“Have you seen a transgender begging at a toll booth or traffic signal and people harassing them? Ever wondered why they can’t go to work instead?” asks P. Ashwin Kumar, who has written and directed Mr. Nangai, a 32-minute short film on the struggles of the other gender for survival. “Had establishments provided them an opportunity to study and work, they would not be roaming around begging,” he says.
Lack of inclusive workspaces for transgender was always on Ashwin’s mind and propelled him to do this film. Mr. Nangai has got all the essential ingredients of a feature film. Ashwin calls it a crime thriller and has carefully avoided the documentary style. “In an attempt to document their problems, at times I thought of doing a documentary but real life incidents turned out to be so hard hitting that I wanted to weave a story around the happenings. Short film has also given me the space to register my views,” he says.
The film opens with a kidnapping incident and the suspense is sustained till the protagonist Ijaz reveals why the kidnap happens. The director chooses nonlinear narration and tells how Ijaz is shocked to find his bosom friend to be a transgender and informs parents so that they will do something to protect his friend. On the contrary, his friend’s father, a caste-hindu, decides to kill his son. Whether his friend is alive or killed, how Ijaz gets to meet transgender and what propels him to fight for their cause form the rest of the story.
The team behind Mr. Nangai. Photo: S. James
Ijaz cross dresses as a transgender and understands how difficult it is to lead their life. He is humiliated by men and that forces Ijaz to teach them a lesson. He masterminds a kidnap of those who look down upon the other gender. He gives it back by forcibly making them look like a woman and orders his men to leave them at various points.
At end of the film, a group of men harass a hapless transgender and in the background Ijaz appears on screen. The director has deliberately left the ending open to signal his interest in coming out with a Part II. “I wanted to make it into a feature film as it has plenty of scope and I am already on it,” he says.
Dialogues deserve a mention as K. Stephen Rajkumar, who has also donned the role of an auto driver in the short film, effectively incorporated current issues like the NEET exams, plight of Indian fisherman at the hands of Sri Lankan army, crass commercialisation, into the dialogues. Cinematography is by Navabharath Selva, who has thoughtfully shot with minimal lights to symbolise the darker side in the life of transgender. Dheepan Prakash with his score has given enough impetus to the strong story.
Poignant portrayal: Making the movie. Photo: Special Arrangement
“I spent four months with them to understand their lifestyle. Thanks to Kiran amma who fed me with all information. Everyday I used to go with them. I came to know about the rituals including the ‘Thayamma Kai’ (a castration method). I had tears in my eyes on seeing what all they do for livelihood. My queries in the film are genuine,” says Ashwin, who already has three short films to his credit.
Vithai , his first one was about a love story while Imaya is a horror based comedy. Marabu , his third one is based on the jallikattu issue. Mr. Nangai is being screened at several centres in Madurai.
