BOLLYWOOD IN A ‘TRANS’ PHASE GENDER-BENDER

Gone are the days when Bollywood heroism was all about hypermasculinity and machismo – in recent times, mainstream actors are adorning cross-gender roles and are also in the mood to experiment

Once upon a time, Bollywood heroism was about hypermasculinity, machismo and testosterone, and about following the formula of a guy saving a girl from five men and the two eventually falling in love. Now, mainstream actors are increasingly in the mood to experiment and cross-gender roles – where actors and actresses go for a gender reversal with the characters they portray – are becoming commonplace.

When mainstream superstar Akshay Kumar takes up playing a transgender in Laxmmi Bomb, you know change is happening in commercial Bollywood.

Experiments as these in the past were restricted to supporting cast or arthouse actors. Forget playing the transgender, even cross-dressing appearances of leading men in commercial cinema was a rare incidence, mostly restricted to song-and-dance sequences.

Who can forget Amitabh Bachchan’s cross-dressing gig Mere angane mein in Laawaris or Aamir Khan’s Dole dole’in Baazi. Shah Rukh Khan in Duplicate and Salman Khan in Hum Aapke Hain Koun too had brief appearances as cross-dressers, and Kamal Haasan in Chachi 420 or Govinda in Aunty No.1 were essentially male characters that dressed as women, driven by a reason in their respective narratives.

Cross-dressing, as well as transgender roles, were mostly restricted to character artistes such as Sadashiv Amrapurkar (Sadak), Prashant Narayan (Murder 2) and Ravi Kishen (Bullett Raja).

Here is a list of Bollywood actors who are set to play the other gender and also those who have made a mark in the past with transgender or crossdressing gigs.

AKSHAY KUMAR

Bollywood’s very own Khiladi will be seen playing a character possessed by a transgender spirit in the upcoming film Laxmmi Bomb. In an early photograph of the film, Akshay was seen applying kohl in his eyes. In another image he sports a saree. The film is slated to hit the screens on June 5, 2020.

SHARAD KELKAR

The guy who voiced Baahubali in the Hindi version is all set to be seen in a new avatar in Akhay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb. A lot is not known about the actor’s role. However,

the actor was once spotted in Filmistan studio in Goregaon wearing a red saree. His hair was neatly tied into a bun and completing his look was matching jewellery and a big red bindi.

ADAH SHARMA

Commando girl Adah will be seen playing a transgender woman in Man to Man. The film revolves around actor Naveen Kasturia’s character falling in love and marrying Sharma’s character, and later realising that she was biologically a man and became a woman after undergoing surgery. PRASHANT NARAYANAN

It’s often said that it is not the hero but the villain that makes a crime thriller worth watching. This was the case with Prashant Narayanan’s role of the cold-blooded and creepy transgender psycho who brutalises women before killing them, in Murder 2. His character Dheeraj Pandey brought chills down everyone’s spine. AAMIR KHAN

Bollywood’s Mr Perfect Aamir Khan did a drag queen’s dance in the film Baazi. That’s not it! He went ahead to play the opposite gender in some television ads for a digital service provider and a beverage brand. RITEISH DESHMUKH

Riteish Deshmukh was loved for his act as sexy Sanya in Apna Sapna Money Money. The actor receives rave reviews for his performance.

PARESH RAWAL

The acclaimed actor played a eunuch in Mahesh Bhatt’s 1997 release Tamanna. Paresh played Tikku, a eunuch, who decides to raise an abandoned girl named Tamanna, when her super-rich family tries to kill her shortly after birth. The film was feted with the National Film Award for Best Film on ‘Other Social Issues’ in 1998.

SADASHIV AMRAPURKAR

No one can forget Sadashiv Amrapurkar as Maharani, a transgender villain in the 1991 hit film

Sadak. Maharani in the Mahesh Bhatt film was reportedly inspired by a real-life eunuch named Tikku. The character came to life because of the late Amrapurkar’s conviction. The actor was feted with several awards for his brilliant performance. MAHESH MANJREKAR

Manjrekar took everyone by surprise with his portrayal of a transgender named Begum in Rajjo, starring Kangana Ranaut. Begum in the film runs a Kotha and his role received applauds from audience and critic alike. ASHUTOSH RANA

Ashutosh essayed a transgender named Lajja Shankar Pandey, who abducts children and sacrifices them in Sangarsh. His scenes of manic screaming, albeit hamfisted, had the right mainstream impact in instilling terror in the audience’s minds.

When Akshay Kumar takes up playing a transgender character in Laxmmi Bomb, you know change is happening in commercial Bollywood