Slippery Slope in a Reality Show: Feminized by Destiny” is a transgender novella written by Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa.
The 23-year-old protagonist is one of the contestants of Pyar Villa, a reality show in which 7 dashing guys are supposed to woo 7 lovely damsels. Though not interested in women, Sanjay, the protagonist, idly courts a leggy dusky beauty named Jacqueline Lobo. Prince Ash, the winner of a major model hunt, is introduced as a wild card entry on Pyar Villa. Slowly but surely, Sanjay begins to develop feelings for the ruggedly handsome Ash. Ash reciprocates Sanjay’s feelings and the two men begin a secret affair. Ash coaxes Sanjay to dress in women’s clothes bringing the latter’s suppressed desire for feminization to surface. However, Sanjay suffers heartbreak when Prince Ash proposes to Jacqueline on the final episode of Pyar Villa. Sanjay resolves to live the rest of his life as a woman. She is now called Simi.
Characters:
Sanjay/Simi Saluja: is the 23-year-old protagonist of the story. He is of average height, has a fair complexion and youthful features. Sanjay has always wanted to be a girl and has dressed as one until age 11 when he is raped. After the rape, Sanjay begins to conform and behave “like a boy”. At 23, he takes part in a reality show called Pyar Villa and falls in love with a male contestant called Prince Ash. Prince Ash brings Sanjay’s desire for feminization to surface. Later, Sanjay begins a new life as a woman and calls herself Simi.
Prince Ash: is a 29-year-old celebrity who is introduced as a wild card entry on Pyar Villa. Prince Ash is ruggedly handsome with a suntanned face, muscular body and piano-key smile. Ash falsely leads Sanjay to believe that he loves Sanjay and has the two have an affair. On the final episode of Pyar Villa, however, Ash proposes to a female contestant, breaking Sanjay’s heart. Even though Ash’s love is tainted by betrayal, he brings Sanjay’s suppressed desire for feminization to surface, leading the latter to change his gender.
Jacqueline Lobo aka Jackie: is a 24-year-old contestant of Pyar Villa. Jackie is tall, dusky and beautiful. She initially dates Sanjay on Pyar Villa, before falling in love with Prince Ash. Jackie reciprocates Prince Ash’s attention and gets engaged to him on the final episode of the show. Jackie feels bad about abandoning Sanjay and apologizes to him numerous times.
Vishal Grover: is a 25-year-old contestant in Pyar Villa. Vishal is handsome, honest and kindhearted. Vishal becomes friendly with a girl on the show, but the two of them don’t fall in love. After participated in Pyar Villa, Vishal goes on to become a successful Mumbai-based model. He meets Simi in Mumbai and takes her to Bangkok to undergo SRS and a number of other surgeries. Vishal and Simi eventually fall in love.
Natasha: a young woman contestant on Pyar Villa who becomes a good friend of Vishal’s.
Rahul Batra: is the young dashing host of Pyar Villa.
Indiana Amour: is the beautiful co-host of Pyar Villa. Indiana is an ex-cabaret dancer.
Rajesh Saluja: is the father of Sanjay. He is a rich, conservative businessman. Rajesh doesn’t allow his wife to work or wear western clothes. He hopes his daughter gets married to a good man and expects Sanjay to help him with his business. Rajesh doesn’t support Sanjay’s desire for feminization and disowns Sanjay when the latter announces his decision to become a woman.
Poonam Saluja: is the mother of Sanjay. She is a housewife who only wears traditional Indian clothes. Poonam bears her first child after many miscarriages. She is elated when Sanjay is born 5 years after her daughter. However, Poonam is disappointed to find that Sanjay desires to be a girl and tries to dissuade him from behaving like a girl.
Neeta Saluja: is Sanjay’s elder sister. She listens to her parents and grows up to be a “good daughter”. Though she initially finds it cute, Neeta disapproves of Sanjay’s desire to dress like a girl. She tries to dissuade him from behaving like a girl but fails. When Sanjay is raped, Neeta feels that the crime may have occurred because her brother dressed like a girl. Neeta’s theory hurts Sanjay and the siblings grow apart.
Arthur Wilkinson: is an elderly British client Rajesh Saluja wants to strike a partnership with. Wilkinson has a white beard and crinkly eyes. Sanjay thinks he resembles Santa Clause. When Wilkinson is invited to the Saluja home for dinner, Sanjay appears in front of him dressed as a girl. He also sings a risqué song in front of Wilkinson. Sanjay’s parents are embarrassed and enraged by Sanjay’s behavior and punish him.
Salim Khan: is a fit, handsome film star of about 50. Salim Khan hosts a reality show called Eclectic Family, in which Simi takes part. Though Salim doesn’t actually live with the other contestants, he is called the Head of the Family (HOF). As the HOF, Salim is impressed by the dignity and grace Simi displays while on the show.
Pooja: is a friend of Neeta’s.
Manu: is a 17-year-old guy from Sanjay’s tuition class. Manu and his friends lure an innocent Sanjay to the park and sexually assault him.
Meenakshi: is a tall, plump hijra guru (transgender leader) who leads a group in the Kamathipuram area of Mumbai. Meenakshi gets Sanjay castrated, puts her on female hormones and renames her Simi. Meenakshi is unscrupulous and takes away 90% of the earnings her disciples make from begging, dancing at weddings and prostitution. Meenakshi disapproves of Simi’s academic inclinations and forces her into selling her body on a routine basis.
Reshma: is one of the hijras in Meenakshi’s jammat. Reshma tells Simi that Meenakshi often abducts young boys, gets them addicted to drugs like hashish and brown sugar and subsequently castrates and sells them. Simi is shocked by this piece of information but is unable to do anything about it.