mohanlal wears it well... and why that matters

it is late evening. a studio light begins to dim. people begin to understand the superstar in their midst. the applause fades slowly like a tide pulling back as mohanlal fades away into his comfort. mohanlal stands alone in his vanity van. he slips on a necklace with the ease of someone slipping into memory. i dont see him as trans, he is just a man in trance. there is no punchline. there is no plot twist. there is only pleasure. poignant. serene. real.

watch this jewel of a jewel ad:

i have seen men in drag before. i have been a man in drag before too. rishi kapoor in rafoo chakkar dressed as devi to sneak into a girls hostel and woo neetu singh. the lipstick was a loophole. the wig was a way in. kamal haasan in avvai shanmukhi, tamil cinema's adaptation of robin williams in mrs doubtfire, wore the madisaar maami saree not to explore femininity but to reclaim fatherhood. the saree was strategy. the bindi was a bridge. it was all a means, not the being. if you get what i mean?

even meena, the over ambitious and ruthless character from mera naam joker, disguised herself as meenu, a man, to survive in a world that would not let her lead. her truth was revealed not through confession but through a stunt that tore her shirt and exposed her breasts. the disguise was not a choice. it was a demand. again a means, a means to survive.

these characters wore gender like a costume. each look was a means to an end. a put on.

but mohanlal does not put on. he blends in.

his necklace is not a tool. it is a truth. his dance is not drag. it is devotion. the ad does not ask, “what if a man wore this.” it dares to tell you, “he already does.”

as always, kerala delivered the surprise with a smile. just some moons ago, mammootty played a closeted gay man in kaathal. it was a performance with tenderness and tension. there was no rainbow filter. there was no tragic arc. there was only a man, loving quietly.

from barrackpore to bengaluru, from patna to puducherry, i have seen men, women, trans and agender folks try on jewellery not as rebellion but as rhythm. a nose ring in nagaland. a pearl choker in pune. a silver toe ring in surat. each piece was a punctuation in their personal prose and poise. each was a story they lived, and in their living, we understood, though they never told.

so congratulations to the minds behind vinsmera jewels: krishnan kambrath, dinesh kambrath, anil kambrath, and manoj kambrath. they dared to ask a question that many brands still fear.

what if beauty was not borrowed. what if it belonged.

mohanlal's necklace does not scream. it hums and hymns. it does not seduce or reduce. it settles. and in doing so, it finds us and reminds us:

to wear without reason is to wear with truth

so here is the real question. if mohanlal can wear it well, what the hell are you, dear man, reading this, still afraid of.