Nawaz’s look being compared to Archana Puran Singh shows India’s obsession with the gender binary

Gender identity and sexuality are spectrums and not just limited to being assigned male or female at birth. India, of course, has a long way to go before it accepts this, especially Bollywood given the abysmal, outdated and regressive portrayal of queer folks in films. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is known for pushing the envelope as an actor, will play the role of a transgender woman in his next Haddi, the motion poster of which, generated much buzz on Twitter. However, the poster was also attacked by several transphobic trolls who compared Siddiqui to Archana Puran Singh. The comparison between Siddiqui, a man who is playing a trans character, and Singh, who is literally a biological woman, is disturbing on so many levels. But first, we need to know the history behind Archana Puran Singh and why she is often shamed for her looks.

Comedy Nights = Horror Nights: Transphobia Galore!
Long before the Tanmays and Zakirs came out with their stand-up specials on Prime Video and their progressive brand of comedy, the only source of comedy pre-Jio and pre-OTT was television and shows like Comedy Nights With Kapil and Comedy Circus. Comedy Circus, on which Archana Puran Singh was a judge, saw several contestants like Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh and even Kapil Sharma mock the actress for what called ‘manly looks’. Act after act, Singh was shamed repeatedly for ‘looking masculine’. In one of the skits on the show, there was a set that depicted men and women’s washrooms. While the women’s washroom had Priyanka Chopra’s supposedly ‘feminine’ picture on the wall, the men’s washroom had Archana’s picture. Week after week, Singh was targeted for her looks and frankly, berated for it. Being a good sport, Singh didn’t take offense. Neither did we.

But, we must now. Shows like Comedy Circus and TKSS normalized mocking a woman for not being feminine enough – for having a sharp jawline, broad shoulders and other stereotypically masculine physical features over which one has no control. While Singh didn’t take offense at any of the jokes, one cannot help but wonder if young kids watching that show thought it was okay for them to mock their peers based on their physical attributes. This, of course, is body shaming. But we must also acknowledge that this is proof of just how obsessed India is with the gender binary – the assumption that there are only two genders – male and female. It also shows our obsession with heteronormativity – where it is assumed that by default a woman is attracted to a man and vice versa. Anyone who deviates from this standard is shamed and humiliated mercilessly much like Archana Puran Singh was (and frankly, still continues to be) by the ‘comedian’ Kapil Sharma.

In times like these where communalism and bigotry are making people burn bridges, shaming someone for their appearance only shows that we are okay with mistreating those who do not fit in and are not stereotypically masculine or feminine. There is, of course, no room for nuance and shades of gray. Everything must be put in a box and god forbid it is not, the person who doesn’t conform to the gender binary will be berated publicly.

Nawaz and Archana: Why must they fit in?

Years after the Comedy Circus fiasco, Nawaz is playing a trans woman. Straight characters playing trans characters is a hot topic of discussion in the West but in a third world country like India where the discourse around LGBT+ community is limited; one must keep one’s expectations in check. One can only imagine how brutally a trans woman playing a trans character would be attacked if even the straight man who is playing her is not spared. The trolling itself was so brutal that Archana had to respond and justify the comparison.

“It’s the hairstyle which has become synonymous with me that is causing all these comparisons. I’ve used this side-parted look during the early part of The Kapil show (The Kapil Sharma Show),” Archana said in a statement. If a reputed actress like Archana Puran Singh, who has played the iconic Miss Briganza, isn’t spared by the homophobic and transphobic trolls, what hope do lesser mortals like us have? How do we respond when someone walking on the street shames us for not conforming to gender stereotypes? Where does the buck stop? Does it even stop?

Isn’t it equally appalling that a biological woman, who had absolutely no involvement in Nawaz’s role had to justify the comparison – basically justify her hairstyle and looks, for which she has already been humiliated and judged for over a decade? Why should Nawaz for that matter, be ridiculed for playing a trans character? For one, it takes a great deal of self-confidence to pull off such a role especially because men, too, are shamed for not being masculine enough and showing any signs of feminine traits.

Needless to say, we must have a nuanced view of gender identity and sexuality – one that is not hell-bent on assigning labels to people and fitting them into pre-defined boxes. And not just Archana Puran Singh, we shouldn’t judge anyone, regardless of their gender or social status, for their appearance, much less for not conforming to gender stereotypes.

Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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