By day they are tech professionals and entrepreneurs; by night they become dazzling queens and kings with flashy costumes, vibrant wigs, and bold makeup.
Meet the Hyderabadi Drag Artist Those who are trying to bring about change by starting important conversations from politics to society gender equality, gay rightsAnd Civic duty — One performance at a time.
Among them is Patruni SastryA 32-year-old IT professional who has been performing as a drag queen since 2018, the same year they came out as non-binary-trans bisexual. On stage, Patruni is popular as Saas.
character building
“Drag is an art that involves wearing clothing, jewelry, makeup and wigs of a different gender and performing for entertainment,” Sass explains, carefully blending eyeshadow to perfect her look.
“Most individuals become drag queens by adopting an extremely feminine persona, while some performers become drag kings with an exaggerated male persona.”
The mother-in-law’s love for make-up and flamboyant clothes dates back to her early days when she was a trained Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer.
“I always loved to wear makeup and fancy clothes, but male classical dancers had limitations in their costumes compared to female dancers,” she recalls.
“It took me some time to accept my identity and in 2018, I finally revealed my identity to my family.
Since then, my life has completely changed. Drag has taught me to go out and feel totally free and cool,” said Sass, whose performances are mainly based on civic duty, gay community issues such as adoption, gay marriage and more.
But off stage, Saas is a family man. “I am married and have a one-year-old son. We lead a normal life. My wife and son accompany me to all my shows,” he says.
Another prominent figure in the city’s drag scene is Aryan Patra – Kehemaya on stage. Her story starts from begging on the streets of Bhubaneswar to becoming Odisha’s first trans drag artist. Now, she is making her mark in Hyderabad.
“I left my village at the age of 14 and joined a school. Transgender Community In Bhubaneswar, where I started begging,” she says, her glittering clothes glinting in the light. “I always loved dressing up as a woman, and I saved whatever money I earned by begging to join a makeup course. After that, I never looked back.
I always had a passion for dance as I am a trained Odissi dancer. But after joining the trans community, my passion for dance took a backseat.”
Inspired by Indian drag artiste and actor Sushant Divgikar aka Rani Kohinoor, Kehemaya began exploring drag in Bhubaneswar before moving to Hyderabad. “I researched Sushant’s work and started performing in Bhubaneswar. After coming to Hyderabad, I approached the drag community here.
He said, “I have done more than 100 shows to create awareness about the transgender community and their problems like reservation, employment, etc.”
While perfecting her eyeliner – matching each wing with precision – she explains the significance of Kehemaya. “K means Kalinga – the ancient name of my homeland; it represents the identity I was born with; and Maya means the charm of your brilliance.”
The cityscape is still new
According to these artistes, Hyderabad’s drag scene is still in its infancy, with only six active artistes who bring their art to life at various stand-up shows, open mics and gay community events across the country during weekends.
“Cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru have embraced drag in a big way, with around 20 drag artistes in each city,” says entrepreneur and drag king Hepzibah Smith, popularly known as Firangi Local.
“Delhi has the same number of artistes as Hyderabad, while Chennai has two or three.” Smith is relatively new to the drag scene, but is determined to make her mark.
Art is alien to some people
However, Smith acknowledges the challenges faced by the community in Hyderabad. “When we talk about drag, people don’t understand what it is.
There are still only a few places in the city where we are allowed to perform.”
Sas also shares a similar opinion, and cites lack of opportunities as a reason for the limited number of active drag artistes in Hyderabad.
Despite these obstacles, Sass and her fellow performers are committed to creating an economy and environment where drag is respected and invested in.
“Many people think we are trying to be too western, but drag has deep roots in Indian culture,” says Khemya. “In Odisha, we have a dance form called Gotipua, in which men dress up as women. Even in Lavani, men used to dance wearing Paithani. My grandfather used to tell me that in villages, men used to play all the female roles, including Sita in Ramayana. It is an Indian art, and we will make it big one day,” says Khemya.
