‘I heard their pain, how they hide their dreams’: Rajshri Deshpande on playing a trans man in Baapya

Rajshri Deshpande

Driven by faith and the need to spotlight stories about marginalised communities, Rajshri Deshpande portrayed a trans man in the Marathi social comedy, Baapya - a film that won her acclaim upon its May release. And the applause is continuing. Deshpande has been nominated for the Best Actor (Female) Award at the upcoming Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

A still from ‘Baapya'

"People recognise me through my characters, and I think that's true success of an actor. It cannot be measured by any award or how many likes you get," smiled the actor, thrilled to have her performance recognised at a global platform.

The reward for Baapya is special for Deshpande as she shouldered the responsibility of depicting the marginalised transgender community authentically. The actor, whose character Shailesh returns to his village after undergoing a gender reassignment surgery in director Sameer Tewari's film, shared, "When I was working on this film, I spent months talking to my trans friends, hearing their pain, how they hide their dreams to be seen. You have to walk that walk, [capture] the gaze, the voice, and every tiny detail, and most importantly, understand their stories of rejection as well as acceptance. My years of work with the community helped me."

Rajshri Deshpande at RADA. Pics/Youtube, Instagram

Rajshri Deshpande signed up for a course in Shakespeare in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Ebullient about the course, the actor said, "I have come here to study Shakespeare, something I wanted to do for years. I have enrolled in RADA to learn because I want to revive myself as an actor. I want to learn more tools, more about characterisation, and do better"