Silence empowers the oppressor: Onir on why speaking up on issues is important for him despite loss

New Delhi: Self-respect is more than a career and as someone who represents a minority, filmmaker Onir says it's important for him to raise his voice for other marginalised people who are being wronged.

The director, who is openly gay, said he has lost many opportunities for speaking up.

Onir recalled how his talk on LGBTQ issues at the 2022 edition of the Bhopal Lit Fest (BLF) was cancelled following threats by the right wing after his participation in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Asked whether speaking up for issues has cost him opportunities, the National Award winner said: "Of course, it has.

"In 2022, after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, I got threats from the right wing. I was dropped from panel discussions, literary and film festivals. When I wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror, I don't feel ashamed that I've been silent. The self-respect is more than that loss.

"Being a member of a minority myself, what we have achieved today is because of so many allies who spoke up and stood with us. It's important for me to do the same for other minorities or anybody who is being wronged. Silence, in a way, is not about being neutral. It empowers the oppressor," the National Award winner told PTI.

Last month, "My Melbourne", an anthology with shorts directed by Onir, Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali and Rima Das, opened the 15th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

The film is an India-Australian collaboration, supported by the Victorian government's screen agency Vic Screen and Screen Australia.

Onir's film "Pine Cone", which has travelled to many film festivals, is up for certification at the Central Board of Film Certification.

He will soon start shooting for "We Are", which is a sequel to his National Award-winning "I Am" (2010).