B-town Actors Who Portrayed Transgender In Reel Life

The film industry is not just about acting, it is also about accepting challenges and going the extra mile to portray a character. There are many actors who get out of their comfort zone and who feel that exploring other genders on-screen, is also necessary. We have seen many actors who got into the shoes of a female, but very few try to portray a transgender in films. On one hand, doing this requires a lot of guts, on the other hand, it also needs the skill to get into the skin of the character.

In general, actors don’t want to shed their masculine identity. However, Bollywood has seen some talented actors who came out of their comfort zone and delivered some noteworthy performances. Here is a list of some stars who took the challenge and portrayed a transgender role in their films –

Akshay Kumar

One of the finest actors in the Bollywood, Akshay Kumar has impressed everyone, time and again, through his versatile acting. He never shies away from experimenting with new looks, new characters and new concepts. In his upcoming film ‘Laxmmi Bomb’, the ‘Baby’ actor is playing the role of a character who is possessed by a transgender spirit. It will be worth watching to see him play such a character and for sure he will do full justice to it.

Ashutosh Rana

Ashutosh Rana has given some memorable performances in the past. His role in the film ‘Sangharsh’ is remembered the most. He played a transgender in the film who abducts children and sacrifices them. One of the scenes in the movie where he screams is extremely terrifying and can give goosebumps to anyone. Ashutosh has received a lot of appreciation for this performance and won the Filmfare award for Best Performance in a Negative Role.

Sadashiv Amrapurkar

Sadashiv Amrapurkar played a notorious role of an evil transgender pimp ‘Maharani’ who runs a brothel in the movie ‘Sadak’, which featured Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt in the lead roles. He won many awards for this memorable performance. The movie was remade in Tamil as ‘Appu’ and Prakash Jha played the antagonist in this film. The sequel of this movie ‘Sadak 2’ is also in production and Pooja Bhatt’s half-sister Alia Bhatt is the female lead in the sequel.

Mahesh Manjrekar

Mahesh Manjrekar is one of the actors who has proved his mettle in numerous movies. His role as a transgender ‘Begam’ in the film ‘Rajjo’ is worth remembering. Begam ran a brothel in the film and the lead actors Kangana Ranaut and Paras Arora have to deal with Begam amidst critical circumstances. Mahesh received applauds from all corners for his performance in the film.

Paresh Rawal

Paresh Rawal is yet another multi-talented actor in the tinsel town. With his comedy timing, he has won the heart of millions. Paresh played the role of a transgender character ‘Tikku’ in the film 'Tamanna', which was released in 1997. The main leads in the film were Pooja Bhatt, Sharad Kapur and Manoj Bajpayee. In the film, Tikku does the make-up of Bollywood actresses. One day, he finds a newborn girl abandoned by her parents. Tikku picks her up and raises her as his own.