Sukhdeep Singh, an openly gay, IIT graduate, who’s now the editor and creator of Gaylaxy Magazine, took some time out of his day to chat with me about his upcoming documentary about the lives of the Sikh queer community, called “Sab Rab De Bande”. Being from a Punjabi background myself, the only representation of Sikhs that mainstream media has put forth for us has either been comic relief or as a brave soldier fighting India’s wars. What is then left out of the discourse are the many lives of queer folk among the heavily religious sect. Sukhdeep’s understanding of his religion and his life as an openly queer creator drove him to seek out others like him, to share their stories and talk about their struggles that they have faced and the fights they have won.

Q. Do you feel that this documentary would shed the required amount of light on the problems of the Sikh queer community?

The film I believe is going to be extremely important, since this would be the first time that experiences of LGBTQ Sikhs would be brought forward to the masses by tracking the life of 5 different individuals. The movie deals with various aspects of their religious and sexual/gender identity, the kind of reactions that they receive from society, family and LGBTQ community, and how they overcome it or navigate it. We have also taken in the view of Sikh clergy on this topic. Films can be a very powerful medium to bring forth such stories, and I hope that it will start a discussion around this issue within the Sikh community and bring some positive change.