Interview: ‘Few shows and movies with strong trans characters, we’re trying to change the narrative’

Mocking members of the transgender community, using them for offensive humour, or casting them as antagonists has been the norm in television shows and movies for long. In most depictions, transgender individuals are assumed to be beggars or sex workers, depriving them of dignity and at the same time invisibilising the diversity and back stories of the community.

London-based filmmaker Neeraj Churi is determined to change this. Churi is the founder of Lotus Visual Productions, which has invested and produced 20 short films and one feature film since its inception in 2016.

Harmful representations perpetuate misconceptions about the community, further alienating them from society, Churi told Scroll in an interview on International Trans Day of Visibility, celebrated on March 31. Films, being a powerful medium, can shed light on the hope, struggles, frustrations, and aspirations of the community, Churi added. Excerpts from the conversation.

You have created a legacy of sorts of queer films and a large number of films focused on the transgender community. Being a corporate and finance man, you could have surely put your hard-earned money into something else, something more ‘commercial’. So why Lotus Visual Productions?
I have been asked this question many a time – why I do this and what about profits? At...

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