Entertainment: Over the past year, Indian media has seen a shift in transgender representation on screen, with trans actors Trinetra and Sushant Divgikar getting roles in mainstream media in Made in Heaven and Thank You for Coming, respectively. Trans activist Gauri Sawant also got a biopic on her with the web series Taali. Celebrating Pride Month, we asked Trinetra about this development, and she says, “It became clear to everyone that change is happening.” After her and Divgikar, the 26-year-old believes more trans actors will find a place on screen. “Having said that, I look at my fellow trans actors, no matter how successful or infamous they are, but I am not happy with them.
Mainstream
Trans people don’t get a lot of casting calls, especially for primary roles. And if they do, it’s unlikely to be a mainstream opportunity. The opportunity I got isn’t necessarily a reflection of the opportunities that trans people get the actors get a lot of recognition in the industry at large,” she says. The doctor-turned-actor Trinetra emphasises that while growing up she saw people outside the LGBTQIA+ community from different walks of life represented on screen, but she never got to see the same for herself and the community. “Whenever we did see them, it was always a distorted or perverted version. You would never look at them and think I could be like that or want to be like that. There has been a queer coding of evil, not just in India, but across the world, from The Powerpuff Girls to The Silence of the Lambs. When you grow up seeing this kind of representation, as a queer person it takes a very bad toll on your self-esteem,” she says. Trinetra claims that she suffered an identity crisis growing up because of society’s “rigid notions” of gender and sexuality. “When a person is considered a boy at birth, has a feminine personality, society automatically assumes him to be gay. For a long time, I also thought that maybe I am a gay boy and maybe I will have no problem with it. But that didn’t explain why I felt uncomfortable with my body. It took me a long time to understand that gender and sexuality are two different things,” she says. Coming from a “conservative” medical field, Trinetra has embraced the opportunities offered by the acting industry
Enjoyed the freedom to express myself. “But there is over-compensation. A lot of queer characters are written for the sake of diversity.
Yet, we are still a country where there are very few opportunities for trans and queer people. Even a little representation creates more opportunities in the future. So, I am happy to look at that bigger picture,” she says, adding that she wants more trans representation on sets, and not just in acting. “When I used to walk on my set, there was no trans person there and it was isolating. When you can’t trust anyone, it can be scary. The set I was on was safe, but you can expect trans people to face harassment, violence, and so on.”
Scary stories
and that is the reality of it,” she insists. Trinetra is grateful for all the good things that being a public figure has brought her, but she also acknowledges its drawbacks. “When I was looking for a house in Mumbai a year ago, I introduced myself as Dr Trinetra, who is also an actor. So, landlords would look for me and I lost many apartments because they would find out that I am trans. I didn’t even have to come out to them, they would already know. With visibility, comes a lack of privacy,” she explains, adding that this extends to her love life as well. “These things cannot be kept private. If I am meeting someone, their family will find out one way or the other. But I will happily accept all the disadvantages for all the advantages I have experienced,” she concludes.Stay connected with Janta Se Rishta for news updates
#Entertainment #Lots #quirky #characters #written #diversity
2024-06-07 11:30:10