The personal is very much political for Indian filmmaker Onir, who goes by his first name only. An out gay man with a unique platform in a country that has become increasingly conservative since the Supreme Court struck down a law decriminalising homosexuality in 2013, he finds himself regularly targeted by violent abuse on social media.
“It can be very disconcerting, because it’s just one step away from social media to it happening in a real space, which has happened,” Onir cautions. “That is something that is growing which makes you sometimes censor yourself.”
That’s never going to be a long-term solution for an impassioned Onir. “I don’t have an option but to keep voicing my feelings about the need for freedom, respect and recognition in a so-called democratic country.”
Onir made a huge statement in India with his 2005 debut feature My Brother Nikhil, based on on the trials of unwitting activist Dominic D'Souza, who was thrust into the limelight when he was arrested and then quarantined as India’s patient zero during the AIDS crisis. Though controversial, Onir says there was much more willingness to tell a story like that then, noting that it was much easier to fund, shoot and distribute than his queer-themed latest feature Shab.
“Because it was one of the first of its kind, My Brother Nikhil immediately got noticed - though it took a while to break even commercially - but as a society we are not moving ahead,” Onir insists. “We are a homophobic nation, you can’t get away from that fact and I find that it’s becoming more increasingly difficult than it ever was before. It’s not just sexuality, we are moving into a space which is not at all progressive. We’re becoming quite closed.”
Screening at the and the , with Onir a special guest of both, Shab is a multi-layered story following the intersecting lives and romantic travails of four people living in the bustling metropolis of Delhi. Areesz Ganddi plays cafe owner Neil, and Simon Frenay is expat French language teacher Benoit. Both characters are gay, but their sexuality isn’t their defining feature in a film that relishes complex histories and conflicted futures.
“The film is not dealing with the dilemmas of sexuality as much as it is the dilemmas of relationships,” Onir says, though structurally he decided to make a subtle political statement. “It was important for me that a relationship that is not accepted in this country finds closure in the end, whereas all the other so-called acceptable relationship have a more open ending.”
There’s a sombreness to both men, at least initially, that Onir identified with. “It’s a loneliness that a lot of gay men feel in this country, including myself, because in a society that is not open, relationships become much more difficult to form.”
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The reluctance of his closeted peers to follow his lead is frustrating to Onir, as are the actions of progressive global corporations who tow the political line in India. He also notes that because of the behind-closed-doors nature of homosexuality in India, LGBTIQ+ audiences often steer clear of cinemas for fear of retribution. “The community does not feel secure about going openly and supporting a film,” he says, noting that he expects more will come to Shab online or through eventual TV screenings.
Turning increasingly to crowdfunding as a work-around for hesitant producers, censorship is another hurdle, as is ultimately reaching international audiences. “My films are not art house,” Onir acknowledges. “I like to use the language of mainstream cinema and at the same time talk about subjects that do not get a lot of space in the mainstream, so what becomes difficult is that for outside audiences it’s not Indian or oriental enough, and for the Indian diaspora, a lot of them are more conservative.”
Onir hopes Australian audiences will take to Shab’s inclusive message, that love really is love - as messy as that path often is - regardless of your sexuality. He’s also hopeful marriage equality will soon become a reality in this country, and that Australia will use its influence to aid the LGBTIQ+ community in India.
“I look forward to more and more places in the world creating that space and also taking a political stance against countries which don’t do this,” he says. “Too many countries’ entire political stance is being governed by economic factors. Unfortunately that is what has taken over human rights the world over.”
