Audience Appreciation

Onir’s new film on child sex abuse extends a clever invite to his audience to be an integral part of it

Kolkata boy Onir’s new film may have attracted a lot of attention because of its provocative subject— it deals with male sex workers— but that’s not its only USP. The portmanteau film which comprises five stories will probably be the first Bollywood film to invite the audience to be shareholders. “I have opened my film to the audience because I believe that the film belongs to them anyway,” says Onir. Inviting people to be stakeholders in Abhimanyu,the 20 min film which deals with child sex abuse,was a conscious decision. “If people feel for the subject,they have every right to be a part of it. A lot of NGOs have shown interest in the films. So have many individuals,” he says. Onir went about inviting people to be a part of his film in the online social networking site,Facebook and also sent a series of chain mails. “I had no qualms in doing so. After all it’s a cause that is close to my heart. I have conducted an informal research and have found out that one out of every five girl child and one out of ten boys face some form of abuse. But the society hasn’t addressed this issue so far. My film can be a platform to do so,” says Onir,

Meanwhile,the filmmaker has been inundated with photographs of aspiring actors who want to play the role of a gigolo in his other film. “I have received quite a few photographs from Kolkata too. But my film requires someone who is intelligent enough to portray the various shades of the character. If I just needed a good-looking face I would have opted for a model. Moreover,I have a feeling that they are seduced by a somewhat romantic illusion. My film is quite stark and will require the actor to do a lot of unpleasant scenes,” he sums up.