking about the attempt to change the law, she said in an interview, “It’s a tough battle, but I’m an optimist. You can see that slowly people are talking about it and making it more mainstream it more.”
Sona Mohapatra
The firebrand singer, who has spoken out against various issues like sexism in the past, has lent her support to the gay community too. She has termed Section 377 as ‘draconian, unfair and regressive’, which deems a ‘large section sexual identities as invisible’.
Amitabh Bachchan
The actor had tweeted, ‘High Court in 2009 gave pro judgement on homosexuality. All rejoiced, came out, got known. Now they fear being identified as criminals’ and ‘How will the law authorities decide or apprehend those that commit this ‘crime’ !!??’, after a court ruling. When asked to elaborate in an interview, he didn’t hesitate: “Well, I think it eats into the freedom of an individual, eats into the very concept of democracy and our constitution. Every individual should have the right to live freely.
