Filmmaker Onir’s latest outing, We Are Faheem & Karun, recently premiered at the Dharamshala International Film Festival. The queer love story set in Jammu and Kashmir is presented by filmmaker Deepa Mehta. While Onir hopes for a theatrical release, he expresses concerns about the creeping threat of silent censorship, particularly on OTT platforms, which are generally perceived as more liberal with content.

Notably, the Supreme Court last month dismissed a plea seeking a direction to the Centre for setting up of an autonomous body to monitor and filter content and regulate videos on OTT and other platforms.

When asked if digital platforms provide a better space for his brand of cinema, which often explores queer love stories, Onir muses, “Yes and no,” acknowledging the shifting dynamics in the digital space. He elaborates, “With the recent attacks on OTT platforms, now very often, the platforms want your films to go through the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) before it comes to the platform.”

The 55-year-old says that OTT platforms, in an effort to avoid any controversy, often require a CBFC certificate for films that are not their own originals. “Especially, they would want that from a film like ours... which is perceived as controversial,” he adds.

Having helmed films such as My Brother...Nikhil (2005), I AM (2010) and Shab (2017), Onir is no stranger to the perceptions and challenges surrounding the themes that his cinema revolves around. He, however, insists, “I am not doing a film to create controversy, even though it is perceived like that. But when people watch it, they realize that it is a simple story of love.”