India took huge steps in the direction of equal rights for the transgender community back in 2014 with the Supreme Court recognizing transgender people as the ‘third gender’. As much as it would seem like, better late than ever, the question is, how long will it take for India as a community to actually accept transgender people as normal, equal people just like you and me.
A film maker from Bangalore Mujeer Pasha, was witness to a Hijra being harassed by the local police, and he noticed nobody did anything about it even as he tried to do his bit. This moment really stuck with him, he talked about it with his friends but only received passive duds of a response, with, “oh, so sad!” or “that’s bad”, that’s when he realized if this was a ‘woman’ (by their definition) and not a hijra, the reaction would have been hugely different.
Mujeer identified transgender women from all walks of life, stratas of society, ages spoke to them and discovered how little we all know about them. We had such skewed notions, myths and ridiculous superstitions embedded in us. The reason he narrowed down was that we didn’t see enough of them, we had cut them out of society, our media, our lives. Mujeer, adds, “I knew I had to make a film that showed a trans girl leading a normal lifestyle, has a job, friends, professional and personal goals, falls in love and more. It’s just something Indian audiences haven’t seen with their own eyes.”
Production house JLT Films, that supports content with unique storylines decided to pick up his story and produce the film, giving birth to JLT’s Project Indian Bride. Harini Daddala, Producer said, “I think if India sees this character, feels for her and falls for her, then the already existing truth that trans women are just like any other woman, will become a reality to them.”
JLT’s Project Indian Bride shows us Rekha, an urban transgender woman, who wants to be a model but is faced with a reluctant pregnant wife of a photographer. What do you think will happen next? Watch the full 32 minute film here:
