Ugly aur Pagli (2008, India)

Kabir (Ranvir Shorey) was brought up by rather strict parents, and in fact as a small child he wasn't sure what he was: "Until the age of five, I didn't know whether I was a boy or a girl", but there are no clear shots of any ambiguity. Growing up as a wimpish man, he becomes entangled with the cantankerous Kuhu (Mallika Sherewat). She constantly dominates him, forcing him into painful or embarrassing situations.

As well as making him walk home in her high heels one day, she sets him a dare on her birthday: he must wear a red petticoat and borrow a bicycle that has no seat, and go to a park and steal a rose, and bring it to her. This involves multiple humiliations; he brings the rose to her at a disco, and we don't see anything more of the petticoat, except that over the end titles we see him dancing wearing it.

There aren't really any transgender or sexual overtones to this; it's all done as part of a non-sexual game, intended as comedy for the audience. I found it all rather silly.

HF March 2011

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