This is the year the transgender community is finally being included in the Pakistani census and counted as citizens. Just last month a draft bill was presented in the Senate Standing Committee to award simple basic human rights to people who have long been denied. And yet, in 2017 Pakistani film makers continue to dip into the shallow pool of lowest common denominator cross-dressing jokes.
Legislation can only do so much if our cultural brokers continue to peddle harmful ideas in the name of entertainment. Last week saw the trailer release of yet another big-budget production, Yasir Nawaz’s Mehrunnisa V Lub U. Chock-full of familiar formula staples, complete with snow capped mountains, choreographed dance routines and rolling estates this trailer felt like a lesson in classic South Asian film making – including the cross dressing side kick.
Here lies the problem.
While some nostalgic cinematic conventions may be worth revisiting, this one needs to retire. The cross-dressing male has appeared as comic relief and an object of ridicule in films, sitcoms and theatre plays for centuries, often to contrast against the perfectly masculine hero. The cross-dressing side-kick/villain has no inner life. Their purpose is to entertain you with their oddness – they are not whole humans.
Can we expect this highly neglected group to receive justice in an already flawed system if they don’t have fair representation on-screen? The sensitivity of our jokes can impact their lives. Consider television dramas ARY’s Khuda Mera Bhi Hai and Hum’s Alif Allah aur Insan both of which portray intersex and transgendered characters in a textured and empathetic way. Isn’t it better to tell stories that we can all laugh at together? Why is a man in a dress so hilarious, anyway? Maybe he’s not.