From Sajid Khan's Humshakals To Akshay's Laxmi: 5 Bollywood Films With Cross Dressed Roles

The representation of the LGBTQIA+ or the queer community in Bollywood films has always been controversial due to several reasons including the lack of representation from the community itself. Though Bollywood has evolved in portraying the community or handling sensitive societal issues, it still lacks depth and understanding.

Among many such issues is cross-dressing and Bollywood uses it merely to add humour to the storyline. Men who cross-dress as women are often laughed at by society whereas they are trying to challenge the stereotypes and normalise the fact that it is okay to let go of society’s idea of ‘manly’.

Here are five films that did not let us forget the cross-dressed roles, whether loved or cringed at.

Chachi 420

Kamal Haasan was one of the very rare and first actors to play a cross-dressed role throughout a Bollywood feature film. The 1997 Hindi comedy drama film Chachi 420 is one of the first films that made everyone a big fan of Haasan as well. Haasan’s organic portrayal of Chachi, a sensible Maharashtrian woman Lakshmi, and the grace with which he played it will almost make you want Chachi to be real by the end of the film.

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Humshakals

Directed by Sajid Khan, the 2014 Hindi comedy film Humshakals stays in your memory for all the wrong reasons. In this film, not one actor but three cross-dressed including Saif Ali Khan, Ram Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh. The portrayal was so bad that in an interview, Khan said that there was nothing tasteful about the roles. The film did not do well at the box office either.

Apna Sapna Money Money

The 2006 Hindi comedy film Apna Sapna Money Money is yet another film featuring Riteish Deshmukh in a cross-dressed role. Though the role can qualify as yet another cringe-worthy, however, Deshmukh was loved, praised, and remembered for his comic timing as a conman disguised as a woman to dupe other people.

Laxmii

The Akshay Kumar starrer 2020 film Laxmii landed itself in several controversies with his portrayal of a saree-clad transgender. The film is a remake of the hit Tamil horror-comedy film Kanchana. Though Kumar mentioned the role as the “most mentally intense” character in his career of 30 years, the film tangled itself in several controversies including its title resembling Goddess Lakshmi and its portrayal of a transgender.

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Dream Girl

Ayushmann Khurrana’s portrayal of a cross-dressed role in the 2019 comedy film Dream Girl initiated a conversation around how men can portray women characters on screen without shying away and how it is not derogatory for a man.

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