CSB Xclusive! Nav Sihag

Nav Sihag may not have walked the ramps or graced the glossy pages of fashion magazines; but going by his online fan following, the absence of those factors do not seem to get in the way of his immense popularity. Scores of men and women just adore the photos that he puts on his Facebook and Tumblr blog, even attracting the attention of many fashion photographers.

When asked about how all this makes him feel, Nav says, “I feel glad to know that my hard work has paid off. Even though I wanted to become a fitness model, I didn’t have anyone to guide me. I had to promote myself because I had no idea where to go or what to do.” In fact, Nav was also not fortunate to hire a professional photographer for his shoots. He and his friend shoot photographs using a Nikon D40, which he reveals are taken without any makeup or stylist.

Nav Sihag is a certified personal trainer and has also done wrestling for a brief period. Now 23, he started working out during his teen years. “Due to my family's sports background, I used to do exercise and jogging, but I started doing them professionally only 2 years ago.” Currently on a goal of putting on more muscles to qualify for fitness model, Nav is undergoing rigorous training under the eyes of the two times Mr. Haryana title winner, Ravinder Kumar.

His training routine extends up to two – three hours a day, which is split between morning and evening sessions. He also supplements the work out with a balanced diet comprising of carbohydrates, protein, fibre and fats. During his free time, Nav loves to swim and hangout with his close friends. He is a great admirer of the Italian actress and fashion model, Monica Bellucci. "I have watched her movie - Malèna. I find her very sensual and erotic, but in a very artistic way."

Nav is aware that gay men makes up major chunk of his long list of fan followers. So as a straight man, how does he feel when gay guys compliment on his looks and physique? “It feels good, but sometimes they overpraise.”  He has few gay guys as friends and he is of the opinion that gay community deserves to be treated equally. “A lot of people think that gays are not natural. But I believe there is nothing unnatural about them and they also form a part of our society. If I get any opportunity to do something for the LGBT family, I will do it for sure!”

Click on the above pics to see their high resolution unedited versions. 
Nav Sihag interacts with his fans and showcases his photos at his Tumblr blog.

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CSB Promotion - Chennai Rainbow Film Festival 2013

Chennai Rainbow Film Festival 2013 Poster

It is inspiriting to see that like gay parades, we are beginning to witness the trend of each city hosting their version of queer film fests. This year, Bangalore hosted theirs in February, Mumbai in May and now Chennai will be buzzing with the Chennai Rainbow Film Festival 2013 from June 7th till June 9th at Alliance Francaise of Madras, Nungambakkam. 

Vikrant Prasanna, Founder of Chennai Dost

The film festival is organized by Chennai Dost - a major support group for Gay, Bisexual men and women in Chennai along with Alliance Francaise of Madras. “We came up with this initiative to provide a venue for screening the works of established and emerging film makers who portray our community in a positive and affirmative light,” says Vikrant Prasanna, Founder of Chennai Dost. “Many of these films may not otherwise see distribution in area theatres.”

Apart from film screenings, the festival will see LGBT themed Photo/Art Exhibition, panel discussion, cultural performance and award ceremonies.

The Chennai Rainbow Film Festival aims to counter issues of invisibility and misinformation by providing a forum for discussing the films in a social and political context. On June 8th, a panel discussion has been planned to discuss about the media portrayal of LGBT community which will see panellists from film, theatre, television and literature fields. On the same day, the organizers will be honouring the media, film and art fraternity with ‘Rainbow Ambassador’ awards. The eminent Director, Film Maker and Cinematographer, Balu Mahendra will be presenting the awards to personalities who have supported and contributed in bringing out the issues and challenges faced by the Indian LGBT community. 

Apsara Reddy, Senior Editor of Deccan Chronicle (right) launches 

the logo of Chennai Rainbow Film Festival 2013 on April 14th

This year more than 100 entries were received and close to 30 films and documentaries have been shortlisted for screening. On the final day, awards will be presented to the best short films/documentaries in Tamil, India and International categories. 

Narthagi, a Tamil feature film showcasing the journey of an adolescent boy who transforms into a transgender and the trauma he goes through in the process of discovering himself, has been chosen as the closing film of the festival. Explaining the rationale behind the selection, Prasanna says, “Narthagi is the first feature length film in Tamil on issues faced by transgenders and it was released in 2011 after several barriers. We wish to pay our respect for the effort put by the team of Narthagi in bringing the movie onto the silver screen and also encourage more such films to be produced in Tamil.” 

A still from 'Narthagi'

The Chennai Rainbow Film Festival also marks CSB’s very first official partnership with an LGBT event. For complete schedule of the festival click here. Entry is free and open for all.

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