Chan di chummi

“I wish I could find real love …
I wish I had a husband, a child and a family of my own …
But this cruel world will never let that happen.”
These are the words that one commonly hears if one gets to know the “Khusras,” a closely-knit sub-culture of transsexuals in Pakistan. This is a country defined by a mixture of religious fanaticism, the military and an underdeveloped democratic elite. The sizeable transgender “Khusra” community is well-versed in the complex and ancient cultural traditions of Pakistani society. Sometimes, the group’s relationship to this society is harmonious; at other times they are at noticeable odds with one another.
My film is a passionate attempt to forge intimate contact with the Khusra community, and to comprehend how it feels to live in a world where life is always either masculine or feminine in a very black and white way. The ultimate goal of the film is to cross the boundaries of gender and talk about the fundamental issues of life and of the endless desire to love and be loved.
My film is not an anthropological study. The journey the film takes is motivated not by sensationalism but by curiosity about a group of human beings leading a very special kind of life. Through interaction with the film maker, the group themselves also come to see that it is acceptable to share their pain and frustration with others, and that there are people in the world who are concerned with the issues and problems associated with living life as a Khusra.
Khalid Gill