I Am

I Am brings together four different stories,highlighting the various issues and dilemmas that injure the social fabric of the Indian society.

Of Pride and Prejudice

Producers: Sanjay Suri and Onir

Director: Onir

Screenplay: Onir,Urmi Juvekar and Merle Kroeger

Cast: Juhi Chawla,Manisha Koirala,Nandita Das,Rahul Bose,Sanjay Suri,Purab Kohli,Abhimanyu Singh,Arjun Mathur,Shernaz Patel,Radhika Apte,Anurag Basu,Anurag Kashyap,Manav Kaul and Rushad Rana

The film brings together four different stories spread across the length and breath of the country. The stories highlight the various issues and dilemmas that injure the social fabric of the Indian society and all the four protagonists share a common dream: a desire to re-live their past and restore their lost identity.

I Am Afia is the story of a single woman Nandita Das who wants to experience motherhood to feel complete but is unable to endure the long wait to find the right man.

I Am Megha is set in the early 8217;90s and speaks of two friends who have been separated by conflict; Megha is a Kashmiri Pandit Juhi Chawla and her friend Rubina Manisha Koirala is a Muslim woman.

I Am Abhimanyu is the story of Abhimanyu Sanjay Suri,a broken yet proud man,who had been abused as a child and grows up with an ambiguous sexuality.

I Am Omar tells the tale of sexual discrimination,blackmail and prejudice. Through Omar Arjun Mathur the last story throws light on the misuse of Article 377 by the cops to harass and blackmail gay men.

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Director Onir says: I think all the roles were pretty challenging for varied reasons. I guess that explains why the actors agreed to work on the project without any monetary benefits. All the characters have different shades and none of them are perfect human beings. Yet you feel for them and that8217;s the beauty and challenge of the film.

It was challenging for Rahul Bose and Arjun Mathur to play gay men. So was Abhimanyu Singh8217;s character that represents the extreme volatile side of the law. On the whole it was lovely to get to work with so many talented actors. The fact that they were so good at their job helped me to wrap up my shoot within the stipulated time and budget.

The Buzz
I Am is the first mainstream Hindi film that is crowd-sourced through social networking sites. Over 400 people from 45 cities across the world made this film happen by volunteering or contributing financially.