Artificial Insemination, Child Abuse and Homosexuality are issues that Indians loathe to discuss in public; worse, they dismiss these as non-issues, just like some members of the New Zealand Indian community do to family violence.
However, Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla and director Onirban Dhar have taken a bold step with the film, I Am, which premiered at the Indian Film Festival inaugural function at Hoyts Cinema on March 24.
It is a bold venture into unspoken and unaccepted realities of life, even in India.
“I Am is a film that can be related by anyone, anywhere in this world. It is about people and what shaped them,” Juhi told Indian Newslink in Auckland last week.
She decided to act in the film, because it enlightens, informs and provokes people to reflect on issues and dilemmas that men and women face in their daily lives.
Onir said he was inspired by the words of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in his poem Geetanjali: “When the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken into fragments… into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
It has taken more than 100 years for the Indian cinema to capture those sentiments into reel life and whether I Am would be a box office success or not, it is bound to make people think and react.
“It is a bold and brave attempt and was two years in the making. The subjects may appear controversial but reflect truth. Often issues that leave an impact on people and the society are overlooked,” Onir said.
I Am (labelled for Mature Audience) boasts of a talented cast including Nandita Das, Manisha Koirala, Sanjay Suri, Rahul Bose and Arjun Mathur in a four-part, interwoven story.
“The film unfolds many a tale of individuals struggling to find their identity, and uphold their dignity in a world that is callous, cold and unsympathetic. It is audience oriented,” Juhi said during a Question & Answer session at Hoyts.
The film has made its international round, screening in Berlin, Florence, Hamburg, New York Vancouver, Australia and New Zealand.
The Indian Film Festival, organised by Mind Blowing Films Limited, will conclude in New Zealand on April 3.
