Sunil Menon, a well-known fashion show director, founded Sahodaran (an organisation for the rights of sexual minorities). He works for the rights of gays and transgenders and is known as a cultural anthropologist.

He has been part of the fashion industry for over two decades now and each year brings out the Sahodaran calendar which features young men whom Sunil believe stand out for their strong identity.

Sunil states, “The greatest achievement of the gay activist community in Chennai is the incredible support from the State Government agencies as regards their efforts to empower the transgender community.”

Sahodaran received the UNAIDS "Red Ribbon Award 2006" for best grassroots level community work and the NACO (Ministry of Health, Govt. of INDIA) "Red Ribbon Express Award".

Sahodaran director Sunil Menon won lifetime achievement award from Asian book of records and TAI-VHS in 2014.The Family Planning Association of India awarded Sahodaran the Best Grassroots Level Award in 2014.

Sahodaran is continually engaged in outreach efforts to educate and sensitize school students since they represent the leaders of our future. It has hosted volunteers, interns and researchers from other countries, including the United States, Uganda, Nigeria, and Japan.