Sushmita Sen nailed her performance as transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant in Taali

The much anticipated mini web series - Taali released on 15th August 2023 on OTT platform JioCinema has been an instant hit with millions of viewers. The show is based on true events and is about the life of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant who fought for gender equality. The tagline goes like Taali - 'bajayenge nahi, bajwayenge!'

When Sushmita Sen shared the trailer on her social media handle, the internet went abuzz as reactions and comments started pouring in. The trailer gives us the protagonist’s backstory, offering a glimpse of the childhood life. It is then revealed that Gauri (Sushmita Sen), a transgender activist, was born as Ganesh, a young boy who dreams of becoming a mother. Shreegauri Sawant goes through many challenges and that journey is shown in Taali.

Also, there is a very good phrase in the trailer, “Gauri aa gayi hai. Apne swabhimaan, sammaan aur swatantrata ki kahaani lekar." Sushmita Sen plays the role of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant. Fans are all ecstatic after seeing her performance. But for Sushmita, the most memorable moment was when Shreegauri Sawant met and gave her blessings. Sawant said,   ‘I don't want to watch. Yeh jo kar rahi hai, sahi kar rahi hai. Yeh meri marble chi murti hai [Whatever she is doing, she is doing right. She is my marble statue]."

Sushmita Sen highlighted the importance of living with dignity and expressed her gratitude to all her fans for their support and love. We connect on a human level. The goodness she has and embodies, I see it and feel it. And it's not in the most obvious way where we go out of our way to tell people we love them. She doesn't do that.”

Sushmita Sen shared how she connected with Shreegauri Sawant during the project. The fight for adoption rights was the point of connection between the two. Shreegauri Sawant was the first transgender in India to file a petition in the Supreme Court for adoption rights. Similarly, Sushmita Sen had to tough time with the system to adopt her daughters, Renee and Alisah in the early 2000s. The actress was denied adoption rights for being a single and fertile woman.

Sushmita Sen asserted that Shreegauri Sawant's fights were 'way bigger.' She said, “Gauri's fights have been way bigger. The right to have a birth certificate, a death certificate, to get a job, to own land and just the things that we take for granted. We generalise them and say that everyone talks, shouts and claps a certain way, but that's not true. There are lawyers, doctors, police officers and IAS officers in the transgender community. At the end of the day, if you're fit for a job, you're fit for a job.”