Living Smile Vidya, also known as Smiley, is an actor, clinic clown, author and pioneer Dalit-Trans activist. She is also the founder of India’s first Trans theatre group Panmai Theatre.
In her hometown of Tamil Nadu, she is the first trans woman to have a change of name and gender in her passport. This created a legal basis for transgender rights in South India.
Through her strong writing and performances, she demanded Trans-representations in every employment including films. She was the first voice for Reservation of Trans that changed many lives. Being an asylum seeker in Switzerland, she continues her fight for the economic independence of Trans people.
She is one of the winners of the Swiss Performing Arts Awards 2024, and protagonist of the award winning Swiss film “Die Anhörng” besides other critically acclaimed documentaries like “Naked Wheels” and “Is It Too Much To Ask?”. “Naanu Avanalla Avalu”, kannada film based on her life, got two national awards and many state awards including “Best original story” for Smiley.
The play “The Color of Trans” toured the USA, among other places. In Switzerland, Smiley has been seen in plays and works by Experi Theater, Schwald/Leuenberger, Chris Leuenberger, among others, as well as in the film “The Hearing” by Lisa Gerig, which has just won the Swiss Film Award for Best Documentary.
Smiley is one amongst the many Trans artists we wish to celebrate in this new series.
For us to have more and more Trans people becoming amazing artists, we need to make sure they have their basic needs met first.
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