From drag, visual art and indie music to comedy, five queer creators are redefining what contemporary culture in Mumbai looks and sounds like

There is a moment every city goes through when the artists once considered peripheral become, unmistakably, central. Mumbai is in that moment right now. The drag is headlining Navratri grounds. The fibre art is the talk of India Art Fair. The comedian holds a Presidential honour. The city has absorbed all of it and asked for more.

“People are increasingly attracted by authenticity, creativity and artistic excellence, and less and less looking at creators through the prism of identity,” says Harshita Kumar, Dean of the School of Music, Sound, and Cinematics at Universal Ai University. “It has now grown from simply being a cultural shift to becoming a major career movement.”

Five queer creators — working across drag, visual art, indie music, and comedy — are at the forefront of that movement.

When mainstream comes to you