Not just a drag act: Why men dressed in a woman’s garb are so popular on TV

Be it Daadi, Guthi, Palak, Chutki or more recently Pammi Aunty...all these characters have one thing in common; they’re all female characters played by men. These drag acts have been performed by experienced comedians. As more and more characters of the same genre pop up, one can’t help but wonder if this is a trick that’s been used to raise a few laughs and if it has already been overdone.

The beginning

Be it India or the West, women had to face a lot of hurdles before they could take to the stage. To make up for the absence of female actors, the men used to dress up for those parts. Many actors on stage like Balgandharva carved a career for themselves by playing such characters. Says Subodh Bhave, who eassayed the role of Balgandharva in the biopic made in Marathi, “Back then, there were no women who would step on the stage due to societal pressure. That’s why men who could look the part stepped into such roles.”

B-Town’s drag tales

Every now and then, Bollywood actors have donned feminine clothes and worn make up on the big screen. It’s mostly been done to raise a few laughs. Kishore Kumar didn’t just dress up as a woman in Aake Seedhi Lage Dil Pe from Half Ticket, he even sang in a feminine voice in this number. The results were exceedingly hilarious. Rishi Kapoor made for an extremely beautiful woman in Rafoo Chakkar. Many times, actors faltered and made the drag act crass, but Kapoor kept it seriously classy. Rishi in Rafooo Chakkar or Amitabh Bachchan’s Mere Angne Mein Tumhra Kya Kaam Hai (Laawaris) saw him dressing up as women of all shapes and sizes. 

Aamir Khan, Salman, Khan and Shah Rukh Khan too have tried this trick. While Aamir sported curls when he danced in the Dole Dole Dil Dole number from Baazi, he recently dressed in a much sober avatar for a commercial. Salman wore a white strappy dress with heels in Jaan-e-Mann, while SRK was dressed as a girl for a scene in Duplicate. Govinda became an ‘aunty’ for his comic caper Aunty No 1. 

But it was Kamal Haasan, who won this battle with Chachi 420, when he dressed up as a Maharashtrian woman Laxmi Godbole. Right from the make-up to the mannerisms, he got everything right. 

Sajid Khan 

After a while, men dressing up as women did become stereotyped and as a viewer, you expect a punchline. And when a punchline is expected, it becomes less funnier. But the fact is, men dressing up as women always brings smiles on viewers’ faces. It can be a smile of acceptance or rejection, but it is always there. When Ram Kapoor dressed in a women’s attire in Humshakals, he said, ‘I am looking like Shrek’, I told him, ‘Even if you are looking like Shrek, people will still laugh’. When you see Rishi Kapoor in Rafoo Chakkar or Kamal Hassan in Chachi 420, these are fine actors portraying characters in a non-stereotypical way and in a non-offensive manner.”

Small screen wonders

For many years, TV didn’t really see men dressing up as women. Sajid Khan, who before turning filmmaker, hosted shows like Ikke Pe Ikka, did have a woman’s character among the various other characters that he played. 

Sajid says, “The character I used to play in Ikke Pe Ikka was of a woman, who was funny in a tarty way, is an absolute flirt. The thing is that even if you want to do something tarty it has to be done in a fun way without being vulgar. The one thing that I have always steered clear off is vulgarity — be it film or TV. The content is such that it can be viewed by a family.”

What it works...

Though there are many such characters around, the popularity of these characters has lessened. Says producer JD Majethia, “In the world of comedy, you can take a lot of liberties. There is toilet humour, adult humours, etc... In a slightly conservative society, people might take offense if a woman does certain things or behaves in certain manner, but a man dressed as a woman gets away with it. Take for example, Ali Asgar, if it was a woman was doing what he is doing, the show would have been in trouble. Take the legendary song Mere Angne Mein, Mr Bachchan has seven or eight different attires as a women in it, but he had done it so gracefully, that people loved it.”

Saturation point?

While people have loved these shows and characters, aren’t there too many of them around these days? Sajid says, “Like films, television also follows the herd mentality. If a comedy show is working then all channels will want to do something similar, the same holds true for mythological shows or family dramas. You and me are nobody to talk about it because the channels know what works for them. If something doesn’t work then the channel themselves will change the track. It’s exactly how they add or kill characters.” JD, too, feels that people need to be careful and not overuse a formula. “Because it has worked, everyone is copying the format. And copies are always poor imitation,” he says.

Subodh Bhave

Back then, men didn’t dress as women out of choice. It was a compulsion. There were many male actors and there were no women who were ready to step on the stage. But today, when I see so many talented actors, who can do any role, I wonder why do they do it? Sometimes, it’s absolutely ugly. Where is the humour in dressing up as a woman? In movies like Ashi Hi Banva Banvi, where Sachin Pilgaonkar dressed as a woman, it was the need of the script. But now it’s just become an easy way out.”

Cringe factor

One can’t help but notice that many actors who visit the sets of these comedy shows often cringe when the men in drag get too affectionate. Subodh says, “Yes, its very uncomfortable. When I was promoting Balgandharva, I refused to wear a sari because I was not comfortable with it. I got many offers to dress as a woman for events. I probably could have made a lot of money, but you have to maintain the dignity of the character that you are playing. I fail to understand why they keep repeating it. If you have done it once, you should move on and come up with other interesting characters. Why do you have to repeat it? As audience, I feel cheated.”  

JD Majethia

You can script the show, but you can’t script the reactions of the star. So, you have to set the tone of your performance as per the situation. But you can also edit it on the table if you feel that it’s not right. But more than the comedy shows. I find it troublesome, when in fictional shows, the characters are not written well.”

It’s just not funny!

Shekhar Suman, who started the trend of stand-up comedy, too wasn’t too happy with the trend. In an earlier interview, he said, “Though Kapil is good and has great set of talent around him, it’s getting repetitive. Why, for Christ’s sake, do you require men to become women for humour’s sake? A little act here and there is fine, but becoming a cross-dresser doesn’t make sense to me. However, there is an audience for everything.”

Internet sensations

Gaurav Gera’s Chutki and more recently, Ssumier Pasricha’s Pammi Aunty have built a huge fanbase. But it’s not just about dressing up as a woman on this medium. As Gaurav says, “I don’t identify myself just as an actor who plays a woman. I create the content as well. It’s five per cent of what I do.

Even with Chutki, it’s not just her, there’s the shopkeeper, her younger brother, and Suyash... I have created all these characters. So, I am more of a content creator. I don’t want to limit myself to playing somebody’s husband on a soap. I can play anything... even a dog, a cat or a plant. You may think it’s funny, but I could do that. Right now, I play Billi Masi, who is popular on Snapchat.” Ssumier, the brain behind Pammi Aunty videos, echoes Gaurav’s sentiments. He says, “There has never been a boundary in comedy as long as you can touch hearts and create humour. If I have to become a dog and make people laugh, I will do it. As an actor, there shouldn’t be boundaries. If the script demands me to be funny and dress like a woman, I will do it.”

Do it well

The bottom-line is that content will make or break the show or the character. Ssumier says, “The authenticity, the humour and the clean comedy is what is clicking with everybody. People are relating to it because this is how Punjabi families react to certain situations that I am creating. I have people telling me this has happened in my house or you are talking like my saas, chachi, daadi, etc. These are common silly situations of typical Punjabi families.”

JD adds, “See the movie The Danish Girl, the subject was brilliant. When the actor is supported by the story and the character is executed well, everyone will love it. I loved Ali as Daadi. He would be loud, he would be drunk...whose grandmother is likely to be like that. That kind of humour is discomfort humor. When he kisses someone you are not laughing because he is kissing someone, you are laughing at the discomfort of the other person.”