Rainbow Lit Fest 2025 Unveils a Powerful Two-Day Celebration of Queer Art, Stories and Identity

New Delhi, December 5, 2025: The award-winning Rainbow Lit Fest – Queer & Inclusive returns on December 6 and 7, bringing with it one of the most diverse, expansive and inclusive editions to date. Recognised as South Asia’s largest queer-inclusive cultural festival, this year’s Fest will host over 90 speakers from across India and the world, travelling from cities such as Petchaburi and Bangkok in Thailand, Vancouver in Canada, Oslo in Norway, and from Indian cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Shimla, Panaji and Delhi. With every edition, the Fest continues to grow into a warm and open cultural space where people can speak, listen and express themselves freely, while celebrating lived experiences and honest storytelling.
The 2025 edition features more than 1800 minutes of programming across two stages, covering a wide spectrum of formats such as panel discussions, talks, sessions on history, dance, drag performances, poetry, short films and music. The Fest will also host its popular Queer Bazaar, featuring 18 queer entrepreneurs, selected from 118 submissions with careful attention to socio-economics, intersectionality, visibility and representation across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
A strong slate of film screenings and premieres will add to this year’s programming. The Fest will host the Delhi premiere of Tara, directed by Dalit filmmaker Ashutosh Shankar and produced by Zena Sagar, a Dalit and transgender woman, with the film receiving endorsement from Varun Grover. It will also feature the national premiere of Don’t Interrupt While We Dance by filmmaker and writer Anureet Watta. Other screenings include The Night Queen starring Sheeba Chaddha, The Lime Green Shirt featuring Lillete Dubey, and the UK short film Queer Parivar, created by South Asian-origin filmmakers.
The speaker lineup this year brings together a powerful mix of cultural voices, creators and thinkers. Among those participating are Suvir Saran, Urvashi Butalia, Dolly Singh, Shahana Goswami, Blossom Kochhar, Anish Gawande, Gaurav Jagtiani, Madhavi Menon and Saurabh Kirpal. Through their sessions, the Fest will explore themes such as mental health, love, parenting, cinema, sensuality, kink, intersectionality and several aspects of queer and everyday life that often remain unheard.
In addition to the main programming, the Fest will also host the prestigious Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism, 2025, which has received over 100 entries this year. These awards continue to honour outstanding writing, reporting and storytelling emerging from or engaging with queer narratives.
Speaking about this year’s edition, Sharif D. Rangnekar, Festival Director of Rainbow Lit Fest, said: “We are grateful that so many speakers have come forth to be part of our space, sharing their view on a variety of topics. We are also thankful to donors, sponsors and community support groups to give us the strength to continue to host the Festival in a market where funds for anything queer is hard to come by”.  
Sharif D. Rangnekar is a writer and long-time advocate for culture, inclusion and LGBTQIA+ representation. Over the years, he has worked extensively across media, publishing, arts and community building, shaping Rainbow Lit Fest into one of the most meaningful platforms for queer-affirming dialogue and creative expression.
The Fest will take place on December 6 and 7 at the Gulmohar Park Club with programming scheduled from 10.30 Am to 10.00PM on both days.