Humhu

An actor and multidisciplinary artist from Bombay, Humhu is an army kid who spent his childhood criss- crossing India which instilled in him a profound adapt- ability. This diverse upbringing laid the stepping stone for his romance with the creative arts—sparked by his early influences of Indian art house films to international pop culture. He studied film and photography in college, and took up the latter as a job to fuel his passion for the former. ‘I moved to Bombay right after my graduation in 2011 and worked as a commercial photographer by the day and a theatre artist by the night in order to pay the bills. I worked with many acclaimed theatre artists and my training happened mostly on the job.’

Humhu’s big break came with KALKI 2989 AD, a multilingual dystopian sci-fi fantasy film featuring massive stars from the industry. Cast as the antagonist, Humhu was drawn to the role’s complexity and the oppor- tunity to work with director Nag Ashwin, whose work he deeply admires. Preparation for this action-packed role involved rigorous gymnastics training and learning Telugu.

Humhu has one solid foot in performance arts and the other in fashion where he has a distinct and impactful tone. He expresses this voice through social media and gigs in fashion. ‘My sense of fashion and style finds its roots in my childhood in the wardrobes and lifestyles of my father and mother. As a kid I would dress up in both my father’s houndstooth blazer and my mother’s Baluchari saris. I would shave my non-existent beard with my dad’s shav- ing kit and I would apply my mom’s homemade chickpea and turmeric face pack. I found my queerness through my parents. As an adult, I strive to embody and uphold that very special queerness in my style and presentation as much as I can,’ he says.

Currently, Humhu is immersed in BOYS WILL BE TOYS, a performance piece that delves into the nuances of boyhood. Concurrently, he is also developing Starry Nights, a series capturing Bombay’s underground queer culture through Polaroid prints, that he later hopes to evolve into a mixed media project incorporating soft sculpture and robotics. We are in conversation with him below.