Taali Review: Series follows the remarkable journey of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant
Taali Web Series Rating: 2.5 Stars
Finally watched Taali Web Series on Jio Cinema. So, let’s analyze the cast, release date, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this web series.
Cast: Sushmita Sen, Ankur Bhatia, Aishwarya Narkar, Nandu Madhav, Hemangi Kavi and Suvrat Joshi
Director: Ravi Jadhav
Release Date: 15th August 2023 on Jio Cinema
Duration: 6 Episodes/ 25 Minutes
Story: Series begin when Gauri (Sushmita Sen) who is a transwoman shares her life journey to a journalist (Maya Rachel Mcmanus) hours before the historic Supreme Court judgement of recognizing the third sex, where she recalls her battles for identity and survival.
Gauri was Ganesh (Krutika Deo) in the childhood. One day in school he was asked about what he wants to become when he grows up. His answer of being a mother and bearing a child surprise everyone in his class. Eventually, we come to know that Ganesh likes to dress up like a girl, put on make-up and more. His mother (Aishwarya Narkar) supports her as she thought that everything will be fine once he grows.
But his police inspector father Dinkar Sawant (Nandu Madhav) does not like to see him dress-up like a girl. He takes him to a doctor to get him checked. The doctor tries to inquire if he feels any attraction for women around him but he denies. After his mother death, Ganesh feels represented in the trans community and starts hanging out with them. When his father comes to know about the same, Ganesh is left with no option but to leave him and head out.
In Mumbai, he comes to know about the atrocities that the community faces and how they are denied even jobs due to their sexual orientation. He goes through a life-threating operation to become Gauri and fights for the rights of the marginalized trans-community.
Positives
1. Excellent Performances
2. Direction
3. Story
4. Screenplay
Negatives
1. Could have been more episodes
2. Shreegauri struggle could have in depth
3. More Research was required
4. Music
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this web-series, planned to watch this series in my free time as loved the trailer and also it based on real life incident.
Based on the life of Trans activist Shreegauri Sawant, Taali scales her journey from being born as a boy to a middle-class family to finally accepting her calling and setting out on a journey full of battles.
Taali is a compelling piece of work and may prove to be an eye-opener for most. The show is dramatic, gritty and full of heart. It takes you through the eventful life journey of transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant. The screenplay is racy and the story is rousing. The performances are terrific. The casting of many characters from the trans-community gives the show a different high. The controlled length of each episode makes the show an instant binge. The show uses different time periods to show Gauri’s tough times, from when she was young to when she finds out who she really is, changes how she looks, becomes a mother, and becomes a strong voice for the transgender community. However, except for a couple of times, we don’t really feel connected to the series. Sushmita’s acting is like the glue that holds the story of Taali together. Her expressive eyes and bold dialogues deserve a special mention, for sure. A little detailing regarding their inner compulsions and the minutiae of Gauri Sawant’s personal and public battle to bring people like her on even keel with the nation’s binary population would have lent the series far greater potency. Sushmita Sen is riveting and with an electric screen presence to match. You simply can’t take your eyes off the accomplished performer, as she goes about making the character her own.
On the flipside, most parts of Gauri’s struggles were left out. It is shown in parts of flashbacks narrated by a white journalist. The makers could have shown how Gauri even became so influential that she had connections with the police, the media and even politicians. One of the scenes where makers went wrong was to show how Sushmita aka Gauri threatens to strip in front of a hospital’s dean if he doesn’t listen to her demands. Isn’t this what gives eunuchs a bad reputation? Some of these cliches could have been avoided to make the show more nuanced. The script fails a tad in in not attempting a proper deep dive into the world that the transgender community inhabits and apprising the audience of those aspects of their lives that are not already known. In trying to keep the series fast paced and nippy, the writers skip large swathes of her transition into a transgender activist of repute and power. How did a chit of a boy who ran away from home at the tender age of eighteen and tried to find his bearings alone in the big bad city of Mumbai not face any more trouble than a lecherous sculptor? What were the hardships she and her lawyers had to endure, to file a case in the Supreme Court, and ultimately win that case?
Overall, even with its flaws, the makers of Taali deserve applause for their bravery in taking such an unconventional yet very important approach and choosing Sushmita to tell the story. It is a must watch show not just for what it represents but also because it is very gritty and compelling in its own. The story of Shreegauri Sawant needs to be reach out to more and more people. My view on this web-series is Recommended.
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