"Thaali" is a captivating web series that follows the journey of transgender activist Gauri Sawant, shedding light on her transformative path, motherhood, and the impactful battle for official recognition of the third gender in India's documents. The series stars Sushmita Sen and Ankur Bhatia, directed by Ravi Jadhav, a National Award winner

Speaking about casting stuff, I won't dive into the big talks about whether a cisgender woman should play a transgender role. But, talking about who they picked for roles, I think it was a smart move to have a cisgender girl for young Ganesh's character.

I was glued to the series, but there were times I was expecting Hindi dialogues and got English instead, which was a bit off. Also, when they went from regular English to broken English with the school principal, it felt kinda strange. In terms of language, the use of "eunuch" without appropriate reclamation raised concerns. Additionally, some subtitles inaccurately referred to transgender individuals as simply "transgender," indicating a need for more precise wording.

At the start, there's this part where her dad is investigating a transgender person’s death, and there's this Kali poster connection that leads him to figure out about his child, which feels disjointed and patchy. One noticeable issue was placing Gauri as the sole face of the petitioners, which struck me as a concern. While there was a mention of other petitioners early on in the series, there was a heavy focus on Gauri as the main petitioner detracted from the contributions of other petitioners, such as Poojya Mata Nasib Kaur Ji Women Welfare Society and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi.

In the final episode, right after the judgment, the way they set up the scene where she's wiping off the black ink, showing Gauri surrounded by male and female symbols, seemed like a not-so-great idea. A Transgender woman isn't somewhere between a man and a woman, she's not half one and half the other. Did I read that scene wrong? Or was it to say that a "Transgender woman" is now in the mix with the male and female labels? Also, in that same episode, they compared the challenges faced by gay men and transgender individuals in a not-so-nice way, and that left a not-so-good impression.

Highlighting the positive, the incorporation of a tape recorder as a narrative device added a brilliant layer of depth to the storytelling. Sushmita Sen, in her lead role, delivered her utmost, which was clearly evident. While the narrative may have followed somewhat predictable lines, particularly in the final two episodes, it succeeded in touching my emotions and even brought a tear to my eye. In the panel discussion, the discussion about "normal" versus "abnormal" served as a valuable transgender 101

Despite its imperfections, the concluding episode successfully stirred emotions, largely attributed to exceptional acting. While the series presented impactful dialogues, it also contained noticeable inconsistencies. The recurrent emphasis on Gauri's prominence as the main or sole petitioner stood out as a distinct limitation, which inadvertently undermined the significant contributions of other petitioners.