“I realised that I was a woman trapped in a man’s body when I was 12-years-old. I didn’t reveal my sexual orientation to my parents,” says 26-year-old Karpaga (formerly Bhaskar), who is set to begin her career in the film industry with the movie Paal (gender in Tamil). Director Sivakumar, who discovered her acting prowess, decided to cast her in the lead role in this movie.
Describing her journey from Erode to Mumbai, Karpaga says, “I went to Mumbai and joined thousands of other transgenders there. I tried doing a BA in Tamil Literature through correspondence, but couldn’t complete it.”
From Mumbai, Karpaga recalls how she called her parents in Erode and gradually revealed her identity to them. “When I came back to Erode, my parents accepted me for who I was. I was the only son in my house and my sister is married,” says Karpaga. Not too keen to reveal her sojourn in Mumbai, Karpaga just says, “I was like any other transgender. There’s nothing much to talk about my life there.”
Karpaga, who was formerly called Aishwarya changed her name to her character’s in Paal. “Henceforth, I will be called Karpaga,” she says with a smile. She won the Miss Koovagam title in 2007. “It has nothing to do with the film offer. The director was searching for a transgender for the role. Many auditioned, but he selected me. May be I have a good screen presence,” she smiles. “When Sivakumar called in to inform me that I had been selected for Paal, my friends in Bangalore told me not to accept the offer as I would be treated badly in the film industry like other transgenders. However, I was sure that the director would offer me a plump role, and as expected I got the heroine’s role in the film,” she informs.
After a week long acting workshop at Puducherry, Karpaga was confident to face the camera. “My first scene was shot at a temple where I see the hero. The whole crew gave me the confidence,” says Karpaga, who has also bagged a role in a Kannada film. “I want to play negative roles. I’m sure that I won’t get any more heroine roles. My roles should have some importance in the film. I don’t want to just appear in two or three scenes,” she clarifies as she signs off.