16 September,2026 04:15 PM IST | Mumbai | Rachel Pereira
Drag queen Zeesh and Rakhi Sawant
Drag queen Zeesh has a special place for Rakhi Sawant in their list of Bollywood favourites. During an interaction at an event celebrating Dolly Parton, presented by Kitty Su Beauty at The LaLiT Mumbai, Zeesh was asked which Bollywood celebrity they find hot these days. Their answer was Rakhi, whom they later compared to the legendary singer.
When speaking exclusively to mid-day, Zeesh was asked which Bollywood celebrity they find hot, "Can I say Rakhi Sawant?" They added, "Oh, my God. Queen!"
Zeesh has also interacted with Rakhi personally, having shared the judging panel with her at an event in Delhi. Recalling the experience, they said, "I sat with her for judging a show at Kitty Su in Delhi. The real queen."
The comparison became even more fitting given the event's tribute to Dolly Parton. When asked about the connection between the two personalities, Zeesh said, "If Dolly Parton is the queen, Rakhi is the queen too. I love me a good Rakhi."
For Zeesh, the appeal seems to lie in Rakhi's unapologetic personality and ability to occupy her own space. They summed it up while discussing the idea of queerness and identity, saying, "A man, a woman, a queer, everything in between. Let's go."
Zeesh's admiration for Dolly Parton also comes from the singer's long-standing connection with the queer community. "One of the things that always resonates with me as a drag artist is that she said if she was not a woman, she would be a drag queen," they said.
The drag artist also pointed to Dolly's support for the LGBTQIA community, saying, "She has funded AIDS research. She has done so much work for the LGBTQIA community in general."
Zeesh, who has been performing drag for 12 years, believes the art form is about more than simply dressing up for a performance. "For me, drag is just a layer that I put on," they explained. "As liberating it is, it's also something that we use as humankind to navigate the world."
The Dolly tribute also inspired Zeesh's own look. "I wanted to pay homage to her larger-than-life personality. I didn't want to do an imitation, but just bring in the extravagance and also the tackiness," they said.
But when it comes to Bollywood royalty, Zeesh's verdict is clear, "the real queen" is Rakhi Sawant.
