This is not your average love story. Of course, it begins with two people falling in love, but what sets it apart is their remarkable journey. It is the story of A Srija, a Thoothukudi-based transwoman, and B Arun Kumar, a cisgender male, who made headlines in 2019 with the first registered marriage of its kind in Tamil Nadu. When documentary filmmaker Shiva Krish stumbled upon their story, he saw its immense potential. Intrigued, he embarked on a journey that would become his first independent documentary film, “Amma’s Pride.”
Scheduled to premiere at the 64th Krakow Film Festival in Poland on May 29, the documentary has been produced by Chithra Jeyaram, a U.S.-based filmmaker, and D’Lo, a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor, writer, and comedian. Although Shiva, who is based in Chennai, encountered initial resistance from the couple about sharing their life story with an outsider, they eventually opened up to him. His camera captured 40 hours of footage from the end of 2019 to 2023, documenting various significant intervals in their lives.
Notably, Shiva, 31, had prior experience working with several NGOs, interacting closely with the LGBT community. This background helped him approach the story with the required sensitivity. “Love is love, no matter what gender one is,” Shiva emphasizes, explaining that he aimed to document Srija and Arun’s story based on this universal view. But as he delved deeper into their lives, he discovered the true source of their resilience: Srija’s mother, Valli.
“She is Srija’s driving force,” Shiva explains. “Srija has been able to achieve so much in life because of her mother’s unconditional support and love.” It was this realization that led him to narrate the couple’s journey through the eyes of Valli. During his research, Shiva found that the acceptance rate for trans people in India stands at a mere 2%.
. Srija, who falls within this minuscule percentage, owes her current standing in life largely to her family’s support. “Imagine what a similar support system could do for the rest of the 98%,” Shiva reflects.
A still from the film highlights this very essence, showcasing the extraordinary strength of familial love and acceptance. Valli’s acceptance of Srija for who she truly is made a world of difference in her daughter’s life. Through his 20-minute-long documentary film, Shiva hopes to impart this crucial message, accentuated by the musical score from Karthikeya Murthy and editing by Venkat Ramanan CS, who also co-produced the film.
Shiva points out that editing the film was no easy task; it took over a year to shape the raw footage into a coherent and moving narrative. “Editing shapes a documentary film. It is what writing is to fiction,” he notes. With “Amma’s Pride” slated to make its festival rounds, Shiva is exploring distribution options across various platforms. More significantly, he has crafted social impact campaigns around the film in major cities in India and the U.S. “These events aim to raise awareness and spark discussions on the subject,” he says. “I know things cannot change overnight, but it must be remembered that cinema is a powerful tool.”
“Amma’s Pride” is set to do more than just narrate a love story; it aims to bring about social change and challenge societal norms. As the film makes its way into the public eye, it hopes to start conversations and push for greater acceptance for the transgender community. Through the lens of a ground-breaking first registered marriage of a transwoman and a man in Tamil Nadu, the documentary underscores that love transcends all boundaries—gender included.
As Shiva continues his journey promoting the film and advocating for change, the tale of Srija, Arun, and Valli stands as a beacon of hope and the transformative power of love and acceptance. This is not just a pioneering narrative in Tamil Nadu but a universal story that resonates with the innate human yearning for acceptance and love.
The Hindu MetroPlus / Tamil cinema / The Hindu Cinema Plus / Indian cinema
