Ankur on playing a queer character in transgender activist Gauri Sawant’s biopic Taali, led by Sushmita
Sushmita Sen in Taali; (right) Gauri Sawant
After Aarya, Ankur Bhatia was only too happy to reunite with Sushmita Sen for Taali. While the crime drama saw him play her sibling who plots against her, this time around, he plays an ally to Sen’s character. “I immensely enjoy working with Sushmita. She is warm, kind, and I love her energy on set. Since the story is of a certain nature, we got together to prep extensively on it,” says Bhatia.
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Ravi Jadhav’s web series sees Sen step into transgender activist Gauri Sawant’s shoes, depicting her fight for the community’s rights. For Bhatia, slipping into the role of a transgender person wasn’t easy. The actor says he approached it with a sense of responsibility and sensitivity. “This is a special role. You have the responsibility of representing a community that often has been under-represented or misrepresented on screen. We had Gauri Sawant’s guidance. But I am a product of my own conditioning as well. So, it involved a lot of unlearning. I developed empathy, and deep understanding of my role.”