‘In Transit' review: In engaging docuseries, courage tinged with caution
They arrived at an understanding of their true selves at different points and through different routes. The engaging Prime Video documentary series In Transit features interviews with nine individuals from different classes, faiths and cultural backgrounds. They identify as trans men, trans women, binary or gender fluid.
A few of them have undergone gender reassignment surgery.
For Aryan, a clinical psychologist from Mumbai, the awareness that he is a trans-man came from watching the popular television serial Hum Paanch.
Created by Imtiaz Patel, Hum Paanch is about a sales representative's efforts to raise his five daughters, which include the tomboy Kajal. For Aryan, 'Kajal bhai' was the first indication that gender is assigned rather than a biological determined, and that it was possible for a woman to identify as a man.
This insightful anecdote is one of many scattered across In Transit.
Heartfelt, often heart-rending conversations with Aryan, Rie, Anubhuti, Teena, Madhuri, Patruni, Rumi, Saher and Siddharth provide a comprehensive picture of transgender realities. Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti – who also serve as producers – and directed by Ayesha Sood, In Transit is an exercise in myth busting, an education in transness and a battle cry for greater acceptance.
Each of the four episodes follows a theme: realisation, survival strategies, the quest for romantic relationships and the importance of nurturing community networks. There is convergence as well as divergence in the stories of individuals who knew from a young age that they were not the son or daughter their parents wanted them be.
Rumi, a classical singer who performed as a woman for years, describes being unable to concentrate during concerts while dressed in a sari – it felt like 'cockroaches were running all over my body', she says.
Some of the most affecting moments are when the subjects talk about their families. Saher has had a difficult male-to-female transition, which continues to trouble her. Teena, who lives in the town where she was born, speaks movingly of the early support she received from her grandmother, as well as the daily challenges she faces.
Rumi's relationship with her mother is a fascinating look at how parents can surprise their children. Patruni's interest in dance, which led to a career as a drag performer, suggests that there is wiggle room even within rigid social conventions.
Despite an overall mood that is upbeat and aimed at being inspirational, In Transit does not gloss over the difficulties involved in transitioning. The revelations of ostracism, abandonment, violence, despair and suicidal thoughts indicate the scale of the opposition faced by the LGBTQI community in India.
I have lost a lot for this sari, Madhuri says. Although Madhuri found her footing with the transgender troupe Dancing Queens and married her partner, she has been unable to obtain a marriage certificate.
Rumi describes the aching loneliness she felt during her transition period. Rie was publicly attacked some years ago, in a hate crime that has not yet been properly investigated. Siddharth was forcibly separated from his partner.
Yet, rainbows peep out at the end of long spells of confusion and anguish. By agreeing to be on camera and honestly sharing their stories, the nine characters of In Transit reveal pain but courage too, hope tinged with caution. The show delivers a judicious mix of laughter and tears. It is a chronicle that is both eye-opening and moist-eyed.
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