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"To me, In Transit isn’t just a documentary, it’s a milestone. It’s a rare and powerful moment of collective representation. And I’m so proud to be a part of it," Patruni Sastry on being part of Amazon Prime Video's latest docu-series In Transit.
Queer identities, gender dysphoria, the transition phase, and navigating love and freedom are topics that often end up being discussions that take centre stage only during June. In a society that has traditionally prioritized two genders over others, understanding and being open to these concepts are seen as practices of welcoming a foreign or "modernized" culture, despite their presence in our historical epics. In a time when the world is slowly learning to co-exist with AI, I wonder why different gender spectrums still scare us! This internalized homophobia and rigidity in expanding our worldview stops conversations about why everyone matters. That’s exactly why it’s essential to encourage more dialogue on these important topics.
It's important to gain insight into the lives of those who are often dismissed and silenced by giving them a platform to share their own stories. This is why docu-series like In Transit are so important. This series explores the lives of 9 trans and non-binary individuals as they navigate love, identity, and boundaries of gender. Joining the discussion is Hyderabad-based Drag artist Patruni Sastry. A non-binary and trans person, Patruni, with their initiatives like the Bi Pan Fest and Interfaith Pride Fest, has been bringing stories that affect the lives of the people from the Indian LGBTQIA+ community to light. Using their art, they have been advocating the importance of talking about the community and everything about it. Although becoming a part of In Transit was a total accident, it became another space for them to turn the world’s eyes towards the non-binary and trans community of Hyderabad.
They spoke to us about their involvement with the series and Patruni's own journey of discovering Patruni - a trans, non-binary and Indian drag artist.
Tell us a little about your journey of self-discovery.
It was in 2018 when Article 377 was struck down and I kind of moved to Hyderabad. Here, I was a classical dancer so I always looked for opportunity to be involved with Mubarak Foundation which is a queer NGO from Hyderabad and where I got to know about the LGBTQIA+ community. I was performing with them when they asked me, 'What do you identify as?' At that time, I came out as gender fluid, which was reported in the newspapers, effectively outing me. Eventually, I came out to my family and told them that I am a gender-free, non-binary person as well and then again as bisexual. The feel of this discovery was very easy for me because I was already a dancer, and I was able to kind of live a different reality on and off stage. In my early 20s, we didn't know what exactly bisexuality was. Even today, people think that bisexuality is not something that is a valid sexual experience or a very sexual identity. So, for me to kind of sustain and be visible, I felt privileged to have such a space to navigate what bisexuality was, which was very confusing.
How have your experiences as a non-binary person in India shaped your art and performance style?
Transness is something that is not very specific, but a continuum. I still remember being 25 and realizing that many people didn’t even understand what being non-binary meant. There was this perception that trans identities had to exist strictly within a binary framework. Even today, my transness often goes unacknowledged because people are still conditioned to see a very specific, polished, and “beautiful” version of what being trans looks like. There’s this idea that your validity as a trans person is tied to how beautiful you are.
It also kind of opened up spaces for me to be myself and present my art in more vivid way. I use my art to talk about trans issues. I dress up in a way that doesn’t lean into feminization, but instead expresses gender anarchy. I would say that my non-binary-ness or my experience of non-binary-ness has definitely helped my art to kind of propel. I'm one of the few drag artists who identify as a non-binary person and also one of the few drag artists who do alternative drag. These alternative drag are creating experiences or gender performance of non-binary-ness. My trans-animal drag is an extension of that. It helps me create and embody that gender anarchy and share it with others. And that, to me, is deeply important.
How do you think drag can be used as a tool for social commentary and activism?
Drag is a super powerful canvas that can be explored in multiple directions. Oftentimes, what happens is, we have a specific version of drag which is stuck in our mind, and people also perceive it in a certain way. Drag, which we see it from the West, is more an idea where we talk about beautification, queer joy, nightlife, and beauty of gender reversal where men would dress up as beautiful woman and perform. This idea of beauty dominates the way drag is presented. But for me, drag should be more than just an aesthetic; it should provoke. Like any meaningful art form, it should make you feel something, move you, and make you reflect. If it doesn’t do any of that, then it’s simply entertainment. And while entertainment is valid, I believe drag has the potential to do much more. It should inform, question, and shift perspectives about the world we live in.
My own drag practice branches into multiple areas and one of them is faith. I explore interfaith connections and multi-religious conversations through my performances. I sing songs from various faiths and perform for diverse age groups in public spaces. This intersection between drag and spirituality is still a relatively unexplored space, but why not? Classical Indian dance forms like Bharatanatyam or Kuchipudi incorporate deep expressions of devotion and bhakti. So why can’t drag do the same? That question led me to investigate further and build my own pedagogy around it.
What inspired you to form the Bi Pan Fest, and how has it evolved over the years?
One of the things I always struggled with was finding a space for bi and pan people. In the Indian queer community, bisexuality is still misunderstood. There's this idea that bisexual people are either desperate, disloyal, or just closeted individuals using the label as a safety net. Bi erasure is very real. It's like we’re a minority within a minority and our experiences are often dismissed or ignored.
That’s why I wanted to create a space where bisexual people could come together and talk about things that are unique to us. For example, what does dating look like when you're bi? What are the mental health challenges bisexual people face? How do you come out in a way that doesn't get gatekept? What’s bisexual parenting like and how do you come out to your parents or to your kids? These are the kinds of conversations I wanted to nurture. That’s how Bi Pan Fest came to be a space for bi and pansexual people to gather and speak freely about their experiences. We also have performances that reflect nuanced, personal narratives, and sessions where people from across the spectrum share and learn from each other.
Bi Pan Fest has been running for four years now in Hyderabad. It’s one of the only festivals in India created specifically for the bi and pan community, and every year, the response has been overwhelming.
What drew you to participate in Amazon Prime Video’s documentary series 'In Transit'? What do you hope audiences take away from your story?
In Transit came to me at a very different time in my life. I’m actually laughing as I talk about it now because I still remember I wasn’t even approached directly for the series. One of the researchers on the project had reached out, asking me about the landscape for trans folks in Hyderabad who are doing great work and understand what the scene is like. I was just sharing my experience, talking about the people who had guided me, and the trans community in general. Around that same time, I got married in 2021, came out publicly, and gave a few interviews where I talked about my identity of being trans, non-binary, bisexual, and also about being with a cisgender woman. I think some of those conversations struck a chord because the team got back to me, saying they wanted to include me as part of the story. When that happened, I was super excited. It’s not every day you see an alternate drag artist from India who is bisexual, non-binary, married, and now also a parent, on screen. That kind of visibility is rare, especially in a series that’s not trying to box queerness into a typical narrative.
Filming was such a special experience. The crew was incredibly warm and friendly. My partner was six months pregnant at the time, and my family was involved too. It really felt intimate and real. Honestly, Hyderabad doesn’t often get the spotlight when it comes to queer representation in mainstream or even cinema. Most of the visible queer narratives come from cities like Delhi, Bombay, or Bangalore. So when I got this opportunity, I felt like I truly understood the assignment, and I thought that it would definitely add a new perspective to the culture, identity, and queerness in Hyderabad.
I was genuinely looking forward to sharing my story in In Transit. All nine of us featured in it represent different aspects of the trans spectrum, and that’s what makes it so beautiful. Watching the trailer, I could feel myself in each of them. It’s like the same soul travelling through different bodies. It was a surreal feeling. That’s what I hope the audience takes away, too: that transness is beautiful. Whether I’m performing in drag or just existing openly, this documentary gave me the space to be raw and real. No one told me how to dress or how to do my makeup. I wasn’t asked to conform to anyone’s idea of beauty. That authenticity meant everything. To me, In Transit isn’t just a documentary; it’s a milestone. It’s a rare and powerful moment of collective representation. And I’m so proud to be a part of it.
How do you think this docu-series can help shift the conversation around trans and non-binary identities in India?
I think In Transit is bringing you a spectrum of canvas of transness. I still remember when I came out as trans, people, even today, don't think that I'm a trans person because I don't present myself in a certain way. I'm married to a cisgender woman, which people think negates the idea of being trans. There are still questions about what I do in my bedroom, how I would parent my child, and whether he will call me a father, mother, or some other term. People still have questions that want me to prove my transness or bisexuality. These are the things that basically make our identity even more burdened.
I want to live my life more fully, especially in front of the camera. It took a lot of effort and courage to come forward and share my story there. And I believe that if I’ve put in that much work, so have the other nine artists in the cast. Each of us has brought something deeply personal. I’m not just obsessed with my own journey; I’m equally obsessed with the other characters and what they represent. That’s the beauty of this show that creates this incredibly unique world we all get to live in, experience, and witness. And ultimately, it finds its way into people’s living rooms, sparking conversations about transness.
What a time for that to happen, especially now, when trans issues are under attack globally, when people like Trump and JK Rowling are making life more difficult for our community. To see a series like this come into the world, opening doors not just for trans people but for everyone to engage with these stories, feels powerful. The timing and space created here are truly special, and I hope it inspires more such narratives. I’m really grateful to the production houses, Tiger Baby, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Ayesha Sood, for building that space for all of us.
Are there any specific moments or themes from the docu-series that you think will resonate with audiences?
This was a time when my partner was pregnant. My parents were living with us to be around and support us. It was a very unique space to be in as a trans non-binary person navigating pregnancy with their partner. Around the same time, the Kerala High Court had just accepted a petition to allow both parents to be registered as ‘parents’ rather than being gendered as ‘mother’ and ‘father’. That moment felt powerful since it aligned so beautifully with what we were going through. I really cherish that phase, especially when I think about my own sense of ‘fatherness’ or future fatherness and how it’s slowly unfolding in front of me.
I’ve also been exploring drag more deeply, and specifically, how drag and transness intersect. While they might appear similar on the surface, they are very distinct in their essence. For me, drag is becoming a way to breathe new life into my experience of transness. I’ve done a few public performances recently, those moments have been documented. I won’t give too much away, though. I’d rather leave it open for people to engage with the work, reflect on it, and arrive at their own understanding of the story.
What message do you hope your presence in the show conveys to other trans and non-binary individuals in India?
The message here is really about not boxing transness into a single definition or experience. Instead, it’s about seeing it as something fluid, part of a broad, flowing gender spectrum. That’s the real beauty of this series, and of transness itself. Transness can be seen as a divine space, one that invites all of us to reflect on our own lives more deeply. And at the core of it all, every one of us, cis, straight, trans, needs love. That’s why it’s so important to nurture love over hate. Hate, from any direction, only divides us.
This series speaks to love, pain, dreams, and all the essential human emotions. And because of that, I really believe it will resonate with a wide audience. It has the potential to connect with people in a meaningful way and receive the recognition it deserves.
How do you think a series like this helps in highlighting and talking about gender identities? Let's discuss in the comments below!
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