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.

While Varun Dhawan steps into Govinda's shoes for the remake of Coolie No 1, Jaaved Jaaferi plays his secretary in the comedy. Remembering how the late Sadashiv Amrapurkar had breathed life into the character in the 1995 original, Jaaferi says, "The character's motivation remains the same, but the way he speaks and behaves is different from what was done by Sadashiv bhai."

With the Amazon Prime Video offering, Jaaferi — known for his comic timing — has realised his long-standing wish of collaborating with David Dhawan. He enjoys the filmmaker's offerings as they align with the teachings of his comedian-father Jagdeep. "My father taught us that there are certain subjects where you can't cross the line. For instance, one shouldn't touch on religion when making jokes. So, I keep these things in mind. As an actor, I am not responsible for what is written [in the script], but I can refuse to do it if it doesn't match my sensibility. Coolie No 1 is a family entertainer that doesn't cross the line."

When you say the name Sadashiv Amrapurkar, the image that immediately leaps to mind is that of Maharani, the sari-clad, bindi-wearing eunuch who ran the brothel in Mahesh Bhatt's Sadak (1991). Speaking about him, an emotional Mahesh Bhatt, who helmed the film, says, “There are very few films in this country where you mention the name of the villain before that of the hero, heroine or the maker.“

64-year-old Amrapurkar passed away at about 2:40 am on Monday. He is survived by his wife Sunanda and his daughter, Rima.

Bhatt further adds, “Sadashiv was a very rooted person who chose to walk his own path on his own terms. A man of the world, he was very informed and had his own unique view on complex issues. Unlike his villainous portrayals on screen, in real life he was a very gentle, refined and cultured person, a very easy actor to work with. He added that sparkle to my career and I thank him immensely . So, without him, I wouldn't have got where Sadak took me.“

Bhatt also revealed that when he visualised the character of Maharani, he hadn't thought of dressing the character in a sari. “It was Sadashiv who wondered how could there be a hijra without a sari?“ said Bhatt.Adding, “He halted the shoot and got dressed in a sari. He gave his blood to the role and that's why we still mention him after he's gone.“ The 64-year-old Maharashtrian actor who first made his mark as don Rama Shetty in Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya (1983) had also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in that year. For nearly three decades, Amrapurkar stayed integral to Hindi cinema because he was so believable in his screen appearances, never mind whether he played good or bad. The actor passed away at about 2.40 am on Monday, November 3. He had been undergoing treatment for a lung infection for the last few days in a Mumbai hospital and was put on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit around October 21. A family friend who visited him last week, said “The doctors had maintained he was critical though he himself indicated that he was feeling better during the last few days. But his condition worsened on Sunday.“

On Monday morning, Amrapurkar's body was moved to Bhaidas Hall in Vile Parle, where it was kept till late afternoon for industry persons to pay their last respects to him.Later, it was to be taken to Ahmednagar for the funeral, which will happen today.

Born on May 11, 1950 as Ganesh Kumar Narwode in an affluent Maharashtrian Brahmin family of Ahmednagar, he adopted the name Sadashiv Amrapurkar in 1974 when he forayed into theatre. Interestingly, the Best Actor in a Negative Role award was first introduced to acknowledge his villainous performance in Sadak. The actor also gave noteworthy performances in the movies of the 90s like Hukumat, Aankhen, Ishq, Gupt and many others. He was last seen in Bombay Talkies (2013). Actor Om Puri says that he had to work really hard to match up to the performance of his co-star and “strong“ actor Sadashiv while filming Ardh Satya. “I remember when the whole team of Ardh Satya went to Ahmedabad for an event post the release of the film, Sadashiv got more claps than me. He was flawless. Just that he couldn't overcome his Marathi accent,“ says Puri, who learnt about Sadashiv's death while travelling in a train to Rajasthan through a co-passenger, early Monday morning.

Recalling her experience with the man who terrorised her in Sadak, Pooja Bhatt says, “I distinctly remember the car park sequence where Sadashiv was singing the song Chhupa Chhuppi. I have not seen a sweeter villain than him. He was anything but Maharani in real life. He was a thorough gentleman and extremely kind.“ The actress-turned-filmmaker also added, “I wish I was in touch with him when he was alive. His death has reinstated in me that I need to reach out to people who have played an important role in my life and not regret when they have gone.“

After watching Amrapurkar's play Hands Up! in which the actor played a comic cop, Nihalani who can rightfully be called Amrapurkar's godfather because it was he who introduced him to Hindi cinema in Ardh Satya says, “I saw him in Hands Up! and was truly impressed with him. The writer of Ardh Satya, Vijay Tendulkar arranged a meeting between Sadashiv and me. I was struck by his eyes; they were always alert. His look was purposeful with a bit of mischief as well. I watched his play and halfway through decided to cast him in a villain's role of that of a don. I felt that if his comedy was good, he would also excel in a negative role, and he went on to play the iconic character Rama Shetty in my film.“

“Sadashiv was easy going, friendly and compassionate,“ he trails off, remembering the man who gave villainy a new dimension in the 80s. 

Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who had been critically ill and has been on the ventilator for the last six days, is stable now. Best known for his performances in films like Ardh Satya (1984) and Sadak (1991), the 64-year-old actor was admitted in an Andheri West hospital 11 days ago after being diagnosed with lung infection. He then had to be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit when his condition turned critical.

Amrapurkar's daughter Rima said, “He is showing signs of improvement after some change in the line of treatment. Hope he will be on his way to recovery soon.“ It's not yet clear how long he will take to recuperate, but the priority of the doctors is to get him off the ventilator support.
----------
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 27, 2014)

Veteran actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who was admitted to hospital two weeks ago, continues to be on life support.“But he has shown signs of improvement and has been responding to treatment since Sunday afternoon. Let's hope he gets well soon,“ says his daughter Reema.

The 64-year-old actor is suffering from severe lung infection. His condition took a turn for the worse three days ago. “He has developed fibroids in his lungs and has difficulty in breathing. On Saturday, the doctors told us they couldn't do much. But now he is stable,“ she adds.

Memorable for the negative roles he played, Amrapukar has won two Filmfare Awards-Best Supporting Actor for Ardh Satya and Best Actor in a Negative Role for Sadak in which he played Maharani, the eunuch who runs a brothel.

He was last seen in Bombay Talkies. He played Nawazuddin Siddiqui's mentor from the stage in Star, a short story directed by Dibakar Banerjee.