# Patruni Sastry

Patruni Sastry, popularly known as Patruni Chidananda Sastry or Suffocated art Specimen is a Expressionist dancer, performance artist, visual artist, model and drag queen.

## Biography

Sastry started dancing at the age of 5. He was inspired by Ramya Krishnan from Padayappa in his initial days. Later from the Expressionist movement. He later learned Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Butoh, Contemporary dance. Sastry was inspired from Daniel Lismore, Austin Young and started performing Tranimal drag. Sastry performed at Hyderabad Literature festival, Namma Pride, The Lalit Ashok, Lamakaan. Shilparamam, and in many other public spaces. He founded Dragvanti and also acted in a short film 'Polar Night' which is based on the Polar Night effect by Rakesh Asileti. In 2021, Sastry was the convener for India's first Drag Conference. Sastry uses dance to talk about social topics such as sex education, queer activism and women empowerment.

## Performance style

Patruni refers to his style of dance as "Indian Expressionism", inspired by Expressionist Dance and drawing upon Indian classical dance vocabulary. Patruni remarked about the origins of his style: "This woman is so raged that she got rejected, she screams out loud and dances. So for the very first time as a kid, when I saw this, I thought if you have to show your anger, you have to dance…And since then, I kind of picked [it] up. Whenever my mom was not giving me a chocolate or whenever I was not getting what I wanted, I used to scream aloud and dance, That was, how it became a kind of an expression.” Patruni also draws upon performance art in his work. His performances center on the body and how it relates to society, agency, and politics. Patruni explained his affinity with performance art as follows: "“I always [saw] my body as a kind of canvas,” Sastry says. “Literally using the body as a part of a movement—a movement is a canvas…When I pose a certain way or when I’m just posing in a different way—escalating my body into a certain form—it automatically creates a canvas. It automatically creates an art.”
Patruni's style of drag is an Indian-inspired variant of Tranimal Drag. Patruni explains the unique features of this style of drag: "But, unlike traditional drag, in which performers are praised for their elegance and beauty, I was attracted to tranimal style–also called 'drag terrorism'. Tranimal drag is the drag of poor, available drag queens. It does not throw money on clothes and cosmetics, and works on only one belief: 'this will do'. Tranimal drag performers make outfits themselves with available trash. They look vigorous, and they momentarily erase beauty and gender norms. When I perform tranimal I am liberated, I become the drag queen who doesn’t wear heels, but performs bare-footed for the less privileged community that I try to remind myself of."

## Activism

In 2018, a Telugu YouTube channel created more than a couple of videos which were homophobic, transphobic and gender phobic, to which Patruni confronted with a petition to take the channel down. Patruni has also shared opinions of legalization of same sex marriages, gay locker room and the Snapchat new gender swap filter which seemed like a mockery of trans and gender nonbinary identities. In the same year Patruni also As a response to the Indian government stands on queer marriage rights Patruni said "I cannot believe that people who are involved in making polices are being this irrational about the basic gender rights of a human being. We expect our fellow citizens to stand with us in this as it’s a threat to the existence of entire community". In 2020, Patruni also raised his voice against transphobic episode telecasted on a popular reality show Big Boss Telugu.
Patruni has voiced out for Indian bisexual and pansexual rights in multiple occasions. In 2021, Patruni welcomed the DC's Bisexual Superman initiatives with open heart by saying "The whole Superman thing made me feel empowered after a long time. He came out as a bisexual which is not so usual. People usually come out as gay or a trans person. When a protagonist like Superman reveals his sexual identity, it triggers a conversation about gender diversity and inclusion". In the same year Patruni has condemned a cover photo of Ayushmann Khurrana on GQ (Indian edition) which called itself to be representing the gender fluidity. calling the act a huge problem Patruni said "People need to understand that gender fluidity is not about costume play. Wearing a ghaghra or putting a nail paint from a cis-het privilege doesn’t make someone gender fluid. Such things are quite insulting and disqualifying to the actual lives of people who are gender fluid. It leads to a lot of trauma and disqualification of a person’s existence." Patruni also worked created multiple telugu language folk songs to educate people on LGBTQIA+ issues.
In the Same year Patruni Organized Hyderabad's first ever BI/PAN fest celebrating the most under-represented identities of the queer community.
In 2022, Patruni spoke about Ram Gopal Verma's Lesbian-based movie "Dangerous", he said “Even if it is released in PVR and multiplexes, who is benefiting-RGV or the community? Is it message-oriented like Badhai Do or Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui? In a media interaction, he wanted to discuss only lesbian and not gay-related issues. If he donates half of his earnings to the community, then yes we can support him". Patruni has also revolted for Gangubai Kathiawadi, speaking about the representation on Trans character by Vijay Raaz , In a Twitter post, Patruni said "Yet another shameless robbery of trans role. The only roles trans people get is to play are like this one and when some cis person plays a trans role, they take away the only opportunity"
Patruni hosted a podcast named Rangula Rattnam (transl. Colourful Carousel/Wheel of Colours) in 2022 that features members of the queer community discussing their lives and journeys in Telugu, making it possibly the first Telugu podcast to be hosted by a queer person.
In 2022, Patruni performed in drag in a public metro station in Hyderabad where a child joined them in dancing to Patruni's Song. A social media post shared by Yes we Exists gained more than a lakh views. As a part of the post, Patruni said "They ban kids from drag shows and say we are scary. But then, kids just shower love on drag queens,". In 2023. Patruni had been doing public drag performances for HIV Awareness for Telangana aids control department.
Patruni also introduced Drag tales a program similar to Drag Queen Story Hour in India where Patruni would read stories for kids in drag and break stereotypes of society. Patruni quoted 'So I take that opportunity to incorporate fun and humour in my shows, to talk about gender equality, inclusion and diversity.' when asked about the impact he is creating as a part of the story hour.
In 2024, Patruni became the first Indian drag queen to represent India in a US State sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program where Patruni traveled across 4 different states of America learning and performing drag for advocacy and context drag bans in the cities. Speaking about the expirence Patruni said "Looking to the future, I see a bright and promising path for drag culture in India. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness and acceptance of drag, with more platforms and opportunities emerging for drag artists. I believe that drag has the potential to become a mainstream cultural phenomenon in India, much like it has in other parts of the world. As a pioneer in the Indian drag scene, I hope to play a significant role in its development and global recognition. By continuing to perform, mentor emerging artists, and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, I aim to contribute to the growth and evolution of drag culture in India. My goal is to see Indian drag artists gain international recognition and to foster a vibrant, inclusive, and supportive drag community both within India and globally"

## Personal life

In 2018, Patruni came out as a genderfluid person. In the same year Sastry identified himself as a pansexual. In one of the interviews he also said that he is in relationship with a cisgender woman and is planning to marry her soon. In 2021, Patruni redefined themselves as pomosexual person. and non-binary gender. On August 18, 2021, Patruni married Raja Rajeswari devi in Hindu rituals.
In 2022, Humans of Bombay, a social media platform covered a feature of Patruni and Rajeswari together which went viral on social media. In which Patruni said "My wife encourages me to be myself!". The video went viral with more than 2.5 million people viewership. In the same year, talking in an interview Patruni said "When I was looking to get married, there were so many people who said that I’d have to put aside my sexual identity. Others said it would mean I was cheating on my partner and many such ignorant things. Some even thought marriage would mean the end of my drag career. But, I’m grateful to have a wife like Rajeswari. She never questions anything I do. She gives me the warmth and love which I never got for ages".
In 2023, Patruni Sastry and their partner Rajeswari devi were part of an allyship campaign by Absolut India, where they both burst the myths of Bisexuality. Speaking about the experience for an interview Patruni said "Brands are usually picking up stories about trans people or people who are homosexual. Stories of other identities like non-binary people and bisexual people are not picked up. Time and again we see the same people and individuals involved in these brands. Sexuality or gender is all about perspective. I see transness in a far more different way than other people"
In 2023, Patruni and Rajeswari made officially announced that they are welcoming a baby into their life which would make Patruni 'India's first ever drag queen to have a biological kid'. In June 2023, Patruni announced that they had a baby, without revealing their gender, speaking in an interview Patruni said "I don’t want some random parent to see my drag videos, show it to their kids and then that kid teases my child the next day, because of my profession. I have experienced trauma and I don't want it to pass on to my child. However, my wife reassured me that times have changed. Unlike when we were growing up, schools now engage in open seminars and conversations about these topics. It is up to us, as parents, to actively shape the progressive narrative." Patruni has also written an autobiography 'Life is drag, sas it up' making them the first ever Indian drag artist to write an autobiography.

## Music
### Folk songs

* Pride Masam Anna
* Cheeranjiva Sukhibhava
* Chudu Sexy Gurl
* Rangula Rangamma
* Bisexual Ravanamma

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Singer(s) | Ref. |
| 2022 | Kaun Bataye | Dastan Live | |
| 2022 | Sunshine on the Street | Peekay and Andrea Tariang | |

## Publications

* "Dressing as a Goddess: A Drag Photo book" (2020)
* "My Experiments with Drag"(2020)
* "Life is Drag, Sas it up" (2023)

## Selected live performances

* 2014,2019: Queer And Allie Film and Art Festival
* 2017: International Story Telling Festival
* 2018, 2019: Hyderabad Literature Festival
* 2019: Out and Loud Film festival, Pune
* 2018:Menstrual Festival, Hyderabad
* 2018, 2019: Paryatan Parva, Hyderabad
* 2019: Ugadi Utsavalu, Hyderabad
* 2019,2020: Queer Carnival Hyderabad
* 2020, 2021: Queer Fiesta Hyderabad
* 2021: Hyderabad Dance Festival
* 2021: Samaanta by ICCR
* 2022:Mehefil e queer
* 2022:Satarangi Mela by Queer Nilayam
* 2023:Goa Pride festival
* 2023:Hyderabad Queer Dance Festival

## Performance art

* 2019: Four Play
* 2019: Strip Tease
* 2019: Patra
* 2019: Mati
* 2019:What's My Colour
* 2019: Nirod
* 2020:69
* 2021: Coronasura

## Film appearances

* Polar Night (as actor)
* Shoonyam (as director)
* 70/100 (as editor)
* The Glint : A documentary film Hyderabad drag club by students of Bhavans
* A Gathering by Poojita
* Makkan : A documentary film on Housing of trans people by students of Annapurna Studios
* Suffocated - a 60 sec documentary by Sujit Kumar
* Spilling Sas - A documentary by Prerna Toshnivala