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| Left: An intimate scene b/w Arjun Mathur and Vikrant Massey in Made in Heaven; Right: A still from I Am |
Amongst the Indian filmmakers alive and making films today it is Onir who can perhaps best handle the complexities of human relationships. Onir is the only openly gay filmmaker in the industry. His films have always touched upon debates surrounding sexuality in a most sensitive manner. While ‘My Brother… Nikhil’ focuses on the issue of hardship and humiliation faced by AIDS patients, ‘Bas Ek Pal’ deals with the complexity of human relationships. ‘I Am’, on the other hand, is a collection of four short stories exploring themes as diverse as motherhood, child abuse, and homosexuality. ‘I Am’ went on to win a National Award for the Best Hindi Film. The film is perhaps best remembered for a steamy scene between Rahul Bose and Arjun Mathur. Since then the scene has remained a touchstone of sorts as far as India is concerned.
Interestingly, Amazon Prime Video original series 'Made in Heaven' features a strikingly similar scene and it again features Arjun Mathur. Both the scenes involve two gay men making out in a car. The men in both the scenes are rudely interrupted by the police. While in 'Made in Heaven', the policeman accepts the bribe and leaves the lovers alone, in 'I Am' the policeman forcibly abuses one of them even as the other one is forced to fetch money from the ATM in order to pay him the bribe. Coincidentally, 'Made in Heaven' features another scene wherein a policeman abuses Arjun Mahur's character in a manner not unlike 'I Am'. 'Made in Heaven' also features an intensely passionate scene between Arjun Mathur and Vikrant Massey in a bathtub. Now, it is impossible to think of something like 'Made in Heaven' without a powerful precursor like 'I Am'.
Before Onir's groundbreaking film came out it was really unthinkable to tell stories revolving around gay characters. And today we have an entire web series with a gay protagonist. But let's not forget that 'Made in Heaven' came out on the web, a place that's mostly free of censorship. Also, it's commissioned by Amazon Prime Video. And let's not forget that the situation is obviously a lot different today than it was back in 2011. So, one can only imagine the kind of hardships that Onir would have faced to make a film like 'I Am' back in 2011. Also, the risks would have been huge but it was ultimately his inexorable resolve that not only made it see the light of the day but also led to its major win at the National Awards. Clearly something that Onir started about a decade back with his fearless and visionary storytelling is finally giving rise to more voices in the industry. Hope this is just the beginning.
Note: I Am is currently streaming on Netflix.
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| Left: Arjun Mathur gets abused in Made in Heaven; Right: Rahul Bose forced on his knees by a police officer |
Note: I Am is currently streaming on Netflix.
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