Join Drag Queen Rimi Heart in her debut, today, at Kitty Ko. A trained vocalist, she aims to sing her heart out to the divas of the ‘90s and stun you with her wit and humour.
“Drag has been to me, a way to express the kind of persona you already have, but amplified. I started doing drag after being inspired by a TV show called 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. In the show, my favourite queens had pun names like Sharon Needles and Courtney Act, so I wanted a fun pun for my name too. My persona is a very bossy in-charge woman. So, I wanted my name to reflect it, that's why it’s a pun for an order. That's how she was born,” Rimi says.
With a background in computer-science engineering and as a member of a professional choir in Bengaluru focusing on classical music (baroque themed), she pours her heart out performing drag.
“I love music and it translates into my drag because my performances include a lot of live singing...I have performed for pride many times. LGBTQ pride in Bengaluru and other cities are good platforms to perform as well, but we do it for the message of equality and the community.” she says.
Rimi Heart was discovered by Maya the Drag Queen, another absolutely gorgeous performer at Kitty Ko. “I knew Maya before Kitty Ko. We have performed together in pride. I was taking some time off drag because of work-related things and trying to figure out my persona aesthetically, so I didn't perform a lot. But right now, I'm in a good space and I want to perform, so I talked to Maya and she said they could put me on, so this is my debut,” Rimi explains.
When asked about Rimi Heart as a persona, she describes herself as a sexy, in-charge, talented singer who will definitely make you smirk or laugh out loud.
Rimi also provides us with a teaser of her show and speaks of everyone who inspires her.
“I usually like vocally challenging music… Alaska thunderf**k 5000 is my drag idol but other than that, I love any talented vocalist. All of my inspirations come from people who can sing. I love Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James. They may be pretty, good performers, and great dancers but they are singers first! For the show, I will be singing Halo by Beyonce, I also have songs that are a bit sexier after that.”
The showstopper commented on how grateful she was to Keshav Suri. He is the executive director of the Lalit hotels, the home of the Kitty Su/Ko clubs. Keshav is an active campaigner for LGBT rights in India and is one of the petitioners against Section 377.
“I am forever indebted to him. He has provided one of the only places in India that nurtures drag queens and hires them. They see drag as a talent, as entertainment that is worthy of a paycheck, which is very new.” Rimi says in conclusion.
This drag show will be one of many epic thursday nights but for Rimi it will be her first opportunity to perform and and fel free to be herself on a large platform like this.
“I enjoy the full spectrum of drag. I want to be humorous and poke fun at society and it's various labels. I also want to tease my friends, fellow queens, be shady, and overall put up a good show for the audience to cheer on.”