Gender Identity In Chitrangad The Crowing Wish

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Recommended: Indian feminism in literature

A study of the movie Chitrangada: The Crowing Wish, to examine the idea of ‘Gender Performativity’, the repetitive act of the body. Chitrangada holds important agendas of gender identity and its reception, but what fascinates me the most is the art of understanding homo-erotic feelings and needs. The research tries to explore on gender identity, freedom through performance and the central them of the movie “The Crowning Wish”. Ghosh has brought to the screen what Indian mainstream Cinema is far from portraying, the sensibilities and troubles of a gay couple. The research has tried to bring out the conflicts in a family to accept the fact that their son is gay and the heteronormative ideas of a society.

Key words: Homosexuals, Gay adoption, Sexual minorities, Bengali Cinema, Gender Identity, Queer Film, Gender-reassignment

INTRODUCTION
Cinemas are known to transcend borders, to mould opinions and to reflect culture. In this age of information, Indian mainstream cinema provides the masses with images, evidence and experiences. But being caught in the cage of traditional views, it often misrepresents minor groups, providing little or no space to queer identity. Going ahead of the commercial cinema, Rituporno Ghosh Bengal’s one of the most creative, successful contemporary actor- director who has received several national and international awards has been avant-garde in his style of featuring issues concerning Gender identity. His movies can be categorised under art house films, and also draws inspiration from parallel cinema, where he nurtures concepts like status of women in Indian society, the intricacies of emotions, and the silent melee common in Indian families. Ghosh has dealt with the identity of women and the desir...

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... crowning wish” to choose the gender. It demonstrates the level of internal and external conflict that an individual faces due to privation of recognition of gay relationship in Indian society. Ghosh brings to light the fact that there is a kind of gender which requires visible representation in language and politics. Chitrangada shows occupational deviance, against the order of the family and according to own choice, because the identity of a person lies in his performance of body and behaviour. It addresses how traumatic it is for an individual to decide on a sex-reassignment surgery, even when he knows, that he can never biologically bear a child of his own but for adoption of a child as the legal framework of India doesn’t allow a male couple to adopt a child. It carefully adapts to the components of ‘Gender Performativity’ as theorised by Judith Butler.

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