Aishwarya Ayushmaan: ‘Weirdness can be an alienating experience’ | web series
Aishwarya Ayushmaan, also known as Lushmonson, stars in the premiere video of the new documentary series Rainbow Rishta, six love stories. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, the human rights lawyer and drag performer talks about the process of coming out with his parents, the documentary experience and much more. (Also Read: Rainbow Rishta Trailer: Trinetra Haldar, Aishwarya Ayushmaan’s new docuseries celebrates 6 quirky love stories. Watching)
Asked about their views on Sushmita Sen’s casting in Taali — the story of transgender activist Gauri Sawant — Ayushmaan said, “Until the day every trans woman can play cis women and every cis woman can play transgender, this debate is one-sided.”
“Strangeness can be an alienating experience”
They also shared how being queer can be an alienating experience. “Strangeness is the alienation of experience. Especially if you don’t have empathic people around you. I was lucky to have compassionate people around me. I even had extraordinary people around me who were very empathetic. Anyone who needs help should seek out at least one person. You can not start the whole world happy. If you can convince one person, this is where your journey begins. First of all, self-recognition is not an easy task. I still ask about my gender.”
Rainbow Rishta gave us a chance to show our happy side
Talking about the reason behind their inclusion in the show, Ayushmaan said, “Like Daniela Mendonca says in the opening of the show, we’ve never heard our stories in this way, so we want to tell our own stories. And, tell our stories our way. When I got this show, I didn’t come out of the closet with my parents. I had this rebellion, this desire to show my true self to the world. It forced me to say yes to the show and it also forced me to expose my home and everything in my life to the camera.
Ayushmaan added, “We have already talked about the trauma in our lives on so many platforms. Every invitation we receive, even to TED talks, is to share our struggles and traumas. So this show was a fresh change – it wasn’t just about trauma. The program allowed us to talk about what makes us happy. My friends make me happy, my little sisters make me so happy. My art makes me happy and this gave us a chance to just show it. People need to see that there is a positive side to our lives. “
He goes out to his mother
They added that it was only after they finished working on Rainbow Rishta that they came to their mother. “On the one hand, I tried to show my real side to my parents. When they came to Delhi, I had to hide my stuff and my entire closet. How long can I share my life? They love me so much, but then I also thought, “Is it love for me as a person or the version they want?” At the same time, this situation also does not allow me to show myself fully in the world. Are you always afraid that your parents don’t know what will happen if they find out about it? I was driven by the need to see a person. I finally came out to my mom earlier this year after a show. I think it was because of this show that I was able to gather courage.”
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