In the early history of cinema, when women’s participation was looked down upon, men played all characters, including female. As social mores matured, men stepped into a woman’s garb for an occasional comic spot.
Today too, an actor playing the opposite sex is usually part of an extended gag-reel. Weighed under prosthetics and layers of make-up, the make-believe woman will con affections, steal a few millions, beat the rules and crack homophobic jokes. Once in a while will come a serious portrayal of a woman by a man, urged by the film’s grim story. Like Upendra in Kalpana. These are rare, but stand out as bold attempts.
Rajkumar did a fabulous job of dressing up like a woman in the film Srinivasa Kalyana.
Recently, Upendra disguised himself as a woman in the film Godfather, while Naveen Krishna chose to cross-dress in Naa Ninna Bedalare. Ramesh Aravind and Saikumar, too have turned up in a drag in a couple of their films.
The latest to join the league is Sharan, in Srimathi Jayalalitha. The actor is currently shooting for the movie and is loving every bit of his new avatar. “I love an adventure and the chance to do something different comes once in a while. When I was approached for the role, I immediately sensed a challenge. We lost no time in organising a photo session to capture me dressed as a woman,” says Sharan.
“Since I am a comedian first, my playing a woman will have to be handled with care. One wrong step could lead to controversies. I am making the effort to do justice to my role so that the character and I are not reduced to a laughing stock,” he says.
The film’s director Chaitanya feels that while actors don many hats when they take on varied characters in films, it is playing a woman that is exceptionally difficult. “The most convincing portrayal was achieved by Atul Kulkarni in Natarang. There was Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and even Kamal Hassan, to an extent, was good in Chachi 420. It is a huge challenge for a man to become a woman on the big screen,” he says.
Sharan’s character is inspired by Malayalam actor Dileep, who played a similar role in Mayamohini. “He has done such a wonderful job. I hope I can carry off my role in a similar fashion,” says Sharan.
It takes Sharan four to five hours to get his make-up on. “This is something I have never done so far in my career. But I don’t consider this difficult. Enacting a woman’s role is living like one. The moment I am in woman’s get-up, I feel a bit like one,” he says.
According to Chaitanya, any actor who attempts such roles should minutely observe gestures of a woman. “For a natural actor, a lot of details simply sink in and later he is able to bring them out in his work. Actors who live around women - say family members, relatives, grandmothers, aunts and such would have already made notes on their body language and behaviour. This is important as even the slightest failure in understanding the portrayal of a woman will reduce the effort to mimicking stereotypes, like a caricature,” he says.
