Daayraa (1997)

Directed by

Amol Palekar

Genre

LGBTQ-related film

Country

India

Runtime

1h 47m

Rating

4.8 of 10 from 4 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A transvestite dancer and a woman who survived a gang rape form an unexpected bond. They both start dressing in ways that challenge traditional gender roles. The story explores their relationship and how society views them.

poignantthought-provokingsocially-awareunconventionalemotionally-resonantslow-burncharacter-drivenunderstated

What happens

Daayraa (translation: The Square Circle; sometimes spelled as Daayra) is a 1996 Bollywood film, directed by Amol Palekar, starring Nirmal Pandey and Sonali Kulkarni. The screenplay was by award-winning journalist and novelist, Timeri N. Murari. Exploring themes such as male-female relationships, preconceived notions of love, and social attitudes toward them, the plot involves a romantic relationship between a transvestite dancer and a gang raped woman who begins to dress up like a man. Due to its sensitive themes, the film was not released theatrically in India. The film was the first in Palekar's trilogy on sexuality; Anahat (2003) and Thaang (2006) followed it. Daayraa was received well by critics upon its DVD release. Anupama Chopra wrote, "The film challenges gender roles and traditional ideas of love through witty and moving performances." She added, "Daayraa also has terrific music by Anand-Milind. However, you will have to get past some clumsy direction, terrible background music and glaring lapses in continuity." The Time magazine called Daayraa one of the best films of 1996, saying: "The Indian musical at its delirious best. On the eve of her marriage, a young woman is abducted by a brothel madam and escapes into the arms of an out of work male Diva. He dresses as a woman, she as a man in Amol Palekar's song-and-dance comic melodrama." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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