In Transit review: A thought-provoking and pensive compilation of transgender stories

In Transit review: A thought-provoking and pensive compilation of transgender stories

In 2022, filmmaker Ayesha Sood had delved deep into the psyche of a criminal mind with her docu-series, ‘Indian Predator: Butcher of Delhi’. She makes a paradigm shift with her new 4-part documentary, “IN TRANSIT”, a thought-provoking and moving anthology of stories of love, identity and resilience from individuals across the transgender spectrum.

Following the lives of nine individuals, the project backed by the Tiger Babies, Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, explores their lives and commentaries as they navigate life beyond the gender binary. In the process, they bring in a quiet defiance in their constant struggle and confrontations with the societal treatments, the taboos, the prejudices and the hostilities of their near and dear ones. Revealing the extremities of our society in the form of trans phobic hate crimes and detachments, Transit not only chronicles some harrowing and deeply aching stories, but also educates us with important terminologies like Paralingi, Kinnar and Hijra.

 

Their stories, arched around the pursuit to reshape the status quo, are both uplifting and heart-breaking. With a diverse cast ranging from a young educator living in a reserve forest to a classical musician from Bengaluru to a corporate professional in Mumbai, Transit’s odyssey observes each character at a different stage of their transgender journey, challenging societal norms while holding steadfastly to their truth through both turmoil and triumph.

The beauty of the docu-series lies in its diversity of topics it delves into, while extracting the candid narratives of the subjects. Anubhuti Banerjee’s professional endeavors, Rumi’s love for his male’ vocal chords, Aryan’s love affair and Madhuri’s ecstatic feelings while she performs on the stage as the diva actress sharing her name evoke  a great level of candour and depth.

A lot of it is centered about the unadulterated gamut of emotions that Sood mines while she straddles across her subjects – their fear, apprehensions, vulnerabilities, attractions and excitements. She makes the narrative accessible and articulates an ease of understanding while approaching them. The series balances aesthetic ambition with deep respect for its subjects navigating personal and societal thresholds.

 

There is a seamless flow between the episodes – no special construct, and you have the freedom to choose any of them without following any sequence. In the process, it gets more philosophy centric. A bit of recreations of the anecdotes shared by the individuals could have given more heft to Transit.

Nevertheless, Sood’s astute and remarkable craft achieves a rhythm, dignity and tonality that makes Transit fascinating and worth-watching. For Tiger Baby, its an expansion of their slate that encompasses transgender representations – be it the scripted ‘Made-in-Heaven’ or the unscripted one.

 

---

---