'That's A Serious Debate', Director Sridhar Rangayan Can't Stand Cis Actors Playing Trans Roles

Queer stories in popular culture are a weak thread. Where Indian cinema continues to figure out dots around queer subjects, there¡¯s a long way to go for the entire industry. We remember one of the films that reached the scissors of the Censor Board Of Film Certification but ended up burning its reel in the fire of accusations.

We are talking about Sridhar Rangayan¡¯s 2003 film Gulabi Aaina (The Pink Mirror).

The film was banned in India by CBFC for its 'vulgar and offensive' content. Are we really sipping that tea? Maybe yes or maybe not.

Indiatimes sat in conversation with filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan and weaved conversations around his films and activism for the LGBTQ+ community.

Revealing what apprehensions the censor board had for The Pink Mirror, Sridhar said, ¡°They said we have not portrayed the community in good light but what I think is that our characters were not apologetic and questioned patriarchy. It was not like Irrfan Khan¡¯s film Adhura where the lead cried and said ¡®god why did you make me Adhura¡¯.¡±

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For the unversed, The Pink Mirror was one of the first queer films that were released on Netflix soon after the now-magnate OTT space arrived in India.

We also discussed with Sridhar the changes that followed the historic judgement of 2018 when the Supreme Court decriminalised section 377. Asked if the production of queer films remained unchanged post the judgement, Sridhar said, ¡°I agree they (Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saawdhaan) didn't leave a huge mark on the box office.¡±

#LearnTheTerm: Cis person - A cisgender person has a gender identity that matches the sex assigned at birth.

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"These films were neither in the niche market nor in the mainstream space. It fell somewhere in between and that¡¯s still a thing that showbiz needs to work on.¡±

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We asked if there¡¯s any queer film in recent times that he likes Sridhar named ¡®Badhaai Do¡¯. ¡°It played well with the queer subject. The out-and-open portrayal of queer characters exploring their relationships openly just worked wonders. Specially Bhumi Pednekar and Chum Darang¡¯s relationship was pure gold.¡±

For the facts, Sridhar¡¯s film Evening Shadows was the first queer film to hit theatres after the Supreme Court verdict of scrapping 377 in 2018.

We really wished to know why despite several films being made on issues around LGBTQ+ subjects, they never received their due recognition. The 68 pages director said, ¡°It¡¯s because there has been no mainstream marketing support. Things have changed in the last two decades in terms of the portrayal of queer characters but yet not in lead narratives¡±.

#LearnTheTerm: Trans person - A transgender person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth.

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¡°The other side of the story is that a lot of non-queer people have jumped on the bandwagon as now everyone wants to talk about queer stories to count us as a tickmark. That¡¯s a pitfall and we are more than that.¡±

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The Yours Emotionally director shared how OTT has changed the content game for queer stories as they did with everything else. ¡°I think we have come to the fore and mainstream cinema might still be dictated by box office numbers but OTT platforms have taken a lead and are having very inclusive characters and positive queer characters.¡±

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¡°Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui was a complete disaster with Vaani Kapoor playing the transgender part. She couldn¡¯t bring alive the character at all. Akshay Kumar¡¯s Laxmii was another horrible portrayal. Imagine a trans actor playing Vijay Razz¡¯s character in Gangubai Kathiawadi then it would have created history.¡±

Also Read: 'Why Not Me?', Sushant Divgikr Calls Out Showbiz For Ill Casting Of Trans Characters On-Screen

Sridhar continued, ¡°We have a huge problem of non-transgender actors playing such trans characters. That¡¯s a serious debate. When men actors play male characters and woman actors play female characters, then why not trans actors for trans characters? We do have trans actors like Sushant Divgikr (Rani KoHeNoor) and Saisha but we need to create opportunities for these actors to come to the mainstage.¡±

The Supreme Court of India recently concluded hearing several petitions to legalize same-sex marriage in India.

Sridhar who is one of the petitioners along with his partner of 29 years, Saagar Gupta, reflected on the importance of equal marriage rights. ¡°We need to have rights over each other's assets. Suppose my partner is ill then I can¡¯t sign for his medical procedures and only his family can. We need to be married for that. We need basic rights. It¡¯s high time that civil partnerships should be equal for all.¡±

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¡°I am together with my partner for more than what even a heterosexual couple lives together these days and we just can¡¯t wait to get married.¡±

Asked about Bollywood¡¯s utter silence on the ongoing same-sex marriage hearing, Sridhar says, ¡°They will speak when the verdict will be out. You know all the cookie crumbles! Also, it¡¯s high time that industry people who identify with the LGBTQ+ community in Bollywood should come out and accept their sexuality. It inspires a lot of youngsters when they see that their self-acceptance is not abnormal and that they can be influential and reach great heights."

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"Parallelly, we need more space for queer filmmakers to be able to tell our stories in the mainstream, we need that opportunity in all spaces. Filmmakers like Onir and me shouldn¡¯t be discriminated against based on our sexuality.¡±

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