Open Secret

Prajakta Hebbar : Fri Aug 31 2012, 00:01 hrs

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/open-secret/995574/0

A private screening of Oscar-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's latest documentary on Pakistan's transgender community was held in Delhi recently

Maggi has always wanted to be an air hostess but it was not an easy task — growing up in Karachi in the '80s and being confused about her sexuality. Maggi, a transgender, had a day job until recently. However, when her employers learned about her sexual identity, they fired her. Now, Maggi has accepted her current job as a dancer and sex worker. Yet, she hasn't given up the hope of embracing the skies one day.

This is one of the stories in director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's latest documentary film, Transgenders: Pakistan's Open Secret. Her film Saving Face, which chronicled the journey of survivors of acid violence in Pakistan and their subsequent reconstructive surgery, bagged an Oscar in 2012. "Saving Face and Transgenders were filmed simultaneously. While the former was filmed for over a year, the latter was shot in a shorter duration," she says.