Fair Portrayal Matters

Who gets to play trans roles? And who decides the norms of representation?

- Rajeev Anand Kushwah

ONE of the reasons Season 2 of the series Made in Heaven is progressive in its approach to social issues is the character of Meher, played by Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju. The social media response to Meher, particularly by queer and trans folks and Trinetra gaining traction on IMDb is testament to the fact that something was done right. The character saw a rare empathetic and affirmative portrayal of trans people in the Indian media. Another show which has been gaining popularity is Taali featuring Sushmita Sen in the lead role of transgender rights activist Shreegauri Sawant from Mumbai. Between Taali and Made in Heaven, the prominent questions that come up: Who gets to play trans roles? And who decides the norms of representation? There has been much debate about cisgender actors playing trans roles. The debate makes many prominent points, most of which are discussed in Netflix’s documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen. At this moment, we do need an Indian counterpart as the documentary deftly looks at the depiction of trans lives in the media and what cultural shifts it brings in. There are so many roles and movies that actually got some parts of trans representation right, if not everything. And more than the mainstream media, the focus needs to be shifted to independent projects and regional media.