'Because You Are A Mother', Gauri Sawant Recalls Why Sushmita Sen Agreed To Do Her Biopic Taali

¡®Taali bajaungi nahi bajwaungi¡¯

Sushmita Sen is all set to display the life and struggles of Shreegauri Sawant in her upcoming biopic, Taali. The film's trailer was released recently with roaring reviews from the audience. Directed by Ravi Jadhav, Taali will stream for free on JioCinema from 15th August onwards. For the unversed, Gauri is a well-known transgender activist and HIV/AIDS advocate who works for the upliftment of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Remember the Vicks ad that took the internet by storm? Gauri who starred in it gave us a sneak peek into her own life.

In a tete-e-tete with Indiatimes, Shreegauri Sawant shed light on life, activism and everything in between.

Indian cinema has largely been criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of the LGBTQIA+ community. Bollywood has often used them as characters to make fun of or be humiliated in a film. Gauri agrees with this. "We were always seen as a cartoon, someone who is bulky, vamp and funny. The industry made us look like a circus joker in past."

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¡°But over the years, people's perception has changed towards the queer community. Even back in the day if we had stereotypical characters, we also had directors like Rituparno Ghosh and Onir who crafted some beautiful queer stories. I truly believe that we need good storytellers to communicate queer subjects to people and then only the audience¡¯s reception will change.¡±

Gauri shared Daayraa (1996) and Umbartha (1982) as examples of how sensitively and beautifully filmmakers can convey bold subjects.

¡®What needs to stop?¡¯, we asked.

¡°Stop serving the LGBTQIA+ community as a stereotype" : Gauri Sawant

"In my Vicks ad, there was no drawing around my character, no dialogue yet I was shown in such a good light. I remember one scene where Ritesh Deshmukh kisses a person and when he finds out that they are not a woman, he digs his face in a commode. What nonsense was that!¡±

A still from SOTY

From mocking the community to making a biopic on them, we have come a long way. Gauri's real-life story is getting a cinematic adaption soon. Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen who is essaying her role has wrapped up the shooting of the biopic.

Also Read: 'I Was Called A Psycho', Dutee Chand On Backlash After Coming Out As India's First Gay Athlete

Gauri is excited about the project. "When I was told that Sushmita Sen is playing me in my biopic, I was very happy. I was thinking that they¡¯ll rope in a male actor but the makers changed the entire dynamic and what a move it was. Every transgender person is beautiful and what a proud moment it is for all of us that Miss Universe is playing us on-screen.¡±

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"It¡¯s also the first time that a female actor is playing a trans character on screen, shouldn¡¯t we bloom with pride?", she said.

She feels Sushmita makes a perfect choice for her biopic. "Sushmita and my life¡¯s story resonate beautifully. She has also adopted two kids and I too have so many who I take care of. Her life was also filled with struggles and mine too. When I was called to meet Sushmita for the first time, I was very nervous but within 30 minutes of talking to her, I fell in love with the kind of person she is."

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¡°When I asked her why she agreed to play a trans character, Sushmita said ¡®Because you are a mother¡¯.¡±

Gauri Sawant also made a shocking revelation about the dark side of the trans community and revealed, ¡°Many don¡¯t know but the transgender community is very violent. It¡¯s not what you see from the outside. They don't allow us to follow our religion. They chop our wings to fly, they try to blur our existence. It¡¯s very bad here.¡±

Jay Salian

On several occasions, Bollywood has faced the brunt of the queer community for casting cis-heterosexual actors to play queer characters.

Talking about the same, Gauri shared, ¡°I will talk about my biopic then Taali makers honestly wanted to rope in a trans actor but they couldn¡¯t find a good artist to lead. If there was a star kid who was trans then maybe they could have been signed for this. But other than Sushmita, several other trans individuals have been cast to play other small characters.¡±

What stops some actors from openly supporting the community? ¡°Everybody knows there¡¯s a taboo around the community. In multiple cases where male actors have played women or trans characters, their reception has been bleak. They stop getting good roles. Maybe this could be a reason.¡±

Also Read: Sheer Qorma Producer Neeraj Churi Extends His Support For Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage In India

The homophobic people¡¯s understanding of the LGBTQIA+ community is closely limited to sex and pleasure.

loksatta

¡°Agreed. People need to understand the meaning of marriage first. Whenever there is a conversation about the community, it¡¯s always about sex and how will queer people have kids. But do we always have sex to get kids? It¡¯s all about societal security. And it¡¯s not a new thing, it has been there in our mythologies too. Just to digest things, you start labelling us, that¡¯s wrong. This needs to stop.¡±

Also Read: 'They Don't Make A Noise About It', Sushant Divgikr Defends Bollywood's Silence On Queer Talks

Zee5

We knew that Gauri was offered Bigg Boss but she refused to show up. Revealing her apprehensions, Gauri shared, ¡°Mai ghadi ke kaate pe kaam nahi kar sakti. Can¡¯t be in front of the camera 24 x 7 and do nautanki. Raat bhar jaago, paani me khelo, zindagi spoil karne ke liye wo log ye show banate hai, mere se nahi hoga ye sab.¡±

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