NEW DELHI: Anaya Bangar, child of former India cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, shared a series of photos in a saree on Instagram on Wednesday. Dressed in a red saree, Anaya captioned the post: "Pu bani Parwarti. Wearing my mom’s saree."
"Poo" here refers to the glamorous and sassy character Pooja Sharma (aka 'Poo'), portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan in the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G). In the film, Poo (Kareena) is known for her ultra-stylish and bold personality, but in one memorable scene, she appears in traditional attire, complete with a dupatta over her head, performing rituals like a sanskaari bahu. That moment sparked the iconic dialogue: "Poo bani Parwati."
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Formerly known as Aryan, Anaya recently spoke out about the “toxic masculinity” that still prevails in the cricketing world. Last year, Anaya publicly shared their transition journey, which included hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.
Anaya had once followed in their father’s footsteps by playing age-group cricket but acknowledged that pursuing a cricket career after transitioning came with many challenges.
In an interview with Lallantop, Anaya was asked, "When do you get to realise that 'I am in the wrong chosen gender?'"
Anaya replied: "For me it was when I was eight or nine years old, I used to pick clothes from my mom's cupboard and wear them. Then, I used to look into the mirror and say, 'I am a girl. I want to be a girl.'" Reflecting on their cricketing journey, Anaya added: "I played with some well known cricketers now like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal. I had to maintain secrecy about myself because dad is a well known figure. Cricket world is filled with insecurity and toxic masculinity."
Anaya was also asked about the response from fellow cricketers after undergoing gender-affirmation surgery.
"There has been support and there have been some harassment as well," Anaya said. When asked about the kind of harassment, Anaya revealed: "There have been a few cricketers who randomly sent me nude pictures of them."
Anaya also described more disturbing experiences: "The person used to give gaalis in front of everybody." They continued, "The same person then used to come and sit beside me and ask for my photos. There was another instance, when I was in India, I told a puraane (veteran) cricketer about my situation. He told me let's go in the car, I want to sleep with you."
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the ...
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