Sushmita Sen: Bandaged my chest and wore a crotch guard

Before Sushmita Sen met Gauri Sawant in 2022 she remembers running a Google search on her Watching her TED Talks and multiple videos gave the actor a fair idea of the transgender activist Or so she thought ldquoWhen I went to meet her the person I expected was the one I saw on YouTube It turns out that is not what any of us are When we met I saw a vulnerable kind and compassionate personBecause of the world we live in there is a difference between the person she is and the one she projects The world needs to see the vulnerable Gauri Sawantrdquo states Sen That is where Taali comes in Gauri SawantSawantrsquos biographical series helmed by Ravi Jadhav attempts to reveal the person behind the many achievements to her name Sen who plays Sawant emphasises that even though the show chronicles the protagonistrsquos fight for transgender rights and highlights societyrsquos apathy towards them itrsquos not an underdog storyAlso Read Friendship gone wrong How friends can resolve conflicts to strengthen ageold bondsThe actor says ldquoThe kinnar community has existed for 4000 years and they are still looking for recognition Hijra is a community not a gaali Over the years people have made it into an abuse What people forget is that at the core of all of this is a human being who is being abused day in day out for simply existing Gauri and her sisters have lived that life every day We have someone to go to when hurt This is the story of a trans woman who had no one to go to and she decided to create a home for the underprivilegedrdquoCasting a nonqueer actor in a queerthemed story is usually slammed The leading lady admits she too was worried about the casting decision But after the teaser was launched last week she felt ldquoan onslaught of loverdquoWhile it was a brave decision on the part of Senmdasha beauty pageant winner who is seen as the epitome of sexymdashto play the role she acknowledges it was ldquoan enormous responsibilityrdquo to tell Sawantrsquos story ldquoGauri is breaking the barrier of why a trans person is not chosen to play her And the circle will be completed when a trans actor will play a genderneutral role These are small steps to progressrdquo smiles SenThe JioCinema offering traces how a young boy Ganesh identifies as a female moves from Pune to Mumbai and builds her life as Gauri Sen credits acting coach Atul Mongia for helping her slip into the roleldquoI had to play a man Ganesh and then Gauri When shooting the portions as a man I would bandage my chest and wear a crotch guard to physically separate the legs I had to put on weight to attain a more masculine structure The mannerisms had to be different We had to dub those portions separately During dubbing I had to increase the bass in my voice The worse my throat got the better it sounded We discovered the right voice through trial and errorrdquo she recountsThe makers wanted Taali to be the story of transgender people told by them Which is why they were roped in across departments ldquoMore than 70 per cent of the crew was made up of kinnars including my coactors and some codirectors The right and wrong were dictated by them on the sets My director was clear that we would get it wrong in terms of onscreen representation So whenever we went wrong they would tell us lsquoThaambrsquo and we would follow their guidancerdquo