Mumbai, 27 October 2026: Yaanus Films, led by filmmakers Ranadeep Bhattacharya and Judhajit Bagchi, presents The Invisible Woman, a short cinematic piece featuring Harish Iyer.
The (little over) 3-minute film looks at what happens when people cannot be who they are. It pulls from classical myth, specifically the longing of Radha wishing for Krishna to be born a woman, to talk about the heavy daily cost of hiding, performing, and leaving parts of yourself outside the door.
Yet, this struggle sits right in front of us every single day—hiding in plain sight, yet remaining entirely invisible to a society that refuses to truly look.
Set against the reality of institutional hurdles like the Transgender Persons Amendment Act, the project asks a simple question: What does it actually take to exist without wearing a mask?
What is the core idea of the film?
It captures that sharp pang in the chest when you cannot live your truth. By invoking the story of Radha, the film looks at the deep, quiet ache of wanting to be fully seen. It is about dropping every conditioned boundary until the person watching and the person being watched become the same thing.
How did the collaboration happen?
The project relies on a shared creative space. Instead of focusing on performance alone, directors Ranadeep Bhattacharya and Judhajit Bagchi built an environment where everyone… from the Kolkata based stylist Rishabh Prasenjit Das to the makeup team headed by Sagar; contributed to the emotional weight of the piece.
Why does this matter right now?
Look at the real-world barriers that gender-diverse people face every day, including the hurdles built into the Transgender Persons Amendment Act.
Their lives unfold right in front of us, yet society chooses not to see them.
The film holds up a mirror to a society that still asks people to check their souls at the door just to get by.
What do the makers want people to take away?
They want viewers to stop performing. They want people to look at the armor they wear every day and realize that waiting for a next life is a waste of time. We have not finished loving this one yet.
Before I could tell you who I was,
you taught me who
I must never be.
So I learnt to enter the room
and leave myself outside.
I smiled.
No one asked me where I had gone.
I thought love would remember me.
Yet while your hand slept on my chest.
I stayed awake beneath it.
Sometimes, I wonder
if you saw all of me…
would you still stay?
I have left that question
in so many rooms.
Tonight,
I will sit with that question,
without hiding the woman
who has always been asking.
Harish,
let the next life wait.
I have not finished
loving this one yet.
Watch the Film: The Invisible Woman on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/jHY-VyW7PnQ?
