Celebrity fashion designer Swapnil Shinde, who is known for working with popular Bollywood actors, including Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Taapsee Pannu, and Kareena Kapoor, has come out as a transwoman, changing her name to 'Saisha.'

Announcing that she was not a gay man and rather a transwoman, Saisha Shinde posted a lengthy note on Instagram and shared pictures from her transformation. "Irrespective of your origin, there will always be something that reminds you of your childhood. For me, it takes me back to the kind of loneliness that aches, to pressures that pushed me into solitude and the chaos of confusion that grew every moment. All through school and college, while the boys outside tormented me because I was different, the internal pain was far worse. I felt suffocated living a reality that I knew wasn't mine, yet one that I had to stage everyday because of societal expectations and norms," the fashion designer wrote.

Saisha Shinde, who previously believed she was a gay man because she was attracted to men, has mentioned that she finally came to accept that she is, in fact, a transwoman. "It was only in my early 20s at NIFT where I found the courage to accept my truth; I truly bloomed. I spent the next few years believing that I was attracted to men because I was gay, but it was only 6 years ago that I finally accepted to myself, and today that I accept to you. I'm not a gay man. I am a Transwoman. PS: Saisha means a meaningful life and I plan to make mine an exceptionally meaningful one," Shinde added.

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A post shared by S A I S H A S H I N D E (@officialswapnilshinde)

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A post shared by S A I S H A S H I N D E (@officialswapnilshinde)

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A post shared by S A I S H A S H I N D E (@officialswapnilshinde)