Oh boy, what a girl!

More and more actors are stepping into the shoes of the opposite sex with apparent ease. PT reports on the gender-bender
When it comes to the battle of the sexes, films definitely take it to a whole new level. Actors are portraying characters that go beyond their own sexuality ��� take for example the film I���m Not There which was recently screened at the Pune International Film Festival.The film has Cate Blanchett doing a marvellous take on singer Bob Dylan. Hilary Swank won the Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Brandon in Boys Don���t Cry. And, Whoopi Goldberg let loose a series of hilarious events when she pretended to be a white man in The Associate.
The men are not far behind either. Eddie Murphy has depicted roles of women, right from The Nutty Professor to Norbit. Robin Williams had the audience in splits in Mrs Doubtfire and Kamal Haasan wowed all in the film���s Indian version, Chachi 420. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis had the audiences in splits with their gender-bending performances in Some Like It Hot, while Dustin Hoffman came up with a memorable portrayal of the opposite sex in the ground-breaking film Tootsie.
Sangeeth Sivan, director of Apna Sapna Money Money, feels, ���The idea of a man playing a woman and vice versa opens up many avenues for the story. It brings about a completely different viewpoint. This concept is definitely a crowd-puller, and there are many things one can do with it in a film. Thus, not only do we get more creative, the audience also gets to have a good laugh as well.���
While the script and screenplay play an important role, it is the relationship between the characters that really brings out the humour. Actor Ritiesh Deshmukh, who stepped into a woman���s shoes in the Sivan film, says, ���The dynamics of the character and his/her relationship with other characters becomes the driving force for the fun element. For example, the heroine doesn���t know that the girl she is becoming close to is a guy taking undue advantage of the situation and flirting with her. On the other hand, the heroine���s father, who hates the boy, falls in love with the girl which makes it funnier.��� He adds, ���The key to performing such a role is to underplay it. It���s important to look as feminine as possible. This is what I kept in mind while performing.���
But, the fact of the matter is that it is difficult and challenging to take on a role that entails imbibing the personality of the opposite sex. Koena Mitra agrees, ���It would be difficult for an actor to try and act like a woman or a man. It requires a lot of observation and a lot of thought has to go into it.���
Being an actor is never easy. But, it nonetheless is a pleasant surprise when you see the macho hero do a turn as the delicate heroine!