Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, social worker, artist, actress, writer, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu.
During her postgraduate studies, she started publishing a monthly magazine in Tamil for transgender women called Sahodari (which means sister).
[5] In 2010, she trained many underprivileged transgender women in community journalism and encouraged them to make short documentary films telling their own stories.
[8] In 2017, Subramaniam found the Thoorikai art project, through which she has trained more than 200 transgender people in creating expressive artworks supporting their livelihood through workshops.
[9] In 2011, Kalki starred in a lead role in a Tamil film, Narthagi, which focused around the lives of transgender people.
[12] In 2019, Subramaniam acted in a lead role in a parallel Hindi feature film named Kalashnikov - The Lone Wolf.
[16] Hundreds of transgender people have participated in the project across the different States of India and wrote their testimonials on a white paper with a red palm impression to show protest against sexual exploitation.
[19] In 2015, Kalki's collection of Tamil poems on transgender lives titled Kuri Aruthean (குறி அறுத்தேன்) was published by Vikatan Publications.
She shared the chair with Telugu actor and Politician Pawan Kalyan, Manish Malhotra, R Madhavan and Meagan Fallone.
[29] Inspired by Kalki's speech Pawan Kalyan later in his interview to the media said, he has plans to start a separate wing for the transgender people in his political party Jana sena of Andhra Pradesh.
[30] In 2018, Subramaniam was invited by Schwules Museum, Germany to present her artworks, poetry films and activism in an Artist Talk with Professor Claudia Reiche.