Manisha Koirala: Some of my closest friends are gay and they are among the best human beings I know. I think such an ancient law needed to be repealed long ago. We live in contemporary times when people of all genders and sexual preferences must be looked at in the same line of vision.

Shekhar Kapoor: This should've been done long ago.

Irrfan Khan: It's a sign of a system adopting a viewpoint that indicates openness. This will rid the guilt that gays live with and stop police exploitation of the community. I played a gay character in Mira Nair's short film directed by Zoya Akhtar. I researched on their anguish. It was terrifying.

Sanjay Suri: Criminalisation of gay sex among consenting adults was a violation of fundamental human rights. It's a progressive judgement. The law should have been done away with ages ago."

Purab Kohli: Super. It's a giant step ahead in the image India is building globally.

Rajeev Khandelwal: I believe in 'to each his own'. That article 377 has been repealed reveals a very mature attitude to an universal issue.

Chitrangada Singh: I think it's great. Every individual has the right to self-expression. Homosexuality didn't stop existing just because we all denied it.

Neil Nitin Mukesh: Thank god people realised homosexuals are human beings with deep emotions and urges for which they were being punished for years. Now they can live peacefully without the law breathing down their necks. This change was long overdue.

Riya Sen: Most of my closest friends are homosexuals. I'm very happy for the gay community. We're a democracy; so why curb anyone's freedom?"