Filmmaker Apurva Asrani And Partner Siddhant Pillai Pretended To Be Cousins So They Could Rent A Home, But Not Anymore. We Love This.
What if we had to pretend to be a person of the other sex for the next few decades and be forced to marry another woman? Or imagine if an introvert has to act like an extrovert for the next 10 years of their life. How suffocating would that be? Having to be in the closet is suffocating – and it sucks that because of our society’s orthodox mindset, several people are actually living a life of lockdown. Thankfully, section 377 got abolished and same-sex relationships aren’t seen as criminal.
And even though same-sex marriages aren’t legalised yet, it’s heartening to see people finally feeling free to be open about their relationships. Apurva Asrani, an award-winning writer and editor — whose portfolio includes Made In Heaven, Aligarh, Satya, Shahid — recently shared on Twitter that he bought a new home with his long term partner Siddhant Pillai.
https://twitter.com/Apurvasrani/status/1266374802631086083
He opened up about how for 13 long years they pretended to be cousins so they could live together in a country where same-sex relationships were illegal. However, now they tell their neighbours that they are indeed partners. He wrote: “For 13 years we pretended to be cousins so we could rent a home together. We were told ‘keep curtains drawn so neighbors don’t know ‘what’ you are’. We recently bought our own home. Now we voluntarily tell neighbors we are partners. It’s time LGBTQ families are normalised too.” Asrani also shared an adorable picture of the couple and their proud nameplate which read “Apurva & Siddhant”.
https://twitter.com/Apurvasrani/status/1266374802631086083
Netizens poured in their love and support for the couple and people who knew them personally recollected how amazing they are. “Was just last week talking to @priyanka291990 about the night when I met you guys at her house and came back in awe,” tweeted a user that goes by the name Justin Rao. “In December 2018, I spotted you on the dance floor of Chronicles, Goa. You were so carefree and happy,” tweeted a user.
So, so happy & proud of you both ! Wishing you both life long companionship
— Dr. Vikram Sampath, FRHistS (@vikramsampath) May 29, 2020
Several people dropped in comments wishing them nothing but happiness. “So, so happy & proud of you both ! Wishing you both life long companionship,” wrote a user. And while a few mentally backward people of our society tried to dim their sparkle, they just couldn’t. Love is on their side! Netizens wholeheartedly expressed their admiration and told them to let the naysayers bark. “Please ignore hateful comments. They don’t realise that they’ll be in the dark part of our history books & be an embarrassment to their kids and grandkids. The same kind of people who probably opposed abolition of child marriage & Sati in the name of tradition,” wrote a user.
ALSO READ: This Same-Sex Couple Became The First In The World To Carry A Baby In Both Their Wombs. Aww, Their Story Will Warm Your Heart
Truly overwhelmed by and grateful for all this love coming our way. @Apurvasrani and I have only ever followed our hearts and taken things head-on without giving much thought to naysayers. https://t.co/nKOQxDhrrw
— Sid Pil (@SidPill) May 30, 2020
Siddhant replied to Asrani’s post by writing, “Truly overwhelmed by and grateful for all this love coming our way. @Apurvasrani and I have only ever followed our hearts and taken things head-on without giving much thought to naysayers.”
While same-sex marriages haven’t been made legal yet, we hope we cross that bridge soon too. In fact, I don’t understand – what are we waiting for?
