‘I Am’ was most difficult to make: Onir
March 7th, 2012 - 4:38 pm ICT by IANSMumbai, March 7 (IANS) Onir faced such tough times convincing Bollywood studios to finance his “I Am” that he resorted to crowd-funding to make it. But now with the best Hindi film honour at the 59th National Awards, the filmmaker is on top of the world.
“I am overwhelmed. This award has given me a lot of strength. This was the most difficult film to make as studios were not ready to acquire the film. This is a film made by people and this award is for those people who helped in the film,” Onir told IANS.
“I Am” consists of four short, issue-based stories - “Omar” that talks about gay rights, “Afia” on sperm donation, “Abhimanyu” about child abuse and “Megha”, which relates the tale of Kashmiri Pandits.
Onir used social networking platforms to raise money for the movie. He asked people to give Rs.1,000 or more and be a part of the film if they believed in the stories. That’s how around 400 people from 46 cities across the world participated and he managed to raise nearly Rs.10 million.
“I Am” is Onir’s fourth film. His debut film “My Brother…Nikhil” dealt with AIDS and gay-related issues. This was followed by “Bas Ek Pal” (2006) and “Sorry Bhai!” (2008).
- Onir releases 'I AM' trailer on You Tube - Mar 27, 2011
- 'I AM' to be screened in Spain film fest - Oct 23, 2011
- I never faced obstacles because of my sexual preference: Onir - Mar 13, 2011
- Communication gap with Nandita helped our chemistry in 'I AM': Purab - Apr 29, 2011
- Juhi Chawla joins as associate producer for 'I Am' - Jan 19, 2011
- Doing child abuse scenes disturbed Anurag Kashyap: Director Onir (Interview) - May 03, 2010
- Cannes invites Onir to attend Producers Network - Mar 20, 2012
- Honoured and humbled, says Amitabh Bhattacharya - Mar 07, 2012
- Homosexuals wrongly portrayed in films: Filmmaker Onir - Jan 12, 2011
- 'I AM': unique rhythm, different mood textures (IANS Movie Review - Rating: ****) - Apr 28, 2011
- Nandita to direct play (Movie Snippets) - Jul 10, 2012
- We've crossed the stage of insecurity: Juhi Chawla (Interview) - Apr 26, 2011
- To get actors, composers, Onir eyes social media - Oct 18, 2011
- Juhi Chawla To Re-Enter Production With Onir’s 'I Am' Series - Jan 20, 2011
- 'I AM' telecast on DD only after U-certificate; Onir upset - Jul 06, 2012
Tags: 10 million, abhimanyu, aids, bas ek pal, child abuse, crowd, debut film, filmmaker, gay rights, hindi film, honour, megha, mumbai, national awards, networking platforms, onir, pandits, social networking, top of the world, tough times