Pride Month| Yuvraj Menda: My sexuality has not been a hindrance in getting work

Yuvraj Menda is all of 20, and he has a lot on his plate to navigate through. Firstly, he is completing his studies abroad. And secondly, life after an acting debut in the form of The Archies.

Since it’s Pride Month, what’s it like for him, we ask, as an openly gay young actor in showbiz? “Life has been great. I am auditioning, so hopefully I will be acting more. Luckily, I got to work with Zoya Akhtar, and it was as normal an experience as it would be for anyone. And that’s how it should be, that’s what the LGBTQIA+ community wants the world to strive towards,” he says.

Mende had come out to his family and friend when he was around 13 or 14, he shares. “I told my friends first, then I told my family. Touchwood, I attribute my ability to be candid about my sexuality to them,” adds the actor. Is his sexuality a hindrance in bagging a variety of roles?

He quips, “I can only speak for myself. I haven’t felt like it has been a hindrance. Luckily, I haven’t come across people who view it as that. I am grateful we are at a stage where we don’t see it as that.”

While new, aspiring actors tend to stay in Mumbai for round the clock availability for auditioning, Menda chooses to not leave studies midway. “If I have to give a certain audition, I can do that sitting in university as well, my friends help me with dialogues and scenes,” he wraps up.