Eunuch

EUNUCH (25), a transgender woman, lives in a remote coastal village in India. Like most of her kind, she is an outcast, shunned by society and family alike. Therefore, her relationship with MRINAL (30), an heir to a powerful political family, can only exist behind veils – a deadly secret known only to themselves. When Mrinal marries a wealthy woman from a high caste, Eunuch accepts it as her fate and is content with the clandestine trysts that continue after his marriage. But as his bond with his family grows, Eunuch realises that their love means little to Mrinal. One day, overcome by rejection and rage, she kills him.

She makes her way to Mumbai. SANDEEP (19), a friend from the village, helps her settle in. She joins a clan of Kinnars and goes in search of her missing sister MALTI, who was trafficked to the city by HARI (51) when Eunuch was a child. The hope of reuniting with Malti is short-lived: Eunuch is rejected by the woman she believes to be her sister.

It is at this point that Mrinal returns. As a ghost. She sings to bring him back to
life. He is her reason for living. Unwilling to lose him again, but unable to bear
his presence because he reminds her of the misdeed she has committed, she collapses. To live, she must exorcise his spirit and all that is buried in her past. The reappearance of the evil Hari sets her off on this path: to accept, admit and seek forgiveness. She sings again; through singing she can explore the depths of her dark past and find the thread that connects her to life and others. At first, she sings for her own community, then for larger crowds. She becomes a beloved singer, singing for those invisible, rejected and deprived, who, like herself, wander through our cities every day.

Credits

Director and screenplay: Udita Bhargava
Producer: Martin Lehwald
Co-producers: Eaux Vives Productions, Amour Fou
Producer: Stella Wejchert