Same sex marriage debate! Celebs who've openly supported same sex love and LGBTQ rights

Calling it a "very seminal issue", the Supreme Court of India have referred the pleas seeking legal validation of same-sex marriages to a five-judge constitution bench for adjudication and this has led to a nationwide debate. While SC’s decision has kicked up a social media storm there are so many actors who have come out and openly supported LGBTQ rights and same sex love. Leading actors like Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitly, Ayushmann Khurrana, and many others have not only been vocal about their opinions but have also been part of films with significant representation of LGBTQ characters.

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Ayushmann Khurrana has been carving a niche for himself in Bollywood with his unconventional film choices. The actor, who proudly played the character of a gay man in ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’, has been quite supportive towards the community in real life too. He believes that if films normalise same-sex relationships on the big screen, it will help people realise the importance of gay rights.

Nitasha Biswas won India's First Transgender Beauty Queen contest in 2017 when the world was too busy focusing on the #MeToo movements. But, after having a tiff with the event organisers, she resigned from her post in 2022. Nitasha hails from Kolkata and was born in Subanko. She moved to Delhi in order to pursue her career in the modelling industry. She believes that only through proper school education, the discrimination related LGBTQ community can end. She aspires to become a politician someday.

She was amongst the ones who were overjoyed when New York legalised gay marriages and also the one who expressed her anger and disappointment when the Supreme Court made homosexuality a crime in 2013. The actress, to date, remains a huge advocate of LGBTQ rights. According to her it is the most important thing that she fights for and hopes the world will be without such labels one day. She was also a part of a film titled, ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga’ where she played a lesbian character who falls in love with a girl, played by Regina Cassandra.

Someone once asked Onir on social media, “Why do queer people make coming out a big deal? Straight people don’t have to do the same.” The filmmaker came up with a quirky reply, “Straight men and women do not have to be closeted. There is nothing for them to hide. Their existence, desire and love- it is all out in the open. And the reason we come out is to claim our spaces outside the closet so that we have a world where we don’t need to be in the closet.” Opening up about his dating life and thoughts on marriage, Onir shares, “For me, dating becomes a bit different because I am a filmmaker and it mostly comes with baggage. It is not about my age or me being gay. The only thing people see is that I am a filmmaker and I might be their roadmap to something.

Manoj Bajpayee broke barriers with his performance in ‘Aligarh’, in which he had played the role of a wronged gay professor. The actor had reportedly stated that he agreed to play the character because he believed there was a lack of representation of LGBTQ+ issues in Bollywood. Targeting Section 377, the ace actor had asked the Indian Government for better treatment and sensitivity towards the LGBTQ+ community.

Celina Jaitly is one of the oldest and loyal supporters of the LGBTQ community. The actress has done some exemplary work for the community and had also worked for over two decades with the Indian trans community, despite intense threats and fears of ostracisation. In an interview with The Times of India last year, she'd said, “The reality is that LGBTQIA+ rights, which are universally recognised and agreed upon, are routinely being denied to people just because they happen to be – or are assumed to be – gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex. That is something we have a duty to acknowledge and address in a concerted way”.

Nandita Das is one of the finest actor-directors we have in the industry. The actress played the role of a lesbian for the first time in the 1998 movie, ‘Fire’. She has been actively advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ community ever since. Nandita has also been part of several panel discussions and events where she has tried to create awareness about the community and its rights. The actress also spoke out against Section 377 in India that criminalised homosexuality in 2013. The decision was then overturned in 2018.