A sizeable amount of hatred comes my way: Onir

Equality is nonnegotiable,” says filmmaker Onir, in his memoir, I Am Onir And I Am Gay — co-authored with his sister, editorscreenwriter Irene Dhar Malik — which touches upon his life, growing up years in Bhutan, tryst with cinema and more. He says, “It took about four to five years of convincing to write my story, because (to me) it seemed like I’d be retiring.”

Fairly active on social media, the 53-year-old is often at the receiving end of hatred, and says, “There is always a sizeable amount of hatred that comes my way from homophobic people. But, I always think that if 10 people abuse me, there are a hundred more who give me love, so abuses don’t matter.”

As an out and proud gay, one of the biggest roadblocks the My Brother…Nikhil (2005) maker says he has experienced is to get criminalised by law, until 2018. “To be deemed a criminal because of your sexual preference wasn’t a nice feeling. I remember, [at] gay parties, night clubs, there was always the constraint of the police cracking down. Even after the Supreme Court has decriminalised (homosexuality), there are so many aspects where we are still not treated as equals, be it marriage or adoption rights, or be it the right to serve in the armed forces.” He adds, “Even today, telling an LGBTQIA+ narrative, unless it’s sanitised or heteronormative comfort, is not easy. It wasn’t easy then, and it’s not easy now. It’s just that one is more empowered now because you are no longer treated as a criminal.”

Today, even after the Supreme Court has decriminalised homosexuality, there are so many aspects where we are still not treated as equals. ONIR, Filmmaker