Following the publication of Karan Johar’s autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, theatre and television actor Saattvic has written an open letter where he describes what it is truly like to ‘come out of the closet‘.
While Johar’s book contains several hints about his sexual orientation, the filmmaker never explicitly acknowledges it. Saattvic’s letter, however, recounts his journey of hiding his sexuality from the film industry until he couldn’t take it any more.
“Reams have already been written about Karan Johar’s coming-out-without-saying-it in his forthcoming biography, The Unsuitable Boy. While many are lauding his move as brave, several gay rights activists have taken umbrage at his refusal to explicitly say, I am gay. The lines under contention are, ‘Everybody knows what my sexual orientation is. I don’t need to scream it out. And if I need to spell it out, I won’t only because I live in a country where I could possibly be jailed for saying this.’ Depending on how you look at this, it is a statement of cowardice or a comment on the sorry state of human rights in this country,” wrote Saattvic.
While he goes on to clarify that he was no one to judge anybody, particularly Johar, Saattvic also acknowledges that Johar’s book motivated him to openly come out as gay. Currently, the Indian penal code effectively criminalises homosexuality under Section 377.
Recommended
“The SC judgement turned a fairly apolitical me into a bit of an activist. I felt wronged, personally. I wrote and directed a play with a strong homosexual component that was well received in mid 2014. I performed at gay themed events. In the midst of all this, I shot for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Everest, and did a blink and miss role in a film that most people missed, Badmashiyaan. Everest brought a little bit of mainstream popularity with it, and god forbid any of my new ‘fans’ figured out that I am gay! It would be a PR disaster for the TV show. So, I led this strange double life – my theatre was out and proud, and my screen work was old fashioned and closeted,” he writes.
Saatvic’s letter speaks of the hardship faced by a member of the industry who became an outside because he came out. The actor concludes his post by urging other closeted homosexuals in the industry to come out, and not be ashamed or marred by the stigma the industry harbours.
“You don’t need to be an activist and your life does not need to be defined by being gay. You just need to do your little bit by coming out, and sensitizing the people around you. So, please, if you are in a position to do so, come out.”
Feature Image: Saattvic.com