Canada's Drag Race Queen Bombae Says It Felt 'Really Good' To Rep Indian Culture On TV

Not everyone has the chance to honour their cultural heritage on a major stage like Canada’s Drag Race, but Bombae showed up and out for her community.

Narcity sat down with this week’s eliminated queen who shared how it felt when viewers from India would text her about her performance on Canada’s Drag Race.

'Canada’s Drag Race' Queen Bombae Says It Felt ‘Really Good’ To Rep Indian Culture On TV #shortsNarcity | YouTube

"So, when we get our list of outfits, I was like 'How do I bring my culture into this? How do I pay homage to India and my heritage?'" Bombae told Narcity.

Bombae is one of the few queens representing Toronto this year on Canada's Drag Race, but had moved to the 6ix from Mumbai, India, back in 2016.

During the season, Bombae wore a Kathakali-inspired outfit for her Goddesses of the Ancient World look; through her final look of the season, she showcased Holi — also known as the Festival of Colour that celebrates spring.

"I mean, these are things that North American audiences have never seen before on Drag Race," said Bombae.

One of her goals with her drag is to have people really think about what they see on stage.

"If I can spread messages about love and acceptance, and make people think about drag, think about gender, think about culture after they see me, I've done my job, and that's what I did. It makes me so proud to think that people's mindsets about India and about gender have changed once they saw me on the show — who gets to say that?"

She also got to represent more than just her culture

While the Toronto-based drag queen shared how great it felt to represent her culture on the main stage, she said that she was able to bring more of what people want to see on TV, too.

"When the episode aired, people in India would text me and be like, 'I can't believe this is what I'm seeing on my television. I would never have thought of that.' So, that makes me feel really good [when] people feel seen because they look at me — that's why I'm doing this."

Episode 6 aired Thursday night and saw the queens tackle a branding challenge where they had to create their own eyeshadow palette and conceptualize their own 20-second commercial.

Some queens took the comedy route — like Vivian Vanderpuss with her "Cat Mom" palette — while others focused more on their own personal brand, which earned Miss Fiercalicious the win for her aptly named "Fierce by Fiercalicious" palette.

What Bombae's drag is in three words

"Oh, that's easy: Chaotic. Disaster. Model. That's what it is."

In this week's episode, the audience could see that frantic energy as she changed her idea for her palette last minute (and later even dropped some of it during the shoot). But, that's what Bombae thrives on.

'Canada's Drag Race' Queen Bombae Shares Tips On How To 'Thrive On Chaos' #shortsNarcity | YouTube

"If you look at the process, it's madness, but then when you look at it on stage, you're like 'Ah, that makes complete sense,'" explained Bombae.

So, what advice does she have for people who just can't handle that kind of pressure and chaos?

"I'll give you the advice my friend gave me before I left for Drag Race. He was like, 'Bom, you're going to get in your head, things are going to get insane. I just want you to take like three deep breaths [...] then see how you feel,'" recounted Bombae.

Off-camera, Bombae said that there were moments where she would just be standing there quietly — "like, 'Okay, panic, panic panic'" — then dive right into whatever needed to be tackled next.

Even though Bombae is no longer on Canada's Drag Race, fans can still watch her special brand of chaos in real life.

"I'm going to be travelling the country. I'm touring in India as well in December."

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.