Guns & Gulaabs: Is Jugnu Trans?

Netflix’s ‘Guns & Gulaabs’ is a crime drama that takes place in the fictional town of Gulaabganj, where the rivalry between two cartels leads to chaos and violence in an otherwise quiet town. Nabid from Sherpur wants to destroy the Gachi cartel in Gulaabganj. When the leader, Gachi, falls into a coma due to an accident, his son, Jugnu, takes command. He is seen as an amateur who doesn’t have his father’s business acumen. Their enemies try to exploit this and sabotage the Kolkata deal that means everything to Gachi.

While Jugnu struggles to keep up with the rivals and their elaborate plans, there is something else that he has to address. Throughout the season, we find him wanting to make his father proud, to prove that he is the son that Gachi waited for long. Eventually, however, he lets go of his father’s expectations and reveals something that changes how everyone sees him. What does it mean for Jugnu? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD

Jugnu’s Bold Identity Shift

Jugnu’s father coveted a son. He had a couple of daughters and had to marry three times before he had a son. Gachi had created an empire for his heir, and he lamented not having a son to pass it over to. He got so desperate that he decided to make Nabid his heir if he didn’t have a son the next time. But then, Jugnu was born, Nabid was cast aside, and Gachi focused on bringing his son into the business to hand it over to him in time.

Jugnu was born with the expectations of his father heavy on his shoulders. He had to be the son his father dreamed of. He had to be a man. But it wasn’t possible because Jugnu never felt like a man. In the final scene of ‘Guns & Gulaabs,’ Jugnu visits Gachi in the hospital, wearing a salwar kameez and a long-haired wig. This is where Jugnu reveals how she has been feeling all this while. She will not be the son his father wants because she is not a man.

Jugnu’s coming out as trans is a turning point in her story, but it’s not a shocking twist thrown on the audience out of nowhere. There were hints throughout the season that suggested Jugnu’s discomfort in trying to be what others want from her. In one scene, when her father’s right-hand man talks about how Ganchi was ready to hand over the business to a boy he brought home from the streets rather than his own daughters, Jugnu protests why her father thought daughters couldn’t handle the business.

In another scene, when she visits her friend, Nirmal, and his wife, she notices his wife’s henna and earrings. Nirmal and his wife, and even the audience, perceive it as Jugnu making a move on his friend’s wife. Later, however, it becomes clear that Jugnu is interested in Nirmal, not his wife. Jugnu loved Nirmal and wanted to be with him but couldn’t because no one would accept their relationship. She tried to keep Nirmal around, but this turned out to be a bad decision because later, Nirmal dies in a shootout.

His death breaks Jugnu, and she finally comes out of her shell. She did everything that she thought her father would have wanted. She tried to be something that her father would be proud of. In the end, however, she realizes that it doesn’t matter. So, she decides to be true to herself rather than pleasing others.

Read More: Guns & Gulaabs: Is Gulaabganj a Real Town in India?