Cinestaan Curates: Please Mind The Gap captures trans people's desire for dignity

The short documentary Please Mind The Gap, directed by Mitali Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh, depicts Delhi Metro commutes through the eyes of a transgender person, Anshuman, who navigates sexuality, gender and their boundaries in everyday life. 

The doors of the Delhi Metro open and close as recorded instructions over the public address system tell passengers to stay within the yellow lines painted on the platform and mind the gap when boarding or alighting. Mobilizing this symbolism for trans people, whose identity lies somewhere between the drawn gender lines, Please Mind The Gap takes us through the experiences, thoughts, desires and hardships of the protagonist, all while travelling on the Metro. Though known as Anshuman now, other feminine names have been used in the past — Shwetanjali Don, Raksha, Raano.

The filmmakers examine the transportation system as a public space for encounters between different people, where one is seen and has to navigate various social spaces. By choosing to film only within the Metro, the transportation system becomes a world in itself, a space that Anshuman inhabits and learns to both circumvent and make his own.

As someone acutely aware of their gender, Anshuman tells us about their choice of a public toilet, the anxiety around being frisked and which gender line to choose, along with the remarks from people, the teasing, jeering and even threat of violence.

Through the protagonist, Trivedi and Gagandeep Singh present an affectionate portrait of a person trying to reclaim public spaces and navigate it with a certain confidence. We see the anxieties and fears that accompany this stance and are drawn into Anshuman’s world as well as their struggle for dignity amongst the sea of people, most of whom will never understand the fraught choice a ladies compartment of the Metro or a public toilet presents.

The film has been screened extensively at festivals around the world and was part of the official selection at the British Film Institute's Flare. Please Mind The Gap is a PSBT (Public Service Broadcasting Trust) film.