Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10: Celebrated sprinter Dutee Chand on how she met her girlfriend, fought societal criticism and more

In an inspiring moment on the stage of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10, celebrated sprinter Dutee Chand introduced her girlfriend on national television. She also made many interesting revelations and how love blossomed between the two without the fear of society. Dutee is India's first athlete to openly come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and spoke about being in a same-sex relationship in 2019. Here take a look at Dutee Chand and her girlfriend Monalisa Das' cute love story:

Dutee shared that she fell in love with a girl in 2017. She met her at a festival, Khudurukoni festival (celebrated in Odisha), which is celebrated at their home. Dutee shared, “She came and praised me a lot saying ‘Dutee Chand aap itna achha khelte ho. People in the village are so proud of you’. Her words motivated me a lot. Dutee blushes and adds, “I felt so good and I felt why is she praising me so much.”

Dutee shared, “I took her phone number and I gave my number saying she can contact me anytime if she needs any help. I told her to contact me directly. I liked her from the first day itself. But I didn’t know that we will succeed. It took me two years to succeed."

It is very difficult to come out when in a relationship. Not only me, I think for everyone. You are not able to talk freely in front of everyone. When I expressed about my feelings, everyone criticised me about my body, my relationship. They started to scare me at every stage of my relationship.

Parampara aur sanskriti ke naam par all Indians are scared and don’t regard same-sex relationship as love. Koi ladki ladki se shaadi nahi karti or make a family. So, I was bit scared thinking how will people react. I play nationals and internationals with girls so I was worried how they will take it and what kind of criticism I would face. I was worried that I shouldn’t be banned from playing. When section 377 became legal, it gave me strength. So that’s when I came out in the open about my relationship with her and my willingness to marry her.

Dutee revealed that her girlfriend’s name is Monalisa Das and she fondly calls her ‘Monali’. Maniesh then connected with Dutee’s partner over a video call. As her partner adorably said ‘I love you Gelu’, Dutee then went down on her knees. She shared, “Main usko I love you bolti kam hu par whatsapp pe essay ki tarah I love you likh k bhejti hu.” Monalisa shares that she tells ‘I love you’ to Dutee everyday.

Monalisa gets emotional as she talks about Dutee’s performance. When Maniesh asks her if they have dance together, Monalisa responds that they have. Here, Dutee reveals, “She is a great dancer. She wanted to teach me dance before I was coming here but I was too shy and didn’t want to learn from her.” Dutee reveals that she likes to dance on the song ‘Aashiq Banaya Apne’ with her.

Judge Karan Johar gets emotional saying, “This is so amazing.” He says, “There are so many girls and boy who are living in fear and can’t come out. I want everyone to show your story – you are an inspiration Dutee Chand and I hope everyone gets inspired seeing you. I salute you.”