This Pride Month, ‘Live Your Best Life with Karan Johar’ on Audible is serving realness, resilience, and a whole lot of heart. One of the most stirring episodes is the one with the multi-hyphenate trailblazer Sushant Divgikr – an unfiltered, heart-to-heart packed with humour and hard truths. From a red-carpet moment with their father to smashing stereotypes on screen, this episode is a powerful reminder of what pride, self-love and true allyship really look like. With Karan’s signature empathy and flair, the episode is a vibrant celebration of queerness, chosen family, and unapologetic self-expression, making it the perfect listen for Pride and beyond.
Read below to catch some powerful moments in Episode 10 of the podcast. Listen to the whole thing on Audible.in here.
Sushant Divgikr on How They Came Out To Their Family: “My father literally laid the red carpet for me and asked me the simple question, the three words, ‘Are you gay?’”
Talking about how people from the LGBTQ+ community mirror how society talks about them, Sushant emphasises the importance of positive self-talk. “And I have learned to tell myself that I’m fantastic. I have learned to tell myself that I’m worth it, I’m capable and every second I breathe and there is a reason why I’m here. So of course, yes, people, when they tell us, it could hurt us as well, as you said. And those are things that we take to our grave, really, how much ever we do get into therapy.” They also credited their family for supporting them on their journey. “But if somebody close to us says something that they might not even mean in a derogatory or in a way to hurt you, to malign you…Like so, I mean, my brother has said, I’m sure, many things that he may not have meant to say, but he could not articulate better. But today I know for a fact that actions speak louder than words. And my family has been with me like a rock.” Revealing how they didn’t come out to their family until their 18th birthday, Sushant divulged the details of the story, “My father literally laid the red carpet for me and asked me the simple question, the three words, ‘Are you gay?’”
Sushant Divgikr On Having Self-Belief and Conviction: “And two years later I got Pari Hoon Main… today I have kind of created that dent even in our film industry where I have made people understand that as transgender artists, we are not click bait…”
When Karan asked Sushant if they could recall a pivotal moment or experience in their life or career that helped them realise the importance of standing up for themself, Sushant shared the story of a producer was rude to them and refused to allow them to sing a song for a movie when their vocals were perfectly fine to do so. “Just like I was asked to do an item number for a film and I insisted that I would also sing the song myself. So basically, they were like “Nahi nahi, aapko as a dancer humne book kiye hai. We’ve booked (you) to perform the song, not sing it…I mean, I was saving a lot of money for my filmmaker. And he just bluntly refused. And then the producer was quite rude and said that, nai hum toh.. (no we will…)I don’t want to take the singer’s name that eventually sang the song. But he said that, “Nahi, nahi, yahi gaayenge aur yahi karenge (no, no..the other singer would sing). So, I had to stand up for myself and I was like, OK, then I have to say no and I’ll wait. But this person told me “Arey yaar, aisa tum karogi to tumhara kuch nahi hoga.” (if you do such things, then you won’t get anywhere). And two years later I got Pari Hoon Main. Two years later, I was celebrated for singing and, and performing the song and acting in the film as a man, woman, trans-person, everything and a drag queen. And today I have kind of created that dent even in our film industry where I have made people understand that as transgender artists, we are not click bait and we are not some sort of a fantasy role that we have to play and sensationalize our lives.”
Sushant Divgikr on Self-Love and Their Support System: “…this self-love took some time. The courage took some time. In fact, I was the most underconfident person for the longest time in my class.”
Discussing how Sushant found the courage to embrace their identity and the truth of who they are, Karan asked Sushant about their journey of self-love. “Karan, if I have to be honest, this self-love took some time. The courage took some time. In fact, I was the most underconfident person for the longest time in my class. Unfortunately, this is the reality for a lot of us queer kids.” Reminiscing how they were happy only at home and nowhere else, Sushant reveals, “I had a wonderful childhood but the childhood was wonderful only once I got back home, because my family was fantastic. In school it was bullying, it was teasing, and I just thought after a point, I was like, if I… don’t see myself for being a winner and if I’m going to sulk and host a pity party for myself I’m going to be the only one attending that party.” Delving into the importance of having a support system and how that got them through it all, they say, “Even though 90 % of the class would make fun of me, there was that 10 % and those friends, we are still friends. And they come for each and every one of my gigs, each and every one of my shows and they are there for all my important events in my life. And they are all cis het men, they are straight men and they are married, some of them have kids and they are still there for my shows and I do think, with their wives in tow, by the way, not just them. So, I think it’s a big, big support system.”
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