Is It Too Much To Ask? review: Trans women's hunt for a house turns into a quest for acceptance

Leena Manimekalai’s short film Is It Too Much To Ask? follows two transwomen, Living Smile Vidya and Angel Glady, who face naked discrimination while trying to rent a house. In the film, which has features of a documentary and a work of fiction, the hunt for a house turns into a quest for acceptance for the two friends who live and work together.

The film also breaks down the outmoded mindset of landlords, who have a penchant for scrutinizing prospective tenants' marital status, eating habits and profession.

The house hunt begins after Vidya and Glady receive an ultimatum from their landlord to vacate their home in two weeks. The film documents their never-ending search, as they get new leads from advertisements and keep checking out several properties in and around Chennai, only to be met with rejection.

Throughout this exercise, Vidya and Glady feel insecure about their gender identity while the landlords come up with excuses that are casteist or simply derogatory.

The film also incorporates some scripted sequences in which Vidya and Glady reflect on their crisis and express their hopes and worries to each other.  Despite relentlessly battling prejudice at every turn, the undefeated souls choose to channel their problems into poetry, plays and songs. After getting snubbed, Glady and Vidya make sure to shed light on how they are being wronged for no fault of their own.

While the scripted sequences sometimes feel forced, the film conveys the raw emotion and angst felt by both Vidya and Glady. Is It Too Much To Ask? raises several existential questions while exposing strident patriarchal and feudalistic mindsets. 

The film also celebrates two individuals with an undaunted spirit, who do not stop contributing positively to society while not getting rewarded by any means. Throughout the film, they struggle to get by in a society which recognizes the existence of trans persons on paper but denies them their rights, leading them to live on their own terms.

Is It Too Much To Ask? is being streamed on MUBI India.