In a small studio in Oakland’s Chinatown, two performers rehearse a Bollywood number in saris and bangles. Raj Krishna and Jason Sharma co-founded Masala Mahal, which KQED and KALW both describe as one of the only Desi drag collectives in the country.
Who they are
Krishna performs as Bindi Masala and Sharma as Chai Auntea. Krishna grew up in Singapore and began doing drag again after moving to the U.S. in 2017. Sharma grew up mostly in the Bay Area and first performed in drag in his mid-30s. The two met in 2023 and started the collective together. “When we say a film is masala, it means … it’s anything goes,” Krishna told KQED. “Mahal is a palace,” Sharma said. “We are queens, not peasants.”
Reworking Bollywood
Their signature number is “Dola Re Dola” from the 2002 film Devdas, which tells the story of two women in love with the same man. Masala Mahal keeps the recognizable choreography and rewrites the ending. KALW reports that their drag personas draw on Indian actresses who pushed boundaries, including the Tamil star Meena and Rani Mukerji.
KQED followed the pair to Dhoom, one of the few South Asian pride parties in the Bay Area, held at the San Francisco nightclub Public Works. They performed for a crowd of about 150. KQED also notes that drag events in Oakland, Santa Cruz, Redwood City and Morgan Hill have drawn organized protests in recent years.
“I hope we give other people strength to come out,” Sharma told KQED. “Come and see the queens, and then see yourself in them.”