Filmmaker Sudha Kongara says working on a short story for an anthology series was difficult, because she had to share a deep story with many emotions in just 30 minutes.

Kongara's segment "Thangam" traces the story of 27-year-old Sathaar, a transgender who is secretly in love with his childhood best friend, Saravanan. It is an emotional journey of a transgender, with focus on the plight of transgenders and their place in society. The film stars Bhavani Sre, Kalidas Jayaram and Shanthnu Bhagyaraj.

"The story touched my heart and I wanted to share it with the world. I did a lot of research on the transgender community and met members to understand their emotions, desires, and their battles," Sudha said.

"This film was particularly challenging as I had to share a poignant and deep story with all the raw emotions and turmoils in a span of 30 minutes. I hope Thangam resonates with the audience as much as it did with me when I first read it," she added.

"Thangam" is part of the anthology "Paava Kadhaigal", which also has stories by Vignesh Shivan, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Vetri Maaran. It explores how love, pride and honour influence complex relationships, and will release on Netflix on December 18.