Anjali Ameer made it to the headlines for being the first transgender to play the female lead in a film. She was roped in by the critically acclaimed director Ram to star in Peranbu and has been receiving rave reviews for her performance in the film. Speaking about her transition from Jamsheer to Anjali Ameer, she had said, “Only the society labels I am transsexual—this and that. But I am convinced of my identity as a woman. I enjoy wearing makeup, saris and malli poo. I am not comfortable with any of those tags. We don’t call a reporter—‘male journalist’ or ‘female journalist’, after all.”

On starting her career in the film industry, she told in the interview to the Indianexpress, “It wasn’t easy for me to participate in fashion shows. Often, I’d think if others would question my identity. It has been a life full of struggle with acceptance. Then I would tell myself—‘I want to achieve something and my sexuality shouldn’t be an impediment’. I realised I had to be patient in order to get an opportunity in films. That’s when Peranbu happened. I am indebted to Mammukka for this break because he was the one to recommend me to director Ram.”

Peranbu premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR) earlier last year and received positive response. It was then screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival to extremely good response. Starring Mammootty in the lead role, he plays the dad of a girl child in the film. The star cast of Peranbu also includes Anjali, Samuthirakani, Vadivukkarasi, Sadhana, Livingston, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Siddique and Aruldoss. Anjali, a transsexual woman from Kerala is also playing a pivotal role in the film. The film has been written and directed by the acclaimed director Ram. Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed music for this flick with Theni Eswar wielding the camera and Suriya Pradhaman editing. The film is bankrolled by PL Thenappan under his banner Sri Rajalakshmi Films. Peranbu is a bilingual that was released in Tamil and Malayalam simultaneously.

(Content Provided by Digital Native)