Photo: Collected

Noted Indian actress Vaani Kapoor plays a transgender woman in her latest film, "Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui".

Recently, she said that her casting and portrayal in the film was part of an attempt to stay away from the usual, stereotypical image of transgender people.

Talking about how transgender people are widely perceived by those who either are unaware or ignorant, Vaani said in the interview with Film Companion, "There are so many regressive people who have always had a reference of a man donning a woman's attire. Either you are becoming the butt of a joke or something very unusual. That stigma or phobia that is attached that there is something abnormal about them that is something one was trying to stay away from, and create a sense of normalcy. So that people can accept them."

Vaani also said that the cast and crew of the film were hoping to begin a dialogue about acceptance of transgender people in the wider community.

However, the actress added that when she first signed on for the film, she feared how her portrayal would be perceived by members of the transgender community themselves. She did not want it to be a half-baked attempt to play a transgender woman in Hindi cinema.