Nakshatra Bagwe

Early life and career

Nakshatra studied and is an alumnus of G.S. college, Birla College, N.G. Acharya, Kirti College. He graduated from the Mumbai University in mass media with a specialization in advertising. He pursued a post-graduation diploma in advertising from EMDI Institute of Media & Communication, Mumbai. He started making films on a low budget. Nakshatra will be making his international film debut as the lead actor of Hearts. His films Logging Out, Book of Love, Curtains, PR (Public Relations) and When the Circus Came to Town represent current LGBT scenario of India. He is a LGBT rights activist and was also a part of the organizing team of Gujarat’s first ever pride march. He also spearheaded Gujarat's third and Baroda's first LGBT pride march. Nakshatra has participated in several Pride Parades in India. He won KASHISH – Mumbai International Queer Film Festival in 2012 for his debut film Logging Out. It was screened at prestigious venues like Queens Museum of Arts (New York), The Old Cinema (London) and it was also a part of Queer India European tour 2012 to raise awareness about LGBT issues in the Indian context. Nakshatra was rumored to participate in popular reality show Bigg Boss season 9 but later he confirmed that he is not going to be a part of the show owing to his busy schedule. Nakshatra was a probable contestant to participate in Bigg Boss 10

Personal life

Nakshatra hails from Konkan coastal region. Masure, Malvan is his native village. He takes part in homosexuality awareness projects. Nakshatra and his mother, Swati Bagwe attend LGBT pride marches in various cities. They both were featured in a promo of popular Indian television show Satyamev Jayte. He came out to society when he participated in Asia’s first LGBT flashmob. He also participated in second queer flashmob which happened at Dadar station, Mumbai. Nakshatra posed nude for a campaign named 'Breaking Closets'. In early 2016, On his Facebook page, Nakshatra revealed that his mother is suffering from breast cancer and to be with her throughout her treatment, he has left the Indian film 'My Son Is Gay' in between. Nakshatra's mother passed away on April 5, 2017.

Awards and aclaims

He won Kashish Coffee Break Audience Choice Award at Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival, India (for Logging Out) He received his award from the Oscar-winning music composer Resul Pookutty. Impressed with Logging Out actor, Anupam Kher declared a sponsorship of Rs 50,000 for the following year of Kashish. Nakshatra participated in Q&A session as the debutant award-winning filmmaker at Qnema - an event of Indian Institute Technology – Bombay, one of the most prestigious institutes in India. His film was also screened at Godrej India Culture Lab. In July 2014, He became the brand ambassador of Moovz, a global social network for LGBT community. Nakshatra is first and only openly Indian LGBT person to be signed up as the brand ambassador by any brand till now. In July 2016, Nakshatra was declared as 'the hottest desi gay rights activist' by an online poll.