Dr. OP Bhalla Foundation’s mission is to promote equality and inclusivity of all genders, especially the marginalized transgender community. Adhering to these lines of thoughts, the Foundation invited Ms. Rudrani Chettri, a symbol of inclusivity for many.
She is a talented artist, activist, model, and entrepreneur who brought a new paradigm shift in fashion label work through her modeling agency, Bold.
She studied English at Delhi University and is currently heading a health and human rights organization, “Mitr Trust,” as its Managing Director. With Mitr Trust, she aims to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections. She hopes to empower low-income trans groups through the Mitr Trust by providing technical, financial, and institutional support and developing and delivering self-help sexual health programs tailored to their specific needs and situations. The Trust has been working with the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice on raising awareness of transgender issues. In Delhi alone, the Trust has assisted over 1,500 transgender people. She also spent over ten years spreading awareness and fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in India and currently works as a National Consultant for organizations such as the National AIDS Control Program (NACO), HIV AIDS, Alliance India, and the Global Fund for Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).
Seven years ago, in 2015, she decided to build the first Transgender Modeling Agency, Bold, after she was denied entry into the mall for her identity. After being haunted by the incident incessantly, Chettri felt it was time to go beyond activism and enter mainstream channels to challenge perceptions and increase visibility. She set up “Bold” for her community with the motto, “you’re beautiful irrespective of your gender.”
She calls herself an accidental actor and has appeared in the film The Last Color: A Story of Hope and Freedom, where she played Anarkali, one of the film’s central characters. She portrayed the role of a guardian who is intolerant towards injustice and stands up against the corrupt system to bring about a revolution. Vikas Khanna, the film director, was moved by her fearless energy during auditions and knew right away that she was the right person. She believes there is ample artistic ability in the trans community, all it longs for is recognition and spotlight from the industry that goes beyond evil or comical portrayal of the transgender community.
She is very hopeful of a society that respects all and doesn’t harm or hate anyone for who they are. She advocates to always speak up against injustice against gender, caste, class and race, that is the way to ensure their dignity in the Society. There’s been enormous progress socially and legally but there is still a long way to go and the journey will be completed with everyone’s inclusion.