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I Am is an upcoming Indian film by Onir. It consists of four short films: "Omar", "Afia", "Abhimanyu", and "Megha". Each film shares the common theme of fear and each is also based on real life stories. The film was financed by donations from more than 100 different people around the world, many of whom donated through social networking sites like Facebook.^[1]

Plot

• "Omar" - When a homosexual man (Rahul Bose) propositions a male prostitute (Arjun Mathur) he is left vulnerable to blackmail when the prostitute threatens to turn him in with the help of a policeman (Abhimanyu Singh) under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
• "Afia" - A girl (Nandita Das) decides to become a mother using a sperm donor.^[2]
• "Abhimanyu" - A director (Sanjay Suri) is haunted by memories of sexual abuse as a child.
• "Megha" - After leaving Kashmir, Hindu Kashmiri Pandit Megha (Juhi Chawla) returns home to find her childhood Muslim friend Rubina (Manisha Koirala) has suffered too.

Cast

• Juhi Chawla
• Manisha Koirala
• Rahul Bose
• Saheel Saigal
• Arjun Mathur
• Abhimanyu Singh
• Nandita Das
• Sanjay Suri
• Purab Kohli
• Pooja Gandhi
• Radhika Apte
• Shernaz Patil
• Anurag Kashyap
• Mushtaq Kak
• Arry Dabbas
• Zain Salam
• Zubin Jauhari
• Dhrishit Sonegara
• Sayali Brahme
• Mukesh Sawlani
• Rushad Rana
• Madhu Sagar
• Behram Rana
• Faisal Burza
• Fayeem Shah

Production

Onir first developed an idea for a short film while in Berlin, Germany. He later decided to make four shorts as he had too many ideas to fit into only one film. Onir raised financing from not only the film's stars, but also from members of the general public from around the world. Using Twitter and Facebook, Onir offered backers co-production credit in the film and a share in the profits.^[3] Many of the participants in the film worked for free; Juhi Chawla and Anurag Kashyap did not draw salaries and Manish Malhotra designed the film's costumes for free.^[4] The shorts were shot on location in Srinagar ("Megha"), Mumbai ("Omar"), Mangalore ("Abhimanyu") and Kolkata ("Afia").

Awards and honours

The scripts for "Abhimanyu" and "Omar" were nominated for Triangle Media Group (TMG) Global Awards.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Onir's next ventures into issues of gay sex, child abuse". Indian Express. 12 August 2009. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/onirs-next-ventures-into-issues-of-gay-sex-child-abuse/501190/1. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
2. ^ Priyanka Dasgupta (6 February 2010). "Onir in search of a fertility clinic". Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Onir-in-search-of-a-fertility-clinic/articleshow/5539457.cms. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
3. ^ Pallavi Jassi (13 September 2009). "A slice of the pie". Indian Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-slice-of-the-pie/516477/1. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
4. ^ Soumyadipta Banerjee (17 August 2009). "To each their own sexuality, says Manish Malhotra". Daily News & Analysis. http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_to-each-their-own-sexuality-says-manish-malhotra_1283141. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
5. ^ Joginder Tuteja (19 May 2009). "Rahman, Onir bags TMG Global Award Nominations". Bollywood Hungama. http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/2009/onir-rahman-tmg-nominations-190509.html. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 

External links

• Official site