India finds hard to choose between equality and myths: McKellen

Mumbai: Veteran Hollywood actor Ian McKellen said India is at a junction where it is hard to decide whether to move towards equality or keep sticking with the myths of past as far as Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights are concerned.

“It is quite apparent that India is at some crossroads or other. The people here should decide whether to be stuck with colonial past or enter the modern world,” said McKellen and added, “regardless of our sexuality and taste, we must all be treated equally as we were born equal. That is the world Nelson Mandela fought for and the only future, I believe, Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of.”

The ‘Lord of the Rings’ fame actor, who is openly a gay, was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of seventh Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival – the country’s only mainstream LGBT film festival.