'Narthaki' (Tamil)
Director: G Vijayapadma
Cast: Kalki, Ashwin, Leema, Girish Karnad, MKR Raghu,Vivin, Karate Venkatesh, ‘Maina’ Susan
‘Narthaki’ has a couple of firsts to it. It’s for the first time that a Tamil feature film has a transgender as its protagonist, and has a real life transgender essaying the role. Our films have featured the third gender earlier too. But only on the sidelines, either as a butt of joke, or as a group dancing to a song in their unique style.
So when a filmmaker takes up a bold concept centered around a transgender’s journey, it’s an effort to be lauded. The film is scenarist-director Vijayapadma’s maiden venture. Through the protagonist’s first person narrative, the director takes us through the traumatic journey of an adolescent, Subbu, and his transition to the transgender Kalki.
Different actors have been cast in the various age-levels of Kalki’s life. The casting is apt and the transition smooth. Kalki, a real-life transgender and social activist, plays her namesake, appearing in the later stages of the story.
Subbu’s childhood is depicted naturally. The boy would rather match steps with his mother as she danced, than get trained in the stick fight his father was so proficient at. There is a scene where a young Subbu in makeup, admires himself in the mirror much to his father’s chagrin. For the burly martial arts teacher who carried his masculinity with pride, his son’s non-interest in manly pursuits was a total letdown.
Some scenes such as Subbu’s awareness of his sexual leanings as he steps into adolescence are impressively handled. Moving away from the loving overtures of Meena, his childhood playmate, he finds himself attracted to schoolmate Bhaskar.
Ashwin, who essays this stage of Kalki’s life, fits in perfectly with suitable expressions and body language. It’s a touching moment when an agonised confused Subbu opens up to his father, only to face ostracism and ridicule. The whole episode of Subbu’s initiation into the transgender community, and his transition to Kalki, is disturbingly realistic.
The director has done her research well. The presence of real life transgenders in supporting roles lends a natural feel. Sexually exploited and not wanting to be a ‘beggar or a prostitute’, Kalki follows her passion for dance, and gets trained under a pious dance teacher (Karnad’s presence lends a dignity to the proceedings).
Next we get to see Kalki as the educated and self-assured social activist, who carries her alternate sexuality with grace and confidence. The film misses out on this crucial period of transition where she had managed to break barriers, entered mainstream society, and earned respectability and acceptance. This would have been an intuitive study, and an example to others of her community. The film comes across as a docu-drama, with some crucial pages left blank. But despite the glitches, ‘Narthaki’ is a path-breaking effort by the women-team of producer ‘Punnagai Poo’ Geetha and director Vijayapadma.
With growing social awareness about the third gender and efforts to integrate them into mainstream society, ‘Narthaki’ comes at the right time and bring along with it a message of acceptance and understanding of humans with different sexual orientation.
