How Ashutosh S. Shankar’s film Tara explores a Dalit trans woman’s desire

One of the first collaborations in cinema between a queer Dalit director and a trans producer, Tara had its world premiere at Frameline LGBTQ+International Film Festival in San Francisco in June, 2025. It was the runner-up at the QDrishti Developmental Grant by Kashish Film Festival, 2023. Ashutosh and Zena are planning to organise small screenings of the film across the country.

Starring trans woman actor Siya Malasi as Tara and Sankalp Joshi as Aman, the film is shot by Koustabh Mukherjee, cinematographer of Sharan Venugopal’s National Award-Winning movie Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole (2021). Its sound design has been done by BAFTA breakthrough talent, Dhiman Karmakar, known for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Raees (2017), and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).

Trigger to be a storyteller

Ashutosh and Zena represent a new generation of Dalits who are stepping into the media space to take charge and reclaim their own narratives. “We want to tell our own stories based on our own lives because autonomy is at the core of our work,” stresses Zena.

Ashutosh and Zena met at the QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab 2023. “I was scouting for good stories,” says Zena while Ashutosh wanted to make a film that was true to his experiences. “I was also inspired by Pune’s Dalit transgender activist, Rie Raut,” he says.

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Pune-based Ashutosh is a published writer, but he was always interested in filmmaking. “My friends and I shot videos with digital cameras and I would edit 2-3 minute films. I aim to spotlight stories of angst, dignity, and personal triumphs, pushing for more inclusive and resonant representation in mainstream Indian cinema.”

His love for Hindi and Marathi songs has also influenced his filmmaking. “That is why the introduction of Tara starts with a music number. My influences include musicals like La La Land (2016) and Tick Tick…Boom!” (2021).

However, it was a powerful moment that stirred something deep within Ashutosh. “I was watching Nagaraj Manjule’s film Jhund in which a bunch of Dalit actors debuted in an Indian film. It was then that I saw Ambedkar Jayanti (held on April 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the architect of the Indian Constitution and social reformer Dr B R Ambedkar) being shown on the big screen. I was transfixed by that and did not move at all during the interval. It was the first time I had seen the celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti this way. It was that time that I started accepting my identity and decided to become a storyteller,” he says.

Intersectionality of caste and gender

Ashutosh says growing up as a Dalit, gay man in a predominantly heteronormative Brahmanical country made him keep his identity to himself. However, over time, he noticed that coming out as a gay man was relatively easier than coming out as Dalit. Like the protagonist Tara, Ashutosh also used to hide the portrait of Ambedkar, displayed in every Dalit home, whenever someone would come over.

For Zena, the film is personal because it is identity-oriented. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Producing for Film and Television at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. Her work centres underrepresented narratives and builds future-facing platforms — including labs and creative accelerators — alongside producing both short-form and long-form projects that amplify new cinematic voices.

“The individual is the community and the community is the individual, and so this film initiates a conversation around identity into a larger cinematic form,” she says. Ashutosh adds that the film opens a dialogue about the intersectionality of caste and gender. “Being trans and Dalit is a double burden of marginalisation: the intersection of caste, gender, and sexuality remains largely unspoken, even within the queer community,” says Zena.

About whether the film is meant to educate and inform, Ashutosh says that when it was screened at the Frameline Festival, it created curiosity about Ambedkar. They plan to screen the film in India. Ashutosh adds: “It is okay if a section of people feel uncomfortable. It enables you to check your own privilege and caste identity.”

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Zena stresses that no film is made to be understood. “Creating art begins with centring an authentic voice; what it becomes or where it leads is ultimately beyond our control. After that first meaning, a second life emerges, shaped by individuals and communities who build the larger conversation around it.”

Dating scene for Dalit queer in Mumbai

An international co-production with producing partners based in the US, UK, and India, Tara is backed by Lotus Visual Productions (its founder Neeraj Churi is also the producer of Cactus Pears, winner of Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025).

The other two co-producers include Rita Meher, co-founder and Executive Director of Tasveer, a Seattle-based non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting indie South Asian movies and stories, and Ish Maini, Assistant Lecturer & Assistant Dean at Jindal Global Law School. The film had also received a developmental grant from Kashish Film International Film Festival, the largest Asian queer film festival.

Zena, however, explains that sourcing funding for particular films in India is a challenge. “Access to formal funding for climate, caste, and gender-centred stories remains extremely limited, with independent filmmakers often relying solely on the goodwill of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). From the very inception of the industry, there has been a lack of soft funds to support such narratives.”

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But Zena is optimistic. “The industry is evolving. We’re seeing encouraging shifts, especially in the Malayalam new wave and the work of filmmakers like Pa. Ranjith, who are engaging more directly with questions of caste and gender. Though there is still a long way to go.”

As for dating in Mumbai, or any city for that matter, the Dalit Queer community has their share of challenges. “It is so normalised to ask questions like are you Brahmin,” says Ashutosh, “People have changed their surnames,” he adds. There is a misconception that caste does not exist in cities, it is still prevalent in overt and covert ways.

Zena says caste has, in fact, entered into urban digital spaces too. “Access to dating apps and queer physical spaces is often shaped by caste and class privilege. For Dalit queer individuals, this access is frequently limited, gatekept, and often hidden behind paywalls.”