Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 15, 2020)

Recently the Berlin International Film Festival announced a decision to present a gender-neutral award instead of the Best Actor and Best Actress. While actor Kirti Kulhari understands and appreciates the sentiment behind the decision, she feels it wasn’t really needed.

“I see no difference between a male and female. Having said that, I like the idea of males and females being awarded differently and separately for their efforts. While we are fighting for a gender-neutral society, which is great, I think it’s also being pushed to an extent that I feel is not necessary. I like the distinction between a male and a female and how they individually are enough in themselves because they have their own strengths and weaknesses,” says the Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) actor.

Though the impact of this announcement on other award shows is yet to be seen, Kulhari surmises it’s very likely that world over award organisers will follow suit. “We tend to follow the frenzy towards good or bad things, especially now with the world going through its own revolution, through which a lot of people are coming forward to make a difference to the way the society is — to change it for the better. A lot of people wouldn’t want to be left behind or be called out for not supporting this,” she says.

There are also concerns being raised that such format may reduce the number of awards women get for their work, as there aren’t many strong roles written for them. Sharing her opinion on it, the actor says, “Honestly, we’ll see how this idea of making it gender-neutral works and the direction it takes. I think there’s an entire movement that the world is going through for women as well. Considering that, I think it’ll not affect the kind of roles women are being offered, the number of roles offered to them and the content that’s written for them. It’s possible for this movement to go hand-in-hand with the cause of gender neutrality.”