Shot over seven years, Ila Mehrotra’s documentary intimately covers the struggles and the resilience of the transgender community in India. For thousands of years, trans individuals have been a part of the hijra identity, a recognised third gender that also includes intersex and eunuch people. Rooted in Hinduism, hijras are believed to possess supernatural powers of blessings and curses. In this film’s spirited opening scene, they are seen in their finest clothes, as they are invited to shower a newborn with good luck.
The atmosphere might sparkle with jubilant acceptance, but the relationship between Indian society and trans people is much more ambiguous. Shunned by their families, trans women depend on sex work, often in dangerous conditions, to make ends meet. Frustrated with the narrowly defined visibility thrust upon her community, trans model and activist Rudrani Chettri launches her own modelling agency, with the hope of providing more professional opportunities. Her journey is a rocky and emotional one; while news outlets are eager to cover her efforts as a sensational headline, fashion publications continue to snub trans talent.
Chettri’s fight for a secular understanding of transgender identity is also complicated by the rise of Hindu nationalism in India. Many trans women, including Chettri, are forced to move back into the rigid but more financially stable role of hijras. This alarming drift, however, is not explored in depth; the film, for example, briefly touches on how Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Chettri’s hijra guru, has become a religious leader without diving into the political implications of this shift. It also neglects to mention how Tripathi’s support for the controversial Hindu temple, Ram Mandir, which was built on the site of a razed mosque, has drawn collective outrage from the queer community. The complexity of marginalised figures being absorbed into autocratic systems demands a much more rigorous investigation.
• India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency is in UK cinemas from 13 November.
