Sharif D Rangnekar

Sharif D Rangnekar is a critically acclaimed author, Festival Director of the Rainbow Lit Fest – Queer & Inclusive, and frontman of the Indie band, Friends of Linger. An out gay man and advocate for LGBTQI+ rights, his memoir, Straight To Normal – My Life As A Gay Man, released in January 2019, went on to become a bestseller and reference point for the community and others. In the same year, his literature festival took birth and in a short span had close to 150 of the most relevant names in literature, politics, music, activism, media and film-making, coming together for it. The impact has been such that the festival has already won four prestigious awards for its content and delivery through communications. 

Earlier in December 2013, his band performed India’s first English dedication to the queer community – Head Held High – days after homosexuality was recriminalised by the Supreme Court. In 2017, he led a victory against the censorship of their same-sex ballad music video, Miss You, with his written and spoken appeal to the Appelate Tribunal following a four-month battle with the Censor Board Of Film Certification. 

A believer that communications through discussions, talks, art, literature and music, are key to influencing change, Sharif brings together close to three decades of experience in the fields of journalism, research, PR and image management, in all he does. He currently consults in the areas of curation, communications and workplace inclusion, and is an advisor to the Global PR Trust, a member of FICCI’s Task Force for India’s Representation at the Dubai Expo and an advisory board member to the NGO, Nazariya. He is based in Delhi and is working on his second book.