Indian cross-dressing is an exquisite practice that celebrates femininity. Sarees and lehengas make perfect attire for cross-dressers looking for an alternative look; you may also add feminine accessories for an added feminine flair.
India is home to many men who dress as women; unfortunately, however, these individuals often don’t receive the support needed.
Chamayavilakku
India is home to many cultures and beliefs. One such tradition that stands out is men dressing up as women to worship the goddess at Kottankulangara Devi Temple in Kerala’s Kollam district during the Chamayavilakku festival – held during Meenam month March on the 10th and 11th day celebrating devotion of men to the goddess. Many believe if they perform this ritual, they will be forgiven of any past sins they have committed.
Every year, during the final two days of this festival, thousands of men from throughout Kerala dress as women in order to pay their respects to the goddess. Donning sarees, jewelry, and jasmine garlands while applying sophisticated make-up and wearing chamayavilakku traditional lamps that they carry around temple grounds is genuinely captivating – this ritual welcomes men of all ages who take part.
At this festival, thousands of devotees assemble along the road leading to the temple. While waiting patiently for their goddess to appear and bless them, they offer prayers and light chamayavilakku candles as an act of commencement for this ritual.
Once the ritual commences, devotees line up in front of goddess Bhagavathy and begin dressing accordingly – half-sarees, kasavu saris, and churidars, among other garments, are worn along with stunning jewelry to honor her presence. Furthermore, participants receive elaborate hairdos and make-up, which makes them virtually unrecognizable!
An Indian Railways officer named Ananth Rupanagudi recently took to Twitter and shared a post of a man dressed as a woman during the Chamayavilakku festival that left netizens speechless. The photo quickly went viral, garnering over one million likes. Most viewers found the ensemble astonishing, while some found it disgusting and repulsive – although some were supportive of its ritual as being an expression of self-expression or worship, many also shared their admiration for those participating.
Kottankulangara Devi Temple
As part of an annual temple festival in southern India, thousands of men dress as women in order to participate in the Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku ritual at Kottankulangara Devi Temple in Kerala. The ritual takes place as part of Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku and is dedicated to Durga Bhagavathy or Aadi Shakthi goddess, known for its distinctive architecture with no roof over the sanctum where devotees pray to her so their wishes will come true.
According to local legend, it all began when a group of cowherd boys dressed as girls offered flowers at a nearby temple and offered them flowers on an earthen surface – they then felt divine energy coming off of it! People called it Kottan and built a temple around it; since then, the tradition of men dressing like women has continued.
Every year, men from across the state and even overseas visit Kottankulangara Devi Temple wearing female attire such as sarees and carrying an offering called chamayavilakku as an act of devotion to its goddess presiding deity, in hopes that she’ll grant their wishes with this offering. This annual festival lasts 19 days during March.
Ananth Rupanagudi of Indian Railways recently took to Twitter and shared an eye-catching post of himself dressed as a woman at the Kottankulangara Chamayavilakku festival. This post quickly went viral online, prompting many Twitter users to inquire more about it.
Kottankulangara Devi’s rituals offer one of India’s most captivating examples of cross-dressing. Men from across India and abroad take part in this festival to appease goddess Kottankulangara and get their wishes granted by her. This event provides a fantastic glimpse of traditional Indian culture at work; anyone wanting to understand its cultural diversity should undoubtedly attend.
Aunty No. 1
Traditionally, men dressed up as women for various reasons, such as religious or cultural purposes, gaining respect, or simply for fun. But with patriarchy and genderization taking hold in India, cross-dressing gradually faded. With the introduction of blouses and other gendered clothing in macho culture, macho culture in India was responsible for its decline – eventually leading to men no longer wishing to dress like women and cross-dressing becoming obsolete altogether. Modern men often avoid wearing traditional Indian clothing because it feels too feminine – something further reinforced by Western influence in India.
Govinda was the pioneering Indian actor to play a female character. In 1998’s Aunty No. 1, he donned female garb and even danced along to the Bandhi Kamariya Se Saree song while dressed as an Indian woman with a short white skirt, yellow collar T-shirt, and two pigtails.
This role marked an unusual departure for him; usually playing heroes and stars of movies, he became best-known as a comic actor in Bollywood movies and earned himself the moniker “Comedy King of Bollywood.”
Kamal Haasan also gave an outstanding performance as Chachi 420 in the film of the same name released that same year, which is based on Charley’s Aunt (an English play that ran for over 150 performances during its run and proved immensely popular at its time of release). This film became an enormous box-office success!
Riteish Deshmukh, one of the many talented Bollywood actors who excel at cross-dressing, has produced some remarkable work when it comes to cross-dressing movies. He has participated in multiple roles where he dresses up as women with grace and humor – creating more relatable characters for his films in which this occurs.
He showed great courage by breaking free from gender stereotypes and expressing his inner female through this act, reminding the world that only its genitalia defines whether something is male or female. This story should be widely publicized.
Daayraa
Daayra by Director Amol Palekar was released at a time when LGBTQ cinema in Bollywood was scarce, offering an unexpectedly sympathetic look at trans life seen through the cis protagonist’s eyes. Even with its tragic end for trans characters, Daayra successfully explores gender as it pertains to both cis and trans individuals in an approachable yet nuanced manner.
Daayra’s script by award-winning novelist Timeri N. Murari and moving performances by Sonali Kulkarni and Nirmal Pandey make this road movie a groundbreaking journey, exploring gender stereotypes and traditional notions of love unconventionally. Daayra follows its heroine from her initial Bollywood conceptions of marriage through to becoming an empowered woman whose love for her husband transcends all barriers at its conclusion.
Daayra came out 23 years ago in India when sexual identity issues still needed to be discussed openly and honestly. Though never released theatrically in India itself, Daayra found an audience overseas and was widely recognized as an innovative film.
The story follows an unemployed theatre actor trained to play women’s roles and a village girl forced into wearing men’s garb who travel together across rural India, challenging gender roles, social attitudes, and existing film conventions with both irreverence and profound emotion.
Sonali Kulkarni’s performance as Sonali is nothing short of stunning, with Nirmal Pandey providing an equally resonant yet humorous performance as Nirmal. Together, they explore all the intricacies involved with cross-dressing relationships while showing how this can transform lives.
