On paper this should've been a show I really got into, especially with how much love it's been getting from fans online, but somehow it just didn't click for me. The first four or five episodes had me so lost that I started checking out mentally, and honestly it never really recovered from that for me. There were definitely bits here and there that I enjoyed, but as a whole it just felt like too much was happening at once and I kept losing my grip on what I was watching. Doesn't help either that this is a twelve episode series where each episode runs somewhere between seventy and ninety minutes in its uncut version, that's a lot to sit through and process. Nakhun's a twenty year old college student living in Bangkok who doesn't buy into superstition at all, but his twentieth birthday turns into a disaster anyway, everything that can go wrong does, he even gets mistaken for a thief at one point. Later that night, feeling down, he's out watching shooting s...
Vishnu is subject to abuse and ridicule as a child and attendee for his feminine behaviour. One day when he is hanging out with a friend , he sees two eunuchs being beaten up and he helps them, there getting an opportunity meet other eunuchs and trans folks and how they live. This is thinly place he feels comfortable and in the dark of night he would dress up as a female and spend time with them. He studies hard and gets a job but when his trans identity is discovered , he is terminated from the job. His brother exposes the truth to his parents and Vishnu leaves home, hoping to live with eunuchs and undergo sex change operation. A friend of his from previous company, helps him to get an employment in Delhi, which he does and saves money but a man who befriends him of love eventually also uses him. Vishnu has had enough, but he saved enough money to come back to his town and get surgery. He rechristens himself as Meghna with the full support of the local eunuch community. Meghna becomes an advocate for the kinnar community and engages in social work to help improve their lives. Despite facing opposition and violence, Meghna remains dedicated to her cause and becomes a leader of her community. She also fights to get a driving license so she can live a dignified life and to not have to stoop to begging or prostitution like most trans folks in India end up doing.
The intentions of the film are clearly noble. At no point, does the maker or the actor try to make fun of the situation and they have handled it with dignity and respect, but you can clearly see flawed direction at many places. The actors do a decent job, especially the one playing Vishnu/Meghna. He gets into the skin of the character and tries to do his best with whatever was given to him, but everyone else around him , you feel something is missing. Some of the characters feel caricaturist, especially the eunuch who was closest friend to Vishnu. That actor was just wrong. Also Vishnu's parents were very fake. The whole process of getting surgery, getting a new name and respect was very reminiscence of what I saw in Taali. The whole Hijra community going against Meghan and beating her up was something that came out of nowhere, gets resolved so quick and just was not needed. I would liked to see the challenges faced when applying for taxi license or when she starts an NGO. Those scenes would have made for a larger impact and focused on the actual struggles. The focus was on struggles of Meghna, her life as a kid and adult growing up to her current stage. I salute her commitment to not give into sex working but wanting to lead a life of respect and dignity. Sadly, the poor direction of the film doesn't do much justice. (4/10)
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