Aired on Express TV every week, Guru is a beautifully written, expertly produced, and well-directed serial that has gained a large viewership because of its sensitive topic, which is based on a powerful script. The actors and actresses have done justice to the roles given to them, performing outstandingly, especially Ali Rahman, playing the protagonist Guru. The life and the strife of transgender community is something we don’t like to talk about or even think about. Yet, they are a part of our society. They are living beings with hearts and feelings.
The story of the TV serial Guru starts when a father, fed up with the birth of a fourth girl in his family, forces the mother to make a tough decision: to give one of her twin girls to the attending nurse. Out of fear of her husband, the poor mother succumbs to his decision. When the nurse is presented with the newborn, she realizes she cannot afford to raise her. Thus, she takes the newborn to some acquaintance, who also refuses to keep her. The nurse, not knowing what else to do, leaves the baby in a deserted neighbourhood in the middle of the night.
This little bundle of flesh and fabric is discovered by a group of transgender persons returning from a day’s performance. Guru, the leader of the transgender community, could not leave the infant alone. He decides to give her shelter and a fully-fledged fatherhood, becoming a role model for all parents. The girl is named Maryam. However, he struggles to raise the girl as he tries to hide her gender. Guru dreams of seeing Maryam as a doctor.
His dedication and hard work pay off as Maryam becomes a medical graduate and starts her professional practice. On the other hand, Maryam’s real family faces a very hard life of physical abuse and hatred given by the father to the daughters and the mother. Adding to their misery are the cunning aunt and her characterless son. Life becomes less hard when Maryam finds her love and support from her classmate Salaar, who manages to convince his mother to accept Maryam as her daughter-in-law.
There is a rollercoaster of events that stands tall in front of Maryam when, to Salaar’s and Maryam’s shock, it is revealed that the latter’s father is transgender. Later, Guru, after hiding his deteriorating internal condition, passes away from a terminal disease. Maryam’s in-laws support her in making a memorial trust to support transgender people in learning life skills and taking care of abandoned babies. The TV serial is an eye-opener, telling audiences about the importance of transgender people in our social fabric. Express TV deserves kudos for this simple yet powerful TV serial.
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