Should LGBTQ+ artistes play queer characters on screen?
Filmmakers may have started representing LGBTQ+ identities on screen in a more sensitive manner. But, many continue to mull over whether it would be more appropriate if queer actors are cast to bring such characters alive. This conversation has resurfaced following the release of Neeraj Ghaywan’s Geeli Pucchi, themed on homosexuality and class differences, recently.
Margarita with a Straw (2014) director Shonali Bose, says she needed “brilliant actors” to play a blind, gay woman and a bisexual teenager with cerebral palsy. “It is extremely important that queer stories are mainstreamed. That we have queer characters in cinema who aren’t there because they are queer; their sexuality is immaterial,” she asserts.
Gay rights crusader Harish Iyer feels to expect queer people to play queer roles might “go against the principles of acting as a field”. Iyer opines, “When we ask if queer actors should play such parts, we’re implying that they shouldn’t play straight roles… Having said that, I believe people with experience will be able to portray those roles better.”
Durga Gawde, India’s first performing drag king, echoes a similar sentiment: “For instance, look at Pose. When non-binary, trans-folks of colour are cast to portray roles about queer lives, magic happens. We need more magic in the world.”
Shree Ghatak, a trans-woman who was seen in Season’s Greetings, feels mainstream actors are crowd-pullers and hence, makers would rather cast them. But, she rues the lack of opportunities for actors like her. “Unless we are given a chance, how will we gain fame, become bankable and a choice for filmmakers to headline their projects?” she asks.