I Am Sirat (IAS) tells the story of transgender woman, Sirat, and the USP of this film is that director Deepa Mehta also gives Sirat the reins to tell her own story as a co-director. So the movie's narrative is not steered by a cis woman alone, which is a beautiful gesture, and I'd love to see such jointly made films more often when telling stories of minorities or different sections in society in general, not just LGBTQ stories. Sirat filmed her shots via her phone, so her vertical footage is distinguished from the landscape footage that Deepa has shot. The transition from vertical to landscape is seamless and done really well.
What was a bit of a bummer for me (and I could kinda tell for some from the audience as well) was that the film was a bit long-winded and could've done with some tighter editing. However, I really appreciated learning more about what trans individuals have to endure, also from the Delhi trans community lens, and that's why I'd rate this film a 7/10. And like I mentioned - a BIG KUDOS to Deepa and team for giving Sirat the voice to co-direct and shoot her own story - empowering her with a sense of agency, fulfillment, and queer joy.
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I watched IAS at Kashish - South East Asia's biggest queer film festival, held annually in Mumbai for 15 years now! IAS was screened after a panel discussion with Deepa Mehta and Nandita Das to talk about 25 years of Fire - the pathbreaking Indian LGBTQ film from 1996 - which I haven't watched.😩 Yet.
I loved how unapologetically funny and candid Deepa Mehta was! Sometime during the discussion, the journalist leading the panel asked her to share some of her thoughts on IAS, but Deepa replied, "I would like y'all to just directly watch the film after this discussion. Right now I only want to talk about Fire, Nandita, and me."
😂😂💀 OMG I LOVE HER!!! Hahaha.
