Bollywood, Disney and Akshay Kumar all blamed for Laxmii – the Hindi comedy horror film with an insensitive treatment of the trans community

Nov 24 , 2020

Actor Sharad Kelkar, in a scene from the Bollywood film Laxmii, which is attracting widespread criticism for its depiction of trans people. Photo: @SharadK7/Twitter

India’s LGBT community is calling for a boycott following the Disney+ Hotstar release of Laxmii – Raghava Lawrence’s transphobic remake of the Tamil-language Kanchana – starring Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani

An overdue conversation about the damage Bollywood does to the LGBTQ+ community is finally taking centre stage. The row erupted after Laxmii, a Bollywood film centred on a male character (played by Akshay Kumar) being possessed by the ghost of a trans woman, was released on streaming service Disney+ Hotstar on November 9.

The Indian public’s response? Rage. And on a number of fronts.

Deemed a flop by critics

A remake of a Tamil film, Kanchana, critics have called Laxmii a film that “manages to take everything good and turn it into a stinking pile of mediocrity” while being “distasteful, boring and reinforcing dead stereotypes.” Right-wing critics have hit out at it too, calling it “anti-Hindu”.

Clueless about the community

It’s the backlash the film has received from India’s trans community that is most noteworthy. Laxmii reinforces stereotypes held in India about a community that, despite sometimes being called upon for their perceived “good luck”, is largely ostracised.

“This red sari, this red bindi, this turmeric – these are our identifiers as Kinnars; they are our culture, but this film, Laxmmi Bomb [the movie’s original title] is making fun of us and our appearance,” says Madhuri Sarode Sharma, India’s first trans LIC (Life Insurance Company) agent in an Instagram video, adding, “Hey, Akshay Kumar, we’re not wearing these bangles because we saw a ghost.”