Cross-dressing is often seen in Indian entertainment but is still very much taboo in real life. One cross-dresser tells DW about the challenges they have faced when expressing themselves.
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00:00 Most of the people think that it is a lot of fashion in the characters
00:04 but it has a lot of trauma
00:06 it has a lot of pain
00:08 and because all these characters are born to fight the negativity
00:14 So for me it is more like my expression
00:17 like people do paintings
00:19 so I create characters
00:21 [Music]
00:41 Whatever I am doing it has nothing to do with who I am for society
00:47 It has everything to do with me because I feel happy with it
00:51 because if I won't do it I would maybe fall mentally sick
00:56 [Music]
01:19 I am dressing up with all feminine clothing
01:23 then people think I am a transgender
01:26 So being trans is not related to your dressing sense or your clothes
01:33 So cross dressing anyone can do it
01:36 [Music]
01:52 They were humiliating me like anything
01:55 So no one knows at my home
01:59 I came home and I tried committing suicide
02:02 Our society is a male-dominant society
02:07 No God has written that a man cannot wear a skirt
02:10 or a woman cannot wear a trouser
02:13 [Music]
02:41 Nobody is going to judge because everyone is like them
02:45 So you can wear makeup, you can wear accessories, dresses
02:50 because the space is specially dedicated to such people
02:55 Not only such people, anyone can come and enjoy, celebrate
03:00 [Music]
03:08 I will live my life as who I am
03:12 This is who I am
03:14 You accept me, you ignore me
03:17 I don't care
03:19 [MUSIC]