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Kollywood shuns the commercial tropes and makes a positive shift in transgender narrative.
The Kollywood film industry has been an influential source of art and entertainment. The reach of its stories transcends borders and has a deep impact on popular culture. The number of remakes and adaptations by other film industries are testimony to the influence of Kollywood.
Tamil cinema has also been at the forefront of experimental work and gender bending plots. A generation of directors have shaped and defined out of the box story telling. They have successfully shunned formulas and experimented with off beat plots.
The past decade has seen an interesting development in the representation of transgenders and their rightful depiction in Tamil cinema. Historically they have been relegated to stereotypes and wrongful portrayal. Often jibed at and occasionally shown as fearsome with negative shades. They were often used for crude, physical comedy and cheap thrills. New age directors are presenting the transgender community with empathy and dignity.
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1. Kanchana: Lakshmi’s Fight For Justice
One of the earlier films to give a transgender character prominence is the horror-comedy Kanchana. The trans woman Lakshmi comes as a spirit and possesses the hero to avenge a past wrong done to her by an MLA. Kanchana was played powerfully by the star Sarath Kumar. The film portrayed her as someone with compassion and unbounded love. She is shown as a philanthropist who wants to build a hospital for the poor on her land.
2. Super Deluxe: Shilpa’s Struggle For Acceptance
The turning point for trans character representation came in Super Deluxe. Thyagarajan Kumarraja’s portrayal of Shilpa, played sensitively by Vijay Sethupathi, broke new grounds. The sensitive portrayal of Shilpa’s bond with her little son Rasakutty was the talking point of the film. The film explores her struggles due to public humiliation, police atrocity and societal prejudices. Thyagarajan’s portrayal of Shilpa was nuanced and sensitive.
3. Gargi: A Transgender Judge Takes Charge
In Gargi the transgender character is an astute judge who presides over a sensitive child sexual abuse case. The inclusion of a transgender judge character was a milestone for Tamil cinema. In this film it was the authentic trans representation that was the talking point.
Director Gautam Ramachandran cast a real-life trans woman (Dr. S. Sudha) to play the role. This move brought an authenticity to the story. Her role had authority and she played it with a commanding presence. In fact she has one of the most powerful lines in the film highlighting her strength as a trans woman and how she’s the best person to decide the case.
4. Sattamum Neediyum: ACP Vidhya Commands Respect
Trans representation takes a different turn in the Tamil legal series Sattamum Neediyum. The series hired a prominent trans model cum actor to play the role of ACP Vidhya (Shivin Ganeshan), who heads a special investigation team. She is portrayed as a highly intelligent, sharp and commanding police officer. And the interesting part is her gender is never the highlight or the talking point in the film. She is naturally there as a senior police official. A refreshing step towards transgender representation.
5. Dorothy: Subbu Breaks Gender Norms
Set in the 1980s Tamilnadu, Dorothy digs into the deeply entrenched caste and gender dynamics of the period. The discrimination was rampant and acceptance even harder. In the film the lead character Subbu (Sanath) recognises his feminine side and transforms into a woman against societal prejudices and threats. His childhood friend Karthi (Rishikanth), though initially against Subbu’s transformation, falls in love with the woman in him and accepts him as his lover. A bold step towards breaking stereotypes and rigid belief systems.
Director Karthik Subbaraj integrated trans actress Jeeva Subramaniam into the script and gave her prominence as one of the main characters in the film. Dorothy is a groundbreaking effort towards fair and authentic representation of the LGBTQIA community. Sanath’s portrayal of the trans woman is tender and layered.
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