Opening doors, not just dialogues

Faraz Arif Ansari. Pics/Yogen Shah, Instagram

For years, conversations around queer representation in cinema have centred on who gets cast. But before the casting comes access. To bridge that gap, filmmaker Faraz Arif Ansari has launched a free acting and creative arts workshop - TRANSaction - that opens doors for transgender and non-binary individuals hoping to build careers in film and theatre. The three-day workshop begins today (June 12). Alongside training participants in acting, the initiative will connect members of the LGBTQIA+ community with established names from the film and business worlds. Actors Pooja Bhatt, Shweta Tripathi, Taaha Shah, and Shikha Talsania, along with casting director Tess Joseph, will mentor participants. Joseph "will also guide them on audition preparation and self-taping techniques". TRANSaction emerged from a desire to create opportunities for queer artistes. Ansari says the idea evolved after the launch of the Keshav Suri Foundation in 2018.

Tess Joseph, Pooja Bhatt, Taaha Shah, Shweta Tripathi and Shikha Talsania

"Initially, we were hosting panels and bringing people together in safe spaces. [After recognising] the ground reality, we came up with the idea of a free acting workshop for the trans community," explains Ansari. As an openly queer, non-binary filmmaker navigating an industry where opportunities are limited, Ansari says his goal is to "create space and empower other people". "[I want to share] whatever little privileges I have," he says of the workshop, which will travel to Delhi and Bengaluru after its Mumbai leg. "The first step towards inclusivity is to open doors and this is our way of doing it," he adds.