London’s biggest Gaysian bhangra drag night is Club Kali, whose monthly events always sell out. Behind its doors, and at places like it – London’s Disco Rani, Urban Desi and Manchester’s Club Zindaghi – men in ornate saris and lenghas fastidiously apply makeup backstage. “Asian skin is a craft to master, and it takes newbies a while to learn the ropes,” says Rezzia Rani, door host of Club Kali, “especially with our stubble … luckily, we have good eyebrows.” Most of the queens our documentary team spoke to were practising Muslims who attended mosque regularly, and were on a journey to answering a central question – is being a Muslim drag queen in the UK tenable? We also took cameras behind the scenes at Club Kali – which usually prohibits filming (anyone caught filming or Snapchatting is thrown out) – where drag queens perform to songs such as bhangra hit Baby Doll and Bollywood track Lovely – both of which we hear hundreds of times during the course of making the film. We were privy to the queens getting ready, as they applied thick layers of makeup and hair-removal cream. We saw them stared down by hoteliers and bus drivers, and witnessed first-hand the abuse that threatened the crew. Three main voices emerged. Newbie Ali, 22, aka “Shilpa” – after Bollywood starlet Shilpa Shetty – said his double life began in Pakistan, where he took beauty classes in secret, while telling his parents he was studying IT. We followed him as he agonised over his first at Club Kali. There was Saied (stage name Rezzia Rani) who let us into his most intimate moments away from his NHS day job, and showed us letters of abuse he had received. During filming, he was threatened with eviction from his home, was violently attacked, and received countless threats.His grit as he travelled on public transport every month to Club Kali, dressed as Rezzia in her azure sari and adorned with gold bindis, tikka and earrings, was a lasting lesson in defiant bravery.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:46:00 +0000
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