UK actor Ian McKellen: 'India needs to grow up' about gays

MUMBAI, India (AP) — British actor Ian McKellen has criticized India's use of a British colonial law to crack down on homosexuals, saying in an interview with a Mumbai newspaper published Tuesday that "India needs to grow up."

In an interview with the Mumbai Mirror, the openly gay actor spoke candidly about Britain's social and political evolution toward equal rights for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and reportedly said that "India is going through what the UK went through 30 years ago."

McKellen — perhaps best known for playing Gandalf in the "Lord of the Rings" film franchise and Magneto in the "X-Men" series — noted that there were positive developments for the LGBT community in India, such as the Kashish festival.