UNEXPECTING's Rahat Saini proudly proclaims she’s a bisexual Punjabi girl in order to benefit others
- Charlie Smith
- Apr 29, 2023
- 3 min read
Actor, comedian, and storyteller Rahat Saini says that part of her purpose on Earth is to take up space. She wants to be seen and heard.
“Because God knows, other brown women need to see that,” Saini tells Pancouver over Zoom. “And they need to know they have the permission to do that, too.”
The 25-year-old UVic fine arts grad has used comedy on TikTok to lampoon patriarchy and societal expectations. In one of these videos, she begins by declaring that her name is Rahat Saini and that she’s a bisexual Punjabi girl.
Why did Saini do this? The Surrey resident replies that she wants people to know that she has recently started dating a man. Saini then quips in the video that her mother is so happy. As a result, she must tell her mom to take it down a notch. That’s because her daughter is still bi.
It’s a humorous take on heteronormative perspectives within her community.
However, Saini says that she was startled by the strong reaction to this video from people in India and the Indian diaspora. Some ended up following her for the very reason that she stated she was a bisexual Punjabi girl.
“There are people who’ve never seen a brown woman openly, loudly, proudly talking about themselves in that way—talking about their queer identity, talking about the issues around it or the experience of it—even in a joke-ier, fun manner,” Saini says. “There’s just not a lot out there.”
She aims to change this.
Zee Zee Theatre fills gap for Saini
Saini will have another chance to take up space as a queer brown woman in Zee Zee Theatre’s world premiere of Unexpecting, which will be performed at Studio 16 (1557 West 7th Avenue) from May 5 to 21.
Written by Bronwyn Carradine and directed by Cameron Mackenzie, Unexpecting is about two married women, Annie and Josephine, who’ve been trying to start a family for the past five years. In addition to Saini, the cast includes Elizabeth Barrett, Jessica Healey, and Melissa Oei.
“It’s almost like this play is really validating my queer identity,” Saini says. “I’m getting to see and live a version of my life that very much could exist—a version in which I am partnered with a woman.”
Her other stage credits include SEETHERED, 7 Stories, and The Drowsy Chaperone. In addition, Saini has acted in such film and TV productions as Hallmark’s The Journey Ahead, Picture of Her, and Match Me, Please, as well as Under the Bridge and Boot Camp. And she made the finals in CBC Comedy’s NEXT UP contest.
“I’ve created a pilot for a television series that I intend to make one day, which is really exciting,” Saini adds.
This show has “central female brown characters”, she says, because she doesn’t believe there are enough of these roles.
In the meantime, Saini also worries about the effect of toxic hypermasculinity within her culture on young Punjabi males. And she suggests that it can get in the way of emotional growth or any kind of sensitivity developing inside some young men.
“You know, there are young brown boys that don’t fit into these hypermasculine ideals and don’t want to,” Saini says. “And they don’t have a choice because there is no other path. It’s either be that or be treated badly or made fun of or whatever and be called a girl.”
This is another reason why she feels it’s so critical to involve South Asian people in LGBTQ2SI+ theatre and screen productions.
“When we don’t exist in queer stories around us, it makes it even harder for young queer brown folks to step into the light and discover themselves,” Saini says. “They feel like they have to shut it down and just be the norm. And the norm can be really damaging to a lot of people. I’ve definitely felt that myself.”
Zee Zee Theatre presents the world premiere of Unexpecting at Studio 16 (1557 West 7th Avenue) from May 5 to 21. For more information and tickets, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia.
