'GOOD PERFORMANCES SHOULD BE SEEN WITHOUT THE GENDER LENS'

Thrilled about Berlin Film Festival going ‘gender-neutral’ for its performance awards, actor Ayushmann Khurrana hopes award functions in India also ‘take a step towards having a more progressive society’

For ages, film award functions have seen trophies being handed over to actors — male as well as female separately — based on their gender. But now, the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival has turned the prevailing practice on its head by deciding that its performance awards will be gender-neutral for next year’s edition. Instead of awards for the best male and female actor, Silver Bears (an award for the Berlin Film Festival for achievements in direction, acting, and for best short film) will be awarded for best leading performance and best supporting performance.

Back in India, Ayushmann Khurrana — who has been quite vocal about normalising gender conversations in the country –— is “thrilled” [with the news].

The actor says, “I wholeheartedly laud the Berlin Film Festival’s decision to award gender-neutral recognitions and I hope all film festivals across the world and India follow suit. At the end of the day, we are all actors, and gender divisions only highlight the long prevalent divisive nature of societies. Thus, it is important that gender-neutral awards should become the norm when it comes to adjudicating the best work of the year.”

Khurrana, who is currently stationed in his hometown, Chandigarh, with his family due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, feels films as well as film stars can play an active role in kicking off relevant conversations, in a bid to achieve gender parity in the Indian society. He explains, “Gender divisions are too deep rooted and the film industry can really do its bit to champion change. According to me, ‘gendered awards’ are totally outdated and should be scrapped.”

The Andhadhun (2018) actor feels it’s time for all the award functions in India to also have a serious look at the “inevitable trend”. As he puts it, “I seriously hope that all award functions in our country also take a step in the right direction and do what is the most obvious thing, towards having a more progressive society. For me, good performances are good performances, and they should be seen without the gender lens.”

Work-wise, Khurrana — who last starred in Shoojit Sircar’s OTT release, Gulabo Sitabo — will be seen in filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor’s yet-untitled next that will see him play a crossfunctional athlete. It’s believed that he is undergoing a “massive physical transformation” for the same, but is keeping all the prep under wraps. He is also supposed to feature in Anubhav Sinha’s next, reportedly an intense political drama.