Mumbai, Dec 18 (IANS): Model-actor Sushant Divgikar has forayed into the music realm with an English pop single, Diamond. With an underlying theme of self-acceptance, the single encapsulates the feeling of being a free-spirit in a judgment-free zone.

"It has been over a decade and half since I ventured out as an artiste. I was only 16 and had big dreams when I embarked on my creative journey. I wasn't even out of the closet back then and was so nervous to accept and embrace my true authentic self because of societal conditioning," Divgikar said.

"As time progressed, I realised the importance of learning to love my true self and why I needed to stop paying heed to discriminatory attitudes and opinions. Along the way I've been harshly branded but I've learned to rise above those labels and own my power and become the diamond I was born to be," he added.

Divgikar shared that the song is "ode to all the beautiful unapologetic people out there who face these labels on a daily basis, but refuse to succumb to conditioning".

"A really important step in the self-love journey is to let go of the stories we tell ourselves that make us feel lacking. Through this video I want people to wake up to the fact that everyone will have an opinion on you but those opinions don't define ‘Who You Are'. Just like a diamond reaches its true state of brilliance after being put through the fire, each one of us is a diamond in our own right and have the ability to illuminate our path by being ‘who we are than pretending to be who we are not". Uncover your greatness and be your biggest cheerleader'," he added.