The Square Circle

Amol Palekar’s groundbreaking film follows the journey of young woman who reinvents herself as a man after she's kidnapped and attacked.

When a young village girl (Sonali Kulkarni) is attacked and later abandoned on the eve of her wedding, she finds solace in the unlikely form of a transvestite folk singer/actor (Nirmal Pandey). She, disguised as a man, and ‘he’ as a woman, embark upon a journey of mutual self discovery and enlightenment, examining issues of identity and gender stereotypes – and finding love – along the way.

Amol Palekar’s groundbreaking film tackles a number of Indian cinema's taboos, from violence against women to gender identity, in ways that remain relevant today, but make it even more remarkable it was produced in 1996. Despite such hard-hitting themes, The Square Circle is a tender and moving story leavened with humour, dance and song.