Gay Indian Prince almost proposes to Oprah

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Gay Indian Prince almost proposes to Oprah

By: Santosh :+: Under: Brown in America, Culture, Desi Ishtyle, Entertainment
On: ⋅ October 25, 2007 ⋅

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Manvendra Singh Gohil, famous Indian gay activist and scion of the royal family of Rajpipla in Gujarat, whom Perez Hilton (in)famously described as the “gay son of the King and Queen of India“, apparently was featured on Oprah’s show (tip: Ahmed via email).

For two-and-a-half hours, Gohil, dressed in Rajwadi sherwani and bandhni safa , and looking every bit the quintessential Indian prince, fielded every question posed on his personal life - not consummating his marriage, the turmoil in his life while coming to terms with his sexuality and his stormy relationship with his parents, who had disowned him after he came out of the closet last year.

One of the soundbytes from the show was where Gohil semi-proposed to Oprah:

“Had I not been a gay, I would have proposed to you,”

Oprah’s response:

“Nothing like living in a palace,”

See this is where he needs to take some lessons from straight guys. Lesson numero uno: “Never propose to a woman on your first date.”

All kidding aside, Gohil seems to have done well for himself on the show.

The show, aired in the US on Wednesday, was supplemented with live footage from Rajpipla and interview of Gohil’s father to tell his side of the story. The gay prince revealed that although they live in the same palace, he and his mother live in separate wings. “She would try to turn her face away,” he told Oprah.

The erstwhile royal expressed no regrets over losing the crown someday. “I will not regret that because I am true to myself and to the gay community for which I am working, especially on HIV prevention,” he said.

Discussion

4 comments for “Gay Indian Prince almost proposes to Oprah”

1: Runa | October 26, 2007, 6:33 pm | Direct Link

One tangential question:

Why does the prince say “had I not been ‘a’ gay?” I mean you are either gay or not right ( unless you are bi, in which case you are slightly gay !) ?
So shouldn’t he say:”Had I not been gay ?”

I noticed the same peculiarity in the Times of India article :it kept referring to the prince as “a” gay

Any readers care to educate me ?Am I wrong or is the TOI wrong?

2: Santosh | October 26, 2007, 10:06 pm | Direct Link

Runa,
Great catch. My knowledge of the rukes of grammar are rusty but I think the problem here is they’re trying to make a noun of an adjective - the correct way would’ve been “Had I not been a gay man/person” or “Had I not been gay”. Perhaps it’s a typo in the article and they forgot to add “man/person”.

3: shlok | October 27, 2007, 12:33 am | Direct Link

I don’t think it’s a typo. It’s simply referred in that manner cause homosexuals just are not much recognized in Indian society. How many gay folks do you see in Bollywood vs. Hollywood films? Also, doesn’t the article say the prince’s mother looks the other way.

“A gay” will (hopefully) become simply “gay” as time progresses. And our community becomes more tolerant.

But you know, I’m not backing anything up with facts (links). Just my perspective.

4: anantha | October 27, 2007, 11:44 am | Direct Link

Shlok: I agree with you in some quarters. I have heard desi dudes ask this derisive question - “Are you a gay?”, in the course of pulling someone’s leg when the subject refuses to agree to the common perception that a certain gal is hot. I guess “a gay person” is getting shortened to “a gay”. It happens wonly in India

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