As the pride month came to a conclusion, New York hosted an extravagant pride march in the city, which was perhaps the grandest of ’em all. With a host of Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities joining in, to march in solidarity with the LGBTQ community world-over, the event was a powerful testament to our road to equality and justice.
One of the popular Indian faces appearing in the parade was, award winning actress, Vidya Balan – who ‘incidentally’ was holidaying in the city at the same time when the pride took place.
Pictures of Balan happily cheering for equality while holding a rainbow flag in her hand were posted on social media, which eventually led us to ask the following question:
Whatever happened to fighting for the same rights of equality for the sexual minorities at home?
Considering, the fact the actress has never been seen being this vocal about LGBTQ issues at home and that India still has a long way to go before socially and legally recognizing same-sex relationships and the genders beyond the conventional binary, Balan’s stand on the “issue” would have been a lot more meaningful if it would have taken place, at home, where it is needed a lot more – than in the states.
Is it a more “convenient cause” than having to address the same issues back home?
#vidyabalan attending #pride parade in #nyc (📸 @balanvidya ) #socialroznama
Interestingly, it isn’t just Balan. Almost every A lister from Bollywood has shied away from even speaking about the subject, let along supporting the cause, perhaps in an attempt to ‘safeguard’ their public image – which interestingly continued to persist until the Supreme Court decriminalized same-sex relations in a landmark verdict last year.
Celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta – to name a few, came together to celebrate a victory in 2018, which they literally had no contribution in.
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Unlike the west, where a number of Hollywood celebs have stepped out to support the fight against inequality, irrespective of whether it was ‘popular’ or ‘fashionable’ …or not, India’s road to equality has largely been fought alone by the LGBTQ community pioneers, with the rich and famous mostly keeping mum during the most difficult times.
So, is it now fashionable to dress in rainbow ensembles for Bollywood, or is this really a fight for marriage, adoption, love, a fight against workplace discrimination, criminal intimidation, sexual molestation and blackmail?
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When a celebrity like Balan, hoists the pride flag in a nation which is leaps ahead of us when it comes to equal rights, knowing there are people struggling to embrace their identity or to get any support from their loved ones back here, it makes us question the integrity of such support.
Is it really just a statement, or a statement with reason?
You tell us…