I have always been supportive of the LGBTQ community: Hasan Zaidi

MUMBAI: With the pride month, which is celebrated for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, coming to an end, actor Hasan Zaidi, who will soon be seen as the lead in "Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana", shared that he came to know about the community a long time back. He further said, "I have always been supportive of this aspect of humanity."

"Indian society has evolved as far as acknowledging the LGBTQ community is concerned. With so much happening on our OTT platform, news coming from all over the world about laws being passed in favour of them in different countries and  been withdrawn and then being passed again depending upon the kind of government that comes in power, people have come to know more about them. But having said I would like to mention that the LGBTQ community has suffered a lot, some of the nations have done a good job and I think we should take a lead from them. In India, there are people who understand and accept them, but there is still not 100% knowledge of it," he added.

Hasan shared that he has friends who are gay and talking about them, he said, "Some are open about it, some are not, some have really suffered, some have really stood for themselves and people around them have also stood for them and they have come out in the open and living beautiful lives, although they still have their struggles, depending upon where they are living."

On same sex marriage still being illegal in India, he said, "That could be because of general biases, that could be because of people just not accepting it at all, and obviously there is a lot of social pressure. I sometimes feel that even if someone is in the LGBTQ community or relates to them, they would never openly talk about it or share because of the horror that they have seen by people from their community go through after they came out of the closet. Some of them are still living in a cocoon. So yes, all the celebration they're making is good, it's very encouraging, but there's still a very long way to go."

A message to the LGBTQ community and your fans? "My message to my fans is that that, love, live, and let love and live, there is so much that one can achieve with that. And to my friends and fans in the LGBTQ community, believe in yourself, there will be a small period where you need to be brave, but in the long run you'll be happy. So stand up for yourself, I know it's hard. You'll find people who will back you, and you'll find people who love you and stand by you, and that is your right," Hasan concluded.