The documentary short on Tamil Nadu's first legally registered trans marriage between P. Srija and Arun Kumar becomes India’s sole trans-led contender in this year’s Oscar documentary short category
Amma’s Pride, a Tamil documentary about a mother’s advocacy for her trans daughter, has become India’s sole trans-led film to qualify in the Oscar documentary short category. Directed by Shiva Krish, the film follows Valli, a mother from Tamil Nadu who insists on dignity, acceptance, and recognition for her trans daughter, Srija. The film centres the everyday labour of love that enables a young woman to navigate relationships, legal obstacles, and the burden of public scrutiny.
In Tamil Nadu’s first legally recognised trans marriage, P. Srija tied the knot with Arun Kumar, a cisgender man in a temple in October 2018, but when officials refused to register the marriage, they challenged the decision before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. In April 2019, the court upheld their petition, ruling that a trans woman who self-identifies as a woman is a “bride” under the Hindu Marriage Act — a clarification that extended the law’s protections to marriages between cisgender men and trans women.
The judgment validated Srija and Arun’s marriage and established a precedent for legal recognition of similar unions across the state. Their journey, sustained by the support of Sija’s mother, Valli, forms a central narrative in the documentary Amma’s Pride, capturing both the personal cost and the broader implications of securing legal dignity for trans individuals.
Three years after its completion, Amma’s Pride has travelled through the festival circuit around the world . Before its Oscar qualification, it earned the Best Short Documentary Award at the International Documentary & Shorts Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK). But its trajectory since then has been driven by a network of grassroots organisations, LGBTQIA+ groups, law schools, medical spaces, and community networks that sought out the film as a tool for conversation.
An entry point for trans rights
Across more than 60 screenings — from major cities to small community spaces, and even in Antarctica — the film has been lauded for what it offers: an accessible entry point into discussions about trans rights, the legal precarity surrounding marriage and identity documents in India, and the emotional labour borne by trans people and their families. After its inclusion in the Indian Panorama section at the 55th International Film Festival, the Government of India selected the film for cultural exchange programmes in Egypt, Australia, and Germany.
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“Parents should support their trans children. I’ll have the greatest satisfaction when that becomes the norm,” Valli said in a release. Her daughter, Srija, adds: “My only hope is that everyone treats trans people like any other people — the same way you treat your friends, your amma, or your appa.” For director Shiva Krish, Valli’s choices reflect a larger cultural shift. “In choosing to stand by her daughter, she challenges centuries of social conditioning — showing how allyship begins at home,” he says. Lead producer Chithra Jeyaram underscores that the impact of the film is not theoretical but relational: “Every screening has opened a room, a conversation, a shift.”
Jeyaram, known for Foreign Puzzle and Love Chaos Kin, brings a long-standing practice of exploring family resilience and identity through documentary, teaches at NYU. Internationally, the film has been positioned among this year’s notable documentary short contenders. Short of the Week listed it as a top Oscar contender, noting that few issues have sparked political debate in the US this year as strongly as transgender rights. At IDSFFK, the jury called the film “a story about what it means to love and be loved in a fractured world.”
Reshaping conversation around acceptance
Amma’s Pride is the first independent documentary by Krish, whose earlier work includes assisting in mainstream Tamil cinema and the Amazon Prime Video series Harmony with A.R. Rahman. His move into independent nonfiction grew out of volunteer work during the 2015 Chennai floods and subsequent collaborations with nonprofits.
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Producer D’Lo — a queer and trans Ilankai Tamil-American performer, writer, and cultural organiser — brings decades of experience across performance, community work, and television, including appearances in Looking, Transparent, Sense8, and Mr. Robot. His role draws on a community-based framework that shapes the film’s outreach efforts.
Co-producer and impact producer Ahaanaa Malhotra, a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, has steered the film’s multi-country outreach strategy. Her ongoing work includes designing campaigns aimed at strengthening public understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues through both institutional and grassroots channels. Composer Karthikeya Murthy, the first Indian BAFTA Breakthrough Talent, brings a range of musical experiences from theatre, film, and television. His compositions for Amma’s Pride extend his ongoing engagement with social-issue storytelling.
As awards speculation builds, the filmmakers continue to emphasise that the documentary’s purpose is not altered by its Oscar qualification. The project’s reach — from law schools to remote community spaces — has already begun reshaping conversations around family acceptance, legal recognition, and everyday trans life in India.