Naanu Avanalla… Avalu

In a small village, Maadesha, a ten-year-old boy, already moves with a rhythm that marks him as different from his peers. He shows feminine tendencies and enjoys activities that challenge strict gender roles. His family supports him and hopes education will help him gain respect in society.

Maadesha borrows his sister’s clothes and acts girlish, prompting his father to tell him to 'be a man' and avoid female roles even in drama. The village community begins to gossip about his behavior, straining family ties. As rumors spread, his elder sister marries and moves to Bangalore.

Despite his family's support, Maadesha struggles academically in the village and even develops a crush on Govinda, a boy in his circle. His father’s stern scolding for academic failure deepens the pressure to conform to conventional gender norms. The climate of judgment makes his path harder.

Facing escalating pressure from the village, Maadesha leaves home to reunite with his sister in Bangalore. He hopes city life will offer space to pursue education and a more accepting social world. The move marks the end of his village life but the beginning of a tougher journey.

In Bangalore, Maadesha finds work and continues his education, eventually completing a Master of Arts through evening college. He still endures frequent bullying and discrimination due to his feminine demeanor. The city becomes both a place of opportunity and ongoing hardship.

A chance friendship at a bus stop introduces Maadesha to a transgender woman who leads him to Danamma, the head of the transgender community. Danamma helps him imagine a path toward a new life and identity. This encounter becomes the turning point toward Vidya.

Danamma sends Maadesha to stay with her associate Nani in Pune, where the transformation toward Vidya begins. The new name signals a decisive break from the old life and a hope for visibility. The move to Pune marks the start of a public, gender-affirming journey.

Vidya is forced to beg to earn a livelihood and undergoes Nirvana, a gender-affirming surgery. She longs to work in ordinary employment rather than prostitution. The transformation brings both relief and new challenges as she negotiates a hostile job market.

Discrimination from employers cements her path; a brutal moment sees Vidya beaten and thrown from a moving train while begging. The violence underscores the persistent prejudice she faces. She endures, determined to keep moving forward.

Vidya returns to her native village, where her sister and parents react with shock to her changed appearance and urge her to revert to Maadesha. She resists, declaring that she wants to live and die as a girl, and bids them farewell.

Back in Bangalore at night, a police inspector encounters Vidya among transgender sex workers and is moved by her story. He offers her a position as an assistant to a friend who is a film director, recognizing her resilience. The moment reframes her life from stigma to potential opportunity.

The film closes with Vidya, now a successful advocate campaigning for transgender rights and visibility, intercut with real photographs of her life. Her journey moves from marginalization to empowerment, buoyed by a growing community and a renewed sense of dignity.