09-07-2025
Catch these drag artistes in Superqueens, a musical at The Piano Man in Delhi
It takes Aishwarya Ayushmaan five hours to transform into Lush Monsoon — a drag queen. The process includes getting hair and make up done and slipping into a shimmery, shiny gown. 'Every queen has their own signature make up. That's why we don't want make up artists. You need to relax and delve into the process,' says Lush. Now, Lush and her other drag queens are all set to perform in India's First Drag Musical — Superqueens at The Piano Man in Delhi.
The production is a tribute to inclusivity, identity, creativity and community. For drag is not just about glitter, over the top make up and loud hair, it is also about self acceptance and love for oneself.
'Even though I was queer, I couldn't connect to queer people at first. When I first saw drag queens on stage, I realised there are people so inspirational and at the same time ostracised for being feminine,' says Lush, 32. A lawyer by profession, Lush reveals that she thought she could not become a drag queen. RuPaul's Drag Race sold drag to me, especially when I heard her song 'Sissy That Walk', she says. That inspired Lush to do her first drag at home. 'When I saw myself in the mirror, it was an out of body experience,' she exclaims, the initial goosebumps still defining her tone. Scared and closeted, Lush was yet to come out to her friends and family. Which she did in 2017 at Delhi's Queer Festival.
When Lush started performing, she drew flak from the lawyer community. But things are better now and they are being supportive, she says.
Lush and the other performing drag queens — Betta Naan Stop, Hash Brownie, Whacker Cracker and Sickk, each have compelling stories to tell about their transformation, acceptance, defiance, journey, life choices... And these narratives are woven together as one theatre production peppered with music, song, and dance. The music is a mix of western classical, Bollywood, disco. Songs that, they say, make you want to break shackles and stereotypes, like 'Born This Way', 'This Is Me', 'Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja'... The show promises to be as quirky, fun, and flavourful as the queens' names.
'My drag name came to me when I was literally eating butter chicken and butter naan. I wanted a three word name... and Non Stop became Naan Stop. Over the years, a lot of meaning got attached to my name,' laughs 32-year-old Betta Naan Stop, who has been doing drag for eight years.
'We also perform at weddings and divorce parties. A bunch of 70-year-old women called us to perform at a kitty party,' laughs Betta, adding that they regularly perform with the Lalit group across the country. 'We also performed at Magnetic Fields. Drag is versatile — themes vary from mujra to classical and Bollywood. Now we want to show what drag can do in theatre,' she says.
For Vivek Mansukhani, director of Superqueens, this is the first time he has directed a combination of drag and theatre. 'I have done traditional theatre work — comedies, thrillers, drama, musicals. This is a completely different vocabulary as far as writing goes,' he says. Lush and Betta got in touch with Vivek and wanted him to put together a full length play (almost 90 minutes long) with dialogues. They brainstormed, did workshops, and collaborated on this. Vivek helped the drag stars find themselves as actors. He says, 'It was rewarding to delve into their lives. I am grateful that they trusted me with their stories.'
Superqueens will take place on July 10 and 13 at The Piano Man, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, 8.30 pm onwards. For tickets log on to
