Chennai’s drag scene is exploding and how! While the city had a young and upcoming drag community a decade or so ago, the artistes and the brazen art form disappeared over the last few years, due to a lack of support, leaving a gaping chasm in the city’s queer art scene. It was therefore a breath of fresh air when The Poze, a talent management agency, announced that they would be organising more events catered to the LGBTQIA+ community, over three months ago. Indulge covered the first event in December 2022 and we were therefore all gung-ho about Twisted Broadway, curated by Karun Raman, featuring Beyoncé The Drag Queen that unfurled at Timesquare Restobar in T Nagar on Sunday night.
The crowd was huge, getting in was an experience in itself; and once in, stealing a glimpse of the popular drag artiste, mid-performance, even tougher! “I didn’t think the crowd turnout would be so good, but I expect more (laughs),” begins curator Karun Raman who we caught up with, seen in a drag avatar and the perfect emcee for the night. “I want to lead by example and I want to get Chennai to view drag in a non-fetish way. This is all to ensure drag artistes and the art form get its due in the city and this is just the beginning — we’re going to keep inviting popular drag artistes from all across the country and encourage local drag artistes for our future events,” Karun adds.
Amid the crowd growing crazy and dancing along to every number that Beyoncé The Drag Queen performed, we managed to steal her away for a quick chat. “I’m from Tiruvannamalai and never ever thought that one day I would be a drag queen. My journey began five years ago when I was in Bengaluru and I came across drag culture and was smitten by it. I began to perform then and there has been no turning back since,” explains the 29-year-old who was seen ‘slaying’ her drag avatar in the colours of the rainbow. “I won a pageant title recently, Miss Rainbow Pride of India 2022, and so this visit to Chennai came at the perfect time. I’ve always heard about the queer crowd in Chennai and being Tamil, I’ve always wanted to perform here. Everything I heard about this city and the queer crowd is true. They’re amazing! What a turnout and what a response. This is like a dream come true,” added the drag queen who is also a celebrity makeup artist and a model.
The performance lasted for a few hours but the excitement did not decrease. It was only at midnight that the crowd’s energy was spent and the party finally came to a close. “This is what we want to continue doing — giving the LGBTQIA+ the representation and spaces that they deserve and we will continue to do more such events in the future too,” promises Prasath Sivasankaran, co-founder, The Poze, who is also an IT professional.
“The more we can do such events and the more people from outside the LGBTQIA+ community get a chance to see, appreciate and understand our art forms, the sooner we will get acceptance. I am very sure that drag culture will explode in Chennai very soon and performances like the one by Beyoncé The Drag Queen will only encourage and inspire talent to come out of Chennai too,” concludes Karun.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal