Transgender rights activist Shreegauri Sawant has never shied away from speaking about the struggles from her past. Now, with her story being turned into a series, with actress Sushmita Sen portraying her on screen, Gauri is excited.

She says, “Quite a few transgender persons have been through similar experiences like me. It was high time a real-life story of a transgender got explored on screen.”

In a chat with us, Shreegauri speaks about Taali, the project that’s being helmed by Natarang director Ravi Jadhav, Sushmita Sen, her favourite movies with queer characters, and more...

Mother to a 21-year-old daughter, Shreegauri is happy that another doting mom, Sushmita, is playing her on screen. “When the makers told me that they had signed Sushmita for my role, I was pleasantly surprised and flattered. I was curious to know how she agreed to play me on screen. When I asked her this, she very sweetly held my hand, smiled and replied, 'Jaan, tu bhi ek maa hai, aur main bhi ek maa hu, bas isliye'.”

Shreegauri adds that a woman agreeing to portray a character of a transgender is a big win for the entire community. Narrating the time she broke the news to her guru, Shreegauri shares, “When I told her that a show is being made on my life, my guru casually reacted saying ‘Kya badi baat hai? Transgenders par filmein toh banti rehti hai. Sadak (1991) main Sadashiv Amrapurkar ne role kiya tha’. But when I said Sushmita is going to play my role, my guru couldn’t believe it. Playing a transgender on screen is not easy; one needs a lot of courage. Hats off to Sushmita, who has taken up this challenge.”

Gauri adds that she loved the first look of Sushmita too. “She is sporting big bindi and rudraksha mala. Also, I wear my watch in a particular way, which she aced as well,” she says.

Sharing her views on the queer representation in movies, she says that the stories need to go beyond veering around just the struggle of acceptance or coming out. “Aap humko koi aam insaan ki tarah dikhao. Tab humein log job denge. There is no need to show a transgender as a dark character or a person who only has hardships. Hum koi abla naari nahi hai, aur na hi bhagwan hai jo sirf ashirwad de sakte hai. Portray us as normal as you are. Focus on showing us as someone having a career, relationships etc,” she says.

Shreegauri, who had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India for the adoption rights of transgender people, asserts that while society’s outlook towards the queer community is changing, there is a long battle ahead. “We are celebrating 75 years of independence, but our community is still struggling. We are denied our basic rights and good opportunities. I take every opportunity to sensitize people, whether it is about speaking about medical dilemmas or HR policies. Even today, at many hospitals, doctors refuse to examine us. There is a lot to fight for when it comes to gender equality as well,” says Shreegauri, adding, “My father passed away last year. I wasn’t even informed about his death. My brother removed my name from the property papers. It was my father’s right, not his. It is not that we have a lot of property, and I would have given away my share if they had asked me to. But how can you refuse to acknowledge my identity when I am alive? Therefore, we need better laws to allow future generations to live with dignity. It’s high time society stopped playing hide and seek with us. Our battle will be won on the day that no transgender has to beg on the streets.”

“I liked Amol Palekar's Daayraa in Hindi, and in Marathi, Jabbar Patel's Umbartha impressed me too,” says Shreegauri.