Now retired and in his mid-80s, Bhaduri was considered the last female impersonator of “jatra,” a traveling musical theater tradition in Bengali-speaking parts of northeast India and Bangladesh.

Now retired and in his mid-80s, Bhaduri was considered the last female impersonator of “jatra,” a traveling musical theater tradition in Bengali-speaking parts of northeast India and Bangladesh.

(CNN) — For Indian actor Chapal Bhaduri, the last man known to play female roles in Bengali folk theater, getting into character was both practical and ritualistic. He would put ...

“There’s just so few places right now for female political impersonators, really,” said Rosemary Watson, 58, a voice-over artist who has performed an impression of Hillary Clinton.

Having long played female roles in traveling theater productions, Chapal Bhaduri struggled to find work after more women started performing in the 1960s and 1970s.

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — For Indian actor Chapal Bhaduri, the last man known to play female roles in Bengali folk theater, getting into character was both practical and ritualistic. He ...

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — For Indian actor Chapal Bhaduri, the last man known to play female roles in Bengali folk theater, getting into character was both practical and ritualistic. He ...