All eyes on Kubbra Sait

Sacred Games seems to be a lucky charm for Kubbra Sait, who has caught the attention of many with her remarkable performance as a transgender person

When Kubbra Sait decided to play the role of Kukoo, a seductive transgender person, on the popular web series Sacred Games, little did she expect to get so much acclaim. “It’s like suddenly the canvas of my life has been cleared and a completely new picture is painted. That’s how I’ve been feeling ever since Sacred Games was streamed. Of course, I knew Kukoo was special. She knows exactly what effect she has on men. Until she overhears someone rudely reminding Nawazuddin (Siddiqui) about her orientation, she’s completely in control of her destiny,” says an elated Kubbra.

“Of course, I feel like I’m on top of the world. Everything I’ve done before this seems like an appetiser. The main course has just begun and I can’t get enough,” she says. Well, neither can the audience and the entertainment industry, who are seeking her out as the ‘next best thing’.

Apparently, director Anurag Kashyap had predicted Kubbra’s life would change after the series. “He knew this would happen after Sacred Games. I thought he was just humouring me. But he was right. My life has changed completely. I was happy being an anchor when this role came to me,” she says, adding that she had no qualms playing a transgender person. “I grabbed it with both hands,” she says.

Kubbra Sait

Kubbra immediately fell in love with the character. “It was as if I had been waiting for Kukoo to happen my whole life. Though a transgender person, she is so much in control of the men in her life. I  have to thank Nawazuddin for being such a wonderful co-star and a supportive actor. He was kind and empathetic to not only Kukoo but also to me. We are both grateful to him,” she says.

Talking about the preparations she did for the role, Kubbra says, “I didn’t have time to see too many films on transgenders. But I did see The Danish Woman, in which a man played a  gender-conflicted character. I also saw another film where a woman is disguised as a butler throughout. But I knew I was going to play Kukoo as a woman and not as a man dressed as a woman. Kukoo may not have a woman’s genitals but she has always felt like a woman. Kukoo’s conflict isn’t about her gender but about her genitalia.”

Regarding the Supreme Court’s recent review of Section 377 of the IPC, Kubbra says, “Come on, yaar. Whom we love, how we love...how can the State decide that for us? Let each person have a chance to be who he or she wants to be, only then can we be considered a truly liberated nation.”

After Sacred Games, the audience can certainly look forward to more from Kubbra. She will be seen next in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy. “It is a brief role; I play an anchor-commentator. It took just three days to shoot. There was no question of saying no to Zoya Akhtar; Ranveer Singh is such a delightful co-star. Gully Boy is the third film in the world to trace the evolution of the hip-hop culture. So far I’ve allowed myself to do any role that came my way, but now it’s time to decide what I want to do,” she says.

MT23