When Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar came across a story based on the life of transgender activist Gauri Sawant, they immediately recognized its potential. Three years on, the duo is almost ready with Taali, which sees Sushmita Sen step into Sawant’s role, and National Award winner Ravi Jadhav at the helm. The idea behind the upcoming web series, Nishandar says, is to chronicle Sawant’s fight for transgender rights while also highlighting society’s apathy towards them.

“Gauri and Laxmi [Narayan Tripathi] went to the Supreme Court to fight for transgenders’ rights. Taali is an inspiring story of how a young boy Ganesh [identifies] as a female, moves from Pune to Mumbai, and then builds her life [as Gauri],” says Nishandar.

After acquiring the rights from Sawant, the creators made her an integral part of the script development. “After Afeefa Nadiadwala wrote the story, we spent a lot of time taking Gauri through it. We dramatised it to make it entertaining, yet kept it as real as possible,” recounts Baran. Next came the big question: Who would play the protagonist? Sen was their unanimous choice.

Baran says, “Sushmita had done a fantastic job in Aarya. We thought if we could get her for this role, it’d be amazing.”

What followed was a long wait, as the actor pored over the script. Nishandar adds, “Sushmita said she loved the script, but needed some time to absorb it. She took six months to say yes, but by then, she knew the script by heart and had done her homework. So much so that when we would add a line or change a scene during the shoot, she would point out that it wasn’t there [earlier].”

Before she stepped into Sawant’s shoes, Sen wanted to meet the activist who had championed different causes — from adoption rights of transgenders, to founding an NGO that provides counselling to them. The duo met in late 2022.

Baran elaborates, “It was amazing to see them together. Sushmita lights up the room she is in, and Gauri is like a mind reader, who can see a person’s soul. Though we had gone through the entire script, Gauri narrated some [other experiences]. She even gave a rudraksh to Sushmita for the shoot.”

Gauri Sawant with Nadiadwala and Sen

Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar