James at 22:21, 26 April 2026

2026-04-26T22:21:47Z

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{{Short description|Indian screenwriter (b. 1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| pre-nominals =
| name = Gazal Dhaliwal
| post-nominals =
| image =
| native_name =
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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1982}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-02-14|title=When Queer People Watched 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh...' With Trans Writer Gazal Dhaliwal On Valentine's Eve|url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/when-queer-people-watched-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-with-trans-writer-gazal-dhaliwal-on-valentines-eve-2036381.html|access-date=2021-03-01|website=News18|language=en|quote=Dhaliwal underwent Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) in 2007 at age 25.|archive-date=2020-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108001512/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/when-queer-people-watched-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-with-trans-writer-gazal-dhaliwal-on-valentines-eve-2036381.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Patiala]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
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| occupation = {{flat list|*Writer
*Showrunner}}
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}}

'''Gazal Dhaliwal''' is an Indian screenwriter who wrote the screenplay and dialogues for Vinod Chopra Films’ ''[[Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga]]'', starring Rajkummar Rao, [[Anil Kapoor]] and Sonam K Ahuja. Previously, she worked on Alankrita Shrivastava's critically acclaimed ''[[Lipstick Under My Burkha]]'' as the dialogue writer and she wrote the dialogues and co-wrote the screenplay for ''[[Qarib Qarib Singlle]]'', directed by Tanuja Chandra, starring [[Irrfan Khan]] and Parvathy. She also wrote additional dialogues for ''Wazir'' that starred Amitabh Bachchan and [[Farhan Akhtar]].

She is also a public speaker and LGBTQ+ activist, who has spoken openly about being a transgender woman in several talks and in the media – most famously in an episode of the [[Aamir Khan]]-led talk show, [[Satyamev Jayate (TV series)|Satyamev Jayate]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/is-gazal-dhaliwal-bollywoods-best-new-writer/|title=Is Gazal Dhaliwal Bollywood's Best New Writer?|last=Som|first=Rituparna|last2=Noronha|first2=Navin|date=2019-01-08|website=Vice|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121808/https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/a3mmyz/is-gazal-dhaliwal-bollywoods-best-new-writer|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Gazal Dhaliwal grew up in the city of [[Patiala]] in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and was born to Bhajan Pratap Singh Dhaliwal and Sukarni Dhaliwal.{{cn|date=September 2021}} In several interviews and talks, she mentions how for as long as she can remember, she always felt like she was a girl.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://feminisminindia.com/2016/10/28/interview-gazal-dhaliwal/|title="I Always Knew, I Was A Woman": Gazal Dhaliwal|last=Sebastian|first=Sheryl|date=2016-10-27|website=Feminism In India|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-06-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605135735/https://feminisminindia.com/2016/10/28/interview-gazal-dhaliwal/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, growing up in a culture that celebrated a highly macho form of masculinity made it increasingly difficult for Gazal, who was bullied with homophobic and transphobic slurs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/167944/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-trailer-writer-india/|title=Meet the Stereotype-Smashing Transwoman Writer of 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga'|date=2018-12-28|website=The Better India|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121811/https://www.thebetterindia.com/167944/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-trailer-writer-india/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the age of 14, she secretly went to a counsellor but was found out by her father, after which she told him about her identity. Gazal mentions that although her father acknowledged it, he thought that it was "a phase". When she was 17, cyber cafes connected Gazal to the internet, and she found out about [[gender dysphoria]] and [[sex reassignment surgery]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/gazal-dhaliwal-transwoman-screenplay-writer|title=Growing Up As A Girl Trapped Inside A Boy's Body Was Not Easy|last=Rastogi|first=Surbhi|date=2019-02-06|website=SheThePeople TV|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121810/https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/gazal-dhaliwal-transwoman-screenplay-writer|url-status=live}}</ref> However, it was a distant dream, and prevailing stigma and the lack of awareness pushed Gazal to run away from home and board a train to Delhi. However, she was terrified, and finally returned her parents' calls and promised to return home.<ref name=":1" />

Gazal went to the British Co-ed High School in Patiala, and then pursued a Chemical Engineering degree from [[National Institute of Technology, Jaipur|Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur]]. After graduation, she joined [[Infosys]] in [[Mysore]] as a software engineer. However, Gazal's passion lay in the world of [[Bollywood]]. In 2005, she quit her job and moved to Mumbai, studying filmmaking at Xavier Institute of Communications for a year, and assisted Govind Nihalani on an animated film script.<ref name="thereviewmonk.com">{{Cite web|url=http://thereviewmonk.com/article/taking-road-less-traveled-gazal-dhaliwal-screenwriting-lgbt-voice|title=Taking the road less travelled: Gazal Dhaliwal on screenwriting and being an LGBT voice|website=The Review Monk|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121816/http://thereviewmonk.com/article/taking-road-less-traveled-gazal-dhaliwal-screenwriting-lgbt-voice/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scoopwhoop.com/gazal-dhaliwal-writer-ek-ladki-ko-dekha/|title=Meet Gazal Dhaliwal, The Trailblazing Transwoman Writer Behind The Story Of 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha...'|last=Magan|first=Srishti|date=2018-12-29|website=ScoopWhoop|language=English|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121809/https://www.scoopwhoop.com/gazal-dhaliwal-writer-ek-ladki-ko-dekha/|url-status=live}}</ref>

While at Xavier's, she and a few friends created a 20-minute documentary on transgender people, which interviewed doctors, psychiatrists and other transgender people in India. After it was released, she travelled to Patiala to show it to her parents. It was after this that her parents agreed to a sex reassignment surgery. She then spent the next three years undergoing sex reassignment and finally had the surgery in 2007, after which she returned to Patiala and worked at an advertising agency.<ref name=":2" />

== Career ==
In 2009, Gazal Dhaliwal returned to Mumbai and wrote her first-ever movie script, reportedly shutting herself up in a room and writing for 25 days straight.<ref name="thereviewmonk.com"/> Although that first script has not yet been turned into a movie, since then, Gazal has lent her voice to the scriptwriting process of several big-budget films.

In 2014, she also appeared in the third season of [[Satyamev Jayate (TV series)|Satyamev Jayate]], a television show dedicated to discussing social and political issues hosted by Indian actor [[Aamir Khan]], in an episode titled "Accepting Alternate Sexualities". She also made her acting debut in 2015 in the short film Agli Baar, about slum dwellers' fight for their right to land.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

Her screenwriting debut came with an opportunity as the Additional Dialogue Writer of [[Wazir (film)|Wazir]], starring [[Amitabh Bachchan|Amitabh Bachchhan]], in 2016. Since then, she has been Dialogue Writer of Lipstick Under My Burkha, Qarib Qarib Single, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, and the short film A Monsoon Date starring [[Konkona Sen Sharma]].<ref name="IANS">{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/writer-gazal-dhaliwal-okay-with-transwoman-tag-119060600696_1.html|title=Writer Gazal Dhaliwal okay with transwoman tag|last=IANS|date=2019-06-06|work=Business Standard India|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608215108/https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/writer-gazal-dhaliwal-okay-with-transwoman-tag-119060600696_1.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="thereviewmonk.com"/>

== Activism ==
In 2016, Gazal attended the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on transgender rights in the US as a part of an 8-member team. It was the first Indian team of its kind to be part of a three-week exchange program that was organised by the US Department of State.<ref name=":0"/>

Gazal Dhaliwal has spoken out against the controversial Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018, and voiced her support for the scrapping of the Bill as it does not grant transgender people the right to self-determination of their gender identity, and makes no mention of the educational and professional reservation quotas for transgender people.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/is-gazal-dhaliwal-bollywoods-best-new-writer/|title=Is Gazal Dhaliwal Bollywood's Best New Writer?|last=Som|first=Rituparna|last2=Noronha|first2=Navin|date=2019-01-08|website=Vice|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-06-15|archive-date=2019-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709121808/https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/a3mmyz/is-gazal-dhaliwal-bollywoods-best-new-writer|url-status=live}}</ref> She has also spoken about being okay with the constant tag of "trans woman" that is added to her many professional achievements as a scriptwriter. ''"In the professional world, I want to be known for my work rather than my status as a transwoman. My gender cannot be my only identity when I am writing a story because a story has no gender. Having said that I have a substantial reason to be okay with the tag 'transwoman' scriptwriter because I know the importance of the visibility of a transgender. Our community does not have enough representation which is very important,"'' she said in an interview with Business Standard.<ref name="IANS"/>

==Filmography==
*''[[Feels Like Ishq]]'' (2021)
*''[[Mismatched]]'' (2020)
*''Sepia'' (2019)
*''A Monsoon Date'' (2019)
*''[[Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga]]'' (2019) (Screenplay)
*''[[Qarib Qarib Singlle]]'' (2017) (Screenplay)
*''[[Lipstick Under My Burkha]]'' (2016) (Dialogues)
*''[[Wazir (film)|Wazir]]'' (2016) (Dialogues)
*''[[Murder Mubarak]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Murder Mubarak: Vijay Varma, Sara Ali Khan & Karishma Kapoor starrer 'Murder Mubarak' directly to release on Netflix skipping theatrical release |url=https://www.brutimes.com/news/entertainment/sara-ali-khan-karishma-kapoor-starrer-murder-mubarak-directly-to-release-on-netflix-skipping-theatrical-release |website=BruTimes |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|nm7430071}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhaliwal, Gazal}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian transgender women]]
[[Category:Indian women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ screenwriters]]
[[Category:People from Patiala]]
[[Category:Transgender women writers]]
[[Category:Transgender screenwriters]]
[[Category:Indian transgender rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Indian transgender writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian LGBTQ people]]

Gazal Dhaliwal - Revision history

James at 22:21, 26 April 2026