“Male and female he created them,” says the Bible (Gen 1: 27). In that case, who created the transpeople (transgenders)? Can anyone else but God create them? How will the God of love look at those who humiliate or ill treat transpeople?
A provocative Tamil language film, called Dorothy, has boldly taken up the cause of these people who have suffered so much for so long. It had its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2026 and had its theatrical release on 25 September. While it has received well-deserved praise from most critics, the traditionalists have pilloried the film.
The story takes place in the southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu in the 1990s. It revolves around two childhood friends called Karthi and Subbu. While Karthi is a gentle, timid boy, Subbu is bold and aggressive. When bullies attack Karthi in the school, Subbu stands up for him and protects him. Subbu’s casteist, chauvinistic father, Veeraiaih is a merciless money lender, who acts like a local don. As adults, the two inseparable friends become his henchmen.
Subbu’s older brother brings home a beautiful bride from Kerala, named Dorothy. Her beauty and empathy and the patience with which she listens draw Subbu, who, in order to be with her, helps her in household chores. Subbu confides to her the truth that he has tried hard to hide from everyone – even Karthi: he has always felt he was a woman, imprisoned in a man’s body. Dorothy asks him to be true to himself and not fear the society. Giving Subbu saris to try on, she promises that she would accompany Subbu to a temple where he would undergo a ceremony that would make her fully a woman.
Sensing Subbu’s closeness to Dorothy, the villainous Veeraiaih kills her, but makes her death look like a suicide. Both Subbu and Karthi suspect it was a murder but feel helpless. Seeking some relief from grief and anger, Subbu goes to meet Dhanam, the village girl who understands him, and cries in her arms. Dhanam’s brother misunderstands the nature of their relationship and attacks Subbu with a murderous rage. Seeing his friend attacked so brutally, Karthi kills Dhanam’s brother.
In order to help Karthi escape from the inevitable consequences of a murder, Veeraiaih sends him away to north India, asking him to drive lorries to earn a livelihood. With Dorothy dead and his bosom friend away in the north, Subbu finds the courage to reveal to the world his true identity. Locking himself in Dorothy’s room, he shaves his moustache and beard, dresses in a sari and declares he is actually a woman and runs away. Subbu's father and brothers contact Karthi and convince him that he has to kill Subbu in order to save the family honour. Karthi finds Subbu in a desolate bus station. Disgusted by Subbu's new identity as a woman, he drives her to far-away places, hiding his intention to kill her. But all his attempts to do way with him are thwarted.
Realizing that Karthi has been sent to kill her, Subbu asks him to kill her. Unable to kill someone who has been a bosom friend from his childhood days, Karthi takes home a beggar’s dead body, and makes his family believe that it was Subbu’s. He travels to the temple where Subbu undergoes the ceremony to become fully a woman with a new name - Dorothy. Karthi realizes he is in love with Subbu who has now become Dorothy and, in the last shot of the film, kisses her.
Whatever may be the official position of the Church, we need to, like the great Pope Francis, welcome and accompany transpersons. Those who humiliate or ill treat them should realize that their actions are crimes against the children of God, the children of a lesser God. They need to beware that these crimes will cry out to heaven.
