Ardhanaari

Ardhanaari (2012) is a Malayalam film about the life of transgender people in Kerala. The film is directed by Santhosh Souparnika and produced by M. G. Sreekumar under his production house MG Sound & Frames.

Vinayan (Manoj K. Jayan), is a transgender person with male physique and female behavioral traits which leads to ridicule and snide remarks from his brother and others. The film brings out the rituals, customs, angst and preferences of transgender people. The title of the film alludes to the half male and half female Hindu god Ardhanarishvara. Also starring in the film are Mahalakshmi, Maniyanpilla Raju, Thilakan, Sukumari and Saikumar. It was one of the last films featuring Thilakan who died weeks before the release of the film.

The film opened to mixed critical reviews but the performance by Manoj K. Jayan as a eunuch gained unanimous appreciation. It is widely considered as one of the finest performances by the actor.