He’s a prince and he’s a nonconformist. He’s a man of courage and convictions. Manvendra Singh Gohil, prince of the erstwhile royal family o...
He’s a prince and he’s a nonconformist. He’s a man of courage and convictions. Manvendra Singh Gohil, prince of the erstwhile royal family of Rajpipla is the only royalty ever in India to come out with his homosexuality in the open. And that is why he has become such an icon, and a world wide one at that. Be it the Oprah Winfrey show or appearing on Undercover Princes, he’s done it all.
Manvendra who divides his time between Mumbai, Rajpipla and Vadodara talks about issues of homosexuality addressed in Hindi cinema. “These days Bollywood is pushing the envelope and I am glad that things that were considered taboo before are now out in commercial cinema. I have watched Dostana as well and when I was on a talk show that had Karan Johar as an invitee too, I told him that while the movie helped bring this topic to the average movie-goer, I was disappointed. That is because the general perception about gay men is that they are effeminate and the movie stereotyped it. The truth is so different,” says Manvendra. And that is why, continues Manvendra, “Bollywood is so important. The right portrayal can change a million perceptions overnight.”
So how is his love life? The last time, we saw Michael Lower, a man from Brighton who was also on the reality show expressing romantic interest in Manvendra. “Well, we are in touch through emails and chats but he’s not my lover. I am single. Here I am, travelling the globe but my love life is not getting any better!,” he laughs. He adds, “You see, after I became a sort of a celebrity many men don’t want to be romantically involved with me. They don’t want to be in the limelight. I tell them, that they could be my love without being in the limelight but I guess everyone is afraid of the public scrutiny.” But says Manvendra, “I am young and life only begins at 40. Besides, I have so much work on hand. I have my advocacy, I am fighting for gay rights and this is my life’s mission. Every where I go, I try to stir up a momentum, a consensus that will help gay men in our country to face life with dignity and I hope that one day we will decriminalise homosexuality in India.”
Has he ever thought about being in politics? “Recently, I met Sunil Babu Pant, the first gay MP from Nepal who is a path breaker in his own right. He’s a wonderful man and he suggested that I should give politics a try. But I have never considered it. I would rather do my work. What I would do however is to lend my support to an appropriate candidate. A candidate who can ensure us our rights. But for that, a man needs guts. And we are a country of hypocrites,” he laughs again.
So can the community of gays be a vote bank of sorts and garner for themselves the support that they need? “It could be done but it hasn’t been done as yet. What I also want to do is to write on the lesser known topics about our culture, religion and history. Each of these three has accepted homosexuality but it is only now that we have become so rigid and blocked our minds to what is so natural and what has always existed,” says Manvendra.
Manvendra who divides his time between Mumbai, Rajpipla and Vadodara talks about issues of homosexuality addressed in Hindi cinema. “These days Bollywood is pushing the envelope and I am glad that things that were considered taboo before are now out in commercial cinema. I have watched Dostana as well and when I was on a talk show that had Karan Johar as an invitee too, I told him that while the movie helped bring this topic to the average movie-goer, I was disappointed. That is because the general perception about gay men is that they are effeminate and the movie stereotyped it. The truth is so different,” says Manvendra. And that is why, continues Manvendra, “Bollywood is so important. The right portrayal can change a million perceptions overnight.”
So how is his love life? The last time, we saw Michael Lower, a man from Brighton who was also on the reality show expressing romantic interest in Manvendra. “Well, we are in touch through emails and chats but he’s not my lover. I am single. Here I am, travelling the globe but my love life is not getting any better!,” he laughs. He adds, “You see, after I became a sort of a celebrity many men don’t want to be romantically involved with me. They don’t want to be in the limelight. I tell them, that they could be my love without being in the limelight but I guess everyone is afraid of the public scrutiny.” But says Manvendra, “I am young and life only begins at 40. Besides, I have so much work on hand. I have my advocacy, I am fighting for gay rights and this is my life’s mission. Every where I go, I try to stir up a momentum, a consensus that will help gay men in our country to face life with dignity and I hope that one day we will decriminalise homosexuality in India.”
Has he ever thought about being in politics? “Recently, I met Sunil Babu Pant, the first gay MP from Nepal who is a path breaker in his own right. He’s a wonderful man and he suggested that I should give politics a try. But I have never considered it. I would rather do my work. What I would do however is to lend my support to an appropriate candidate. A candidate who can ensure us our rights. But for that, a man needs guts. And we are a country of hypocrites,” he laughs again.
So can the community of gays be a vote bank of sorts and garner for themselves the support that they need? “It could be done but it hasn’t been done as yet. What I also want to do is to write on the lesser known topics about our culture, religion and history. Each of these three has accepted homosexuality but it is only now that we have become so rigid and blocked our minds to what is so natural and what has always existed,” says Manvendra.
COMMENTS