Is Pati Patni Aur Panga is Misogynistic and Transphobic? – Editorial
There was a ton of buzz on the social media platforms when the trailer of Pati Patni Aur Panga released online. It was criticized for its ‘problematic perspective’ on trans people and presenting them for ‘comic relief.’ There was misgendering and targeted abuse. All in all, the internal hate for trans people was visible through the trailer.
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Signed petitions to not release Pati Patni Aur Panga online went in vain. The show creators wanted to create a laugh riot by putting them (LGBTQ+ community) down and failed miserably. Released on the 11th of December, I forced myself to watch this series to understand the director’s perspective. And after reaching the second episode, I realized that it was a bad idea. For me, the first five episodes are literal trash. The LGBTQ+ community struggles on a daily basis, and making fun of them on a platform like MX Player just added more to their misery.
Pati Patni Aur Panga on MX Player is about Romanchak (Naveen Kasturia), who marries Shivani (played by Adah Sharma) and later finds out that Shivani is a trans woman, and asks for a divorce despite her telling him about it beforehand. On the show, none of the characters, I repeat, none of the characters in any way supported the LGBTQ+ community, and all the backlash started making sense as soon as I started watching it.
Transphobia. Is It?
There are multiple issues with Pati Patni Aur Panga. The first and foremost is that a cis woman is playing the role of a trans woman. If you talk about giving them space in the industry, then at least give them the lead role. Adding more to the ignorance, Adah Sharma also tweeted where she said that she played a man in the show. No, Adah, you didn’t play the role of a man. You played the role of a woman, a trans woman. Trans women are women and not men. There were various instances where trans people’s genders are reduced to their biological sex.
The show also gave an idea that you can turn gay if a guy spends more time with a guy. They were talking as if it is a disease. In the first episode, there was a scene where the lawyer said that she is pretty and has a nice figure. How can he be a boy, and I was like, what!? In the name of giving a space for trans people in the cinema, they just turned them into comic relief.
Misogyny was an Add On
Not just transphobia, Pati Patni Aur Panga also contributed to their internalized misogyny. There was a scene where they mentioned that if she can’t give birth to a child, then she is useless. They even objectified women in various places. There was a part where the lead, Romanchak, wanted to kiss Shivani.
So he asks his friends, and they say give her alcohol and kiss her. Really? And it was true, after all, cause they kissed after having alcohol. Sigh! I mean no, it does not work this way. Alcohol is not equal to consent. And today, after watching the show, I learned that I am a woman and should only have Vodka because Whiskey is a man’s drink.
Though in the last episode of the show, they came clean with a ton of issues. But, that mostly revolved around how women are not treated properly in the country after being misogynistic in the first five episodes. And the topic of treating the LGBTQ+ community properly was just discussed only for a few minutes. I just hoped that they took some help in showcasing the trans community positively and rewrote the complete script of the show.
I will repeat myself, stop taking up spaces that are meant for trans folks. After seeing this and being a scriptwriter myself, I can clearly say that the writer has not researched much before writing the show. Watch ‘Pati Patni Aur Panga’ on MX Player here.
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