Trans woman Shree Ghatak on her Bollywood cinema debut

Shree Ghatak, a hope and model from Bollywood, a trans woman who makes her Bollywood debut with a brief role in Seasons Greetings which was premiered on the Zee5 streaming platform on April 15, remembers the rejection very well.

The moment a casting agent for a Bollywood film realizes that a trans woman (a man at birth, but has undergone a sex change operation to become a woman), their tone and their look change. Shes immediately ruled out the possibility of a rental. Her gender and identity have cost her many acting jobs, says Ghatak in an exclusive telephone interview with Kolkota.

Why is there so much stigma in this society on my gender? My sex is my business. Why do you let my trans identity dictate whether I am fit to play a role in a movie or not? I lost so many acting jobs on my sex, said Ghatak on the phone in Hindi.

On April 15, Ghatak, who modeled jewelry and products for women in Kolkota, made Bollywood history by starring in his career the first Bollywood film. Ghatak says she holds the distinction of being the first trans woman to star in a traditional Hindi feature film.

And I have a strong feeling that my small but important role in Seasons Greetings will help me find acceptance and I have a strong feeling that this film will encourage other filmmakers to include us in their projects, said Ghatak.

In the film directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee and starring Lillete Dubey and Celina Jaitly as a mother-daughter duo, Ghatak plays their transgender homemaker Chapala. The film briefly shows that Chapala was a young Chapal boy when he was a child, but then became a Chapala dressed in sari as an adult.

Ram Kamal Mukherjee asked me to play myself and not to hesitate to be who I am on the big screen. I found love, dignity and acceptance while working on Seasons Greetings.

Bollywood is known for its under-representation of the transgender community and most of the roles assigned to the transgender community are subject to ridicule and mockery.

There’s this stereotype that we are for comic relief and that the stigma has to go to Bollywood, said Ghatak.

The model and activist, who underwent sexual reassignment surgery in 2015, and also holds the distinction of being India’s first trans bride when she married legally.

Ghatak, who dreams of working with Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Sushant Singh Rajput, is also a proud advocate for the rights of transgender people.

It’s a historic day in my life today as Seasons Greetings goes online. I am so excited because this is my first career in traditional Hindi film and it is a film that will feature a trans woman in a worthy role, said Ghatak.

Extracts from our exclusive chat with Ghatak

I am a model of profession, but an activist who is always fighting for our rights to exist. I always dreamed of playing a role in a good Bollywood film with a solid script. I want to reach as many people with this important role. And I am eternally grateful to have got a director Ram Kamal Mukherjee who told me to be natural on the screen and to play myself.

He asked me to be who I am in Seasons Greetings. There is no pretense. I play Chopala, a housewife and a housekeeper who loves to cook and she grew up in the house Romitas [Celina Jaitly] and is incredibly close to his mother, whom I call Kakkima [Lillete Dubey]. Kakkima is a single mother and is alone. I am his help and support.

I had a series of workshops with Lillete Dubey and Celina Jaitly and it was a dream come true for an aspiring actress like me. Lilleteji is so talented and she made me feel so included. I was so worried at the start of my Hindi accent and whether I would be convincing in my role in Seasons Greetings. But I had nothing to fear.

Celina and Lilleteji are kindhearted souls. They are beautiful people upside down. At no point did they make me feel like a stranger. There was a dance sequence where Celina had to dance with me. When an old Miss India held my hand and taught me the steps, I knew they accepted me. Each actor’s work is a lesson for me and these two co-stars have shown that you are really beautiful when you are down to earth and sensitive.

I have always faced resistance and the mentalities of a society can never change overnight. Although it is not as bad today, discrimination is still widespread. Their gaze towards transgender people and in particular trans women is biased and tainted. There is not much change, even today.

I am not transgender, I am a trans woman. You must know the difference. I am someone who has undergone several surgeries to become a woman and my journey is different. My path has been paved with difficulties and obstacles. And I’m not talking about the pain of my surgeries or the financial costs that come with it, I’m talking about the emotional consequences.

The fact remains that transgender actors previously worked in Bollywood movies, but they were given stereotypical roles. They were ridiculed and used to make fun of the big screen. A transgender is pushed with this role of hijra. There is a stigma attached to us, many filmmakers believing that we are only able to play such superficial and shortsighted roles. But Ram Kamal Mukherjee, my director, was not one of them.

Thanks to Seasons Greetings, he showed us that a trans woman can also lead a dignified life and have a normal and ordinary existence like everyone else. We want more jobs in traditional Bollywood movies and we should legitimately get what we deserve. We should be given jobs, whether in the game or beyond.

It was incredibly difficult. If you see my photos, I present myself like any other beautiful woman or other model in difficulty. During the calls, they look at my photos and seem satisfied. But the moment I say I am a trans woman, then their outlook and attitude towards me changes dramatically.

After that, they find excuses like: we will contact you in the future or that the project is now suspended. I lost many actor concerts on my identity. Even if I match their physical description in terms of size, age and role requirement and that I am suitable for a particular role, I have been rejected several times.

Why am I relentlessly punished for being a trans woman? Why is there so much stigma in this society on my gender. My gender is my identity and my business. Why do you let my identity dictate whether I am fit for a role or not, I have always wondered. But I think my role in Seasons Greetings will help find acceptance. I have a strong feeling that this film will encourage other filmmakers to include us in their projects.

Seasons Greetings is streaming on Zee5.