Ramachandrapurapu Raj Rao (born 6 April 1955)[1] is an Indian writer, poet and teacher of literature who has been described as "one of India's leading gay-rights activists".

Filled with irreverent, dry humour and devoid of sentimentality, The Boyfriend is a tragi-comic love story set in the jumbled up heart of Mumbai.

According to a blurb, "[The Boyfriend] also deals with unsparing irony the realities of caste, class, religion, masculinity and the gay subculture in India".

[13] It created quite a stir when it first appeared and was discussed in many prominent magazines as a guide to the then underground gay subculture in Bombay.

[16][17][18] Rao published the non-fiction work Whistling in the Dark in 2009, the novels Hostel Room 131 in 2010 and Lady Lolita's Lover[19] in 2015.