Onir, in reaction to the government’s affidavit on same-sex marriages, wrote a series of tweets, voicing his opinion. “Here we go... Now they want to curb #LGBTQI rights. The centre conveniently forgets that NO cultural definition can be greater than Human Rights / Equality/ Dignity. #loveislove #SameSexMarriage (sic),” he wrote.

Speaking to us about the same, the filmmaker, who has always lent his voice for LGBTQIA+ rights, says, “I feel it is sad that after the SC verdict in Section 377 (in 2018), which empowered us by decriminalising sexual act between consenting adults of the same gender, we are again taking a step back, which is ridiculous. There could be things which are regressive in our culture, but what the majority thinks and wants is not what our law should be – what is right or wrong is more important, and nothing can be more important than human rights, right to equality and dignity of humans. Sometimes I wonder what gives these people the power to believe that they can decide what is good for us. How can someone else have the power to decide about my rights? This is extremely unfair.”

The filmmaker also says that it is sad to see that people, who would otherwise show their support to other causes, choose to remain silent when it comes to issues concerning the queer community. “I believe myself to be a human activist and I will protest and condemn any act of human rights violation. But I have realised when it comes to queer rights I see that many people, who otherwise would talk, would remain silent about our lives. If you do #queerlivesmatter, it’s very difficult for it to ever trend,” he adds.

Onir’s film I Am has completed 10 years and he says that in the last 10 years he has hardly seen any change, especially in films being made on the topic of LGBTQIA+ rights. “Even after SC’s judgment on Section 377 in 2018, I don’t see any change. How many films or series have come out since 2018? Even those that did were heteronormative in their way of looking at the queer world. So, to celebrate the SC verdict, and 10 years of I Am, which was a film about identity, I have decided to make a film focusing on queer love stories which will end with hope. The SC has empowered us by decriminalising the sexual act between two consenting adults, but we are still not empowered with our civil rights as equal citizens, we have not been empowered with our right to love, get married, and are not being treated as equal citizens,” says Onir.