India's 1st Best Trans Model Agency

Synopsis

This emotionally charged journey, filmed over 7 years, follows the extraordinary journey of Rudrani Chettri as we discover the transgender community of Delhi as they set about creating India’s first trans model agency and a dazzling, paradigm- shifting, catwalk event. Like many in the trans community, Rudrani and her friends are shunned by their families, forced to live and work on the streets, beaten and raped. Yet against all odds, Rudrani becomes Delhi’s highest profile trans activist, launching the agency under the intense glare of national and international media.
Traditional Hindu society recognizes the ancient Hijra identity as a third sex, a community of holy hermaphrodites. Their blessings and curses have power yet paradoxically, they are considered outcasts, segregated from mainstream society, forced into begging or sex work to survive.
Rudrani leads us into the hidden Hijra world of Delhi. Told with a mixture of humour, empathy and the director’s deeply personal connection with her characters, the film culminates in two grand events: a massive traditional Hindu festival attended by hundreds of thousands with Hijras at its heart and a spectacular catwalk show in ultra-modern Delhi.
Official selection BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2024 - UK premiere

Details

Year

2024

Type of film

Features

Running Time

88 min

Format

1080 - 1920

Director

Ila Mehrotra 1st Feature

Producer

Edward Dallal

Co-Producer

Øyvind Gregersen, Aparna Sanyal

Executive Producer

Andrè Singer, Sonja Henrici, Edward Dallal, Kimberley Warner

Editor

Cassandra Roberts, Vera Simmonds

Screenwriter

Ila Mehrotra

Director of Photography

Ila Mehrotra

Music

Kate Havenik, Harpreet Bansal

Principal Cast

Rudrani Chettri, Chandini, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi

Genre

• LBGT
• Human Rights
• Woman Director
• Documentary

Production status

Complete

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Last updated 6th September 2023