The play Hijada aims to spread awareness about the transgender community. The play Hijada aims to spread awareness about the transgender community.

What started as a play that explored the search for one’s sexual identity has become a tool for awareness.

When writer-director Saggherr Loadhii and his team at Akanksha Ranbhoomi staged their play Hijada last September, it was supposed to be an “aesthetic piece that was not necessarily a product made for awareness,” says actor Zeeshan Kamble. Ten months later, the play has travelled to several cities, with the help of various NGOs who have supported it.

The play follows two men who get close to a hijra community and start questioning their own sexual identity. While the play has been lauded for its genuine portrayal of the lives of people from the community, the realism of its script has got them their fair share of controversy as well. Kamble, who plays the guru, a head of the community, says, “The play is a realistic depiction of their lives, which includes prostitution, and their daily schedules. We also have not taken sides; we haven’t shown transgenders as victims”. This has irked some from the community, who have protested.

The play will be staged at NCPA on July 11, 6.30 pm.

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