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When Shobha Nehru won the municipal election in Hissar, the small town of Haryana, no one knew that it will the first step for the eunuchs of India to set about for a voyage that will see the first eunuch MLA in the country sitting in the state assembly of Madhya Pradesh. This was also probably for the first time that a eunuch could become a representative of the those very people who till date had refused even to acknowledge the social status of the community.

The wave started by Shabnam Mausi in the by-election of 2000, reached many states getting eunuchs elected as Mayor, first in Katni and then in Gorakhpur. One eunuch named Sonia De even contested for the lower house against the then Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Time has since come full circle while Shabnam Mausi failed to get elected in the consecutive election; mayors in Katni and Gorakhpur were debarred from the lower courts to hold the posts that were reserved for women in those towns.

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The matter is now in upper courts to decide which gender do these eunuch represent; when they try to represent the masses in the constitutional institutions. It was Shabnam Mausi's rise that inspired many filmmakers to take a look on the story of an eunuch who defied all set norms and went on to create a unique place for herself in the history of the country. It was Ashutosh Rana, the actor, who played an instrumental part to bring this real story on screen. After facing a tough time all through its making and then fighting the trends in the industry to get a decent release of the film, 'Shabnam Mausi' made it to the theatres this Friday (today).

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Ashutosh Rana plays the lead character 'Shabnam Mausi'. Actors like Arif Zakaria, Nirmal Pandey, Paresh Rawal and Sadashiv Amrapurkar have played eunuchs in films like 'Darmiyan', 'Daayara', 'Tamanna' and 'Sadak', respectively. They have also won applause for their excellent acting. Even super star did something like this though only for a song long back in Prakash Mehra's 'Laawaris'. Challenge for Ashutosh Rana was Himalayan. Whatever the fate of the film at box office, his name becomes immortal with 'Shabnam Mausi' in the history of Indian film industry for portraying a role that is not easy for the best in the trades.

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The story of 'Shabnam Mausi' starts in Mumbai where she is born in a cop family and abandoned soon after the parents come to know about her gender status. Halima (Vijay Raaj) raises this child. Other eunuchs too play a part in her growth and learning the nuances on the community. Shabnam grows into an attractive personality. However, the problem arises when the leader of the community, Amma (Vishwajeet Pradhan), decides to sell her. Halima fights for Shabnam and earns enmity of the ganglords of the community.

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Eventually, she is killed in an incident and Shabnam gets framed for the crime. Shabnam runs away from the town to save her skin and lands in a small village of Madhya Pradesh. The area witnesses some hectic political activities that eventually bring Shabnam Mausi into the fray. And, she not only wins the sympathy of the local people, but also conquers the coveted post of a local MLA. In this voyage she makes more enemies than friends and they are political heavyweights like Ratan Babu (Govind Namdeo) and others. Attempts are made to eliminate her with the help of supari killers. However, the fate favors her; though an innocent person this time the killer (Mukesh Tiwari) who has a change of heart after meeting Shabnam, gets killed.

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Director Yogesh Bhardwaj needs appreciation just for the concept of the film. He dared to be different in an area where copying foreign films has become the easiest way. To be different one needs a lot of courage and conviction. Yogesh wins this battle in 'Shabnam Mausi'. But, Yogesh couldn't get a good enough finances to make the film for international cinema circuit. Had he made this film keeping international audience in mind, the results would have been very different. He has tried his best to bring in lot of emotions needed for such a film, and has got help from all his actors; most of whom have a solid theatre background. In Aadesh K Arjun he gets a brilliant dialogue writer. Other technical departments are too weak to support a film like this.

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Among actors Ashutosh Rana carries the film on his shoulders single-handedly. He tries to set an example for Bollywood to be different in a film that though made with a lot of conviction has not received good marketing support. His portrayal of a eunuch is class apart because this characters is not submissive in nature. Shabnam's fight for her rights and his search for justice are very well depicted by Ashutosh. So, this film needs to be awarded by critics, at least. Vijay Raaj, Mukesh Tiwari, Govind Namdeo and Vishwajeet Pradhan have given brilliant performances too. Even Navni Parihar shines in a small role. High on drama and great in conviction, 'Shabnam Mausi' is a film that will be loved by the connoisseurs of cinema. However, the lack of crowd puller actors and dull music will not make it sail at box office easily!