Premiere of documentary on transgender woman ‘I am Sirat’ at Toronto Fest – Dainik Savera Times

toronto: Deepa Mehta’s documentary ‘I Am Seerat’, based on the life of a transgender from Delhi, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The documentary was shot on a smartphone. The documentary ‘I Am Sirat’ depicts the troubles and complexities that come in the life of a transgender. Sirat suppresses her inner desire to live like a woman, so that her mother, a married sister and relatives do not have to be humiliated.

She cannot leave her widowed mother, as she is her only support. Seerat lives with her mother as a boy and rents a room to live her real life as a transgender woman. Her Punjabi songs and dance reels posted on Instagram garnered a huge following. When he got followers, his relatives unfollowed him.

The big turning point of her life came when she was given a transgender certificate by a government department, she celebrated it by visiting India Gate with her friend. In a discussion after the screening, Deepa Mehta said that she and Seerat together had written the documentary Deepa said that Sirat had come to meet her when she was in Delhi in November. She said, ‘Why don’t you make a film on what I am going through. It took me just a few days and I said: let’s make the film.

The filmmaker said, ‘I told Sirat: This is your film. You are the narrator. You have to see it through your own lens. You make the film yourself, you start it and you finish it. I will film you.” I have known Seerat for four years because we had earlier worked together on a film called Laila. Sirat is someone who is fearless and yet going through tough times…who has a dual existence.

She is torn between duty to her mother and her desire for self-determination. She is doing the same till today. I have learned a lot from her.’On her part, Seerat – who now calls Deepa Mehta her mother – expressed hope that the documentary will help people and her mother accept her as a proud transgender woman.