Sushmita Sen, a former Miss Universe and non-trans actress, has been cast in the lead role of a Bollywood film about a transgender activist. The choice has divided the transgender community in India, with some saying that one of the numerous trans actresses vying for a breakthrough role should have received it.
The interview had gone smoothly.
The part of the leading lady’s best friend was open to Navya Singh. She had delivered her words with assurance that erred on the side of modesty. She had been amiable with just a hint of sexiness—not enough to steal the show, though. Most significantly, she had recalled her lines.
But after she was done, the silence in the room lasted longer than was comfortable.
One of the casting directors finally raised their hands.
But are you a guy or a woman, he questioned Navya?
Navya claims, “I felt my heart fall to my feet.” “As an actress in Bollywood, I had become accustomed to this type of obnoxious remark. But things remained the same.”
Navya had relocated to Mumbai, the centre of the Hindi film industry, or Bollywood, at the age of 18, from rural Bihar, and there she came out as a trans woman.
She met LGBT dancers, models, designers, and actresses once she arrived. Some of them were well-known figures who appeared in the most well-known films and commercials in the nation, but others, particularly the trans community members, were having difficulties. A few people she knew used sex work as a means of survival in between acting, dancing, and modelling jobs.
“Trans jobs are hard to get by in Bollywood,” she claims. “You often don’t hear back after trying out for movies or fashion shows. Even gay fashion producers and designers won’t let us in.”
