Chiranjit and Bubai are two young transgender friends from Kolkata. Hailing from poor and uneducated families, they confronted social castration from a tender age. However, it helped strengthening their bond as friends. Bubai, often mistreated in his family, seeks love and care outside. He falls in love with a boy only to be dumped for a 'real' girl. Chiranjit, an only child, is relatively accepted by his parents. He wants a good job. But nobody wants a feminine boy in company. In 2009, they joined Manas Bangla, a non-profit organization working in LGBT advocacy and HIV awareness. Their job is to generate consciousness amongst high risk youth and bring them in for blood test. Months pass and now Bubai gets a new boyfriend. He is happy now.But he is still looking to get out of his current standing and make more money. Chiranjit, on the other hand gets a promotion in Manas Bangla and becomes Bubai's superior. But this development in their personal life and career opens up a rift. Soon they stopped talking to each other.
This documentary style drama was probably made by someone in a very amateurish stage. Having said that, some real good tender moments are shared with us on stage. Scenes where Bubai is tormented by his school friends for being feminine. How heart broken he gets when he fails in school exams. And also, its interesting to see how his eyes lit up everytime he talks about a boy or boyfriend. And these guys are probably 16 or something, no older. On the other hand Chiranjit seems more practical. He is not building dreams in his head of a Prince Charming to come and rescue. He knows his situation and is ready to fight. What I would have liked to see here is more of the families and how they think and deal with all of this in their daily life. Especially the fact that they are all sex workers at night trying to make a living out of it all. Given that the film is not too long, it is an easy watch and you are curious to. See what's going on in their life and how it would all end. The ending of the film is a bit random with no message r no closure to anything at all. Life is probably not going to change much for good soon for other of them.
Sometimes we think being gay is hard, but its all about perspective. Every time I see any story about trans people (even if the movie is bad), it makes me stop and think how much more struggle they have to go in their life. (4.5/10)
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