Onir (born Anirban Dhar, 1 May 1969) is an Indian film and television director, editor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his film ''

My Brother…Nikhil ''My Brother… Nikhil'' is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Onir, based on the life of Dominic d'Souza. The movie portrays the life of Nikhil Kapoor (played by Sanjay Suri) from 1987 to 1994 when AIDS awareness in India was c ...

'', based on the life of

Dominic d'Souza Dominic D'Souza was an Indian AIDS activist. His life was the basis of the film ''My Brother…Nikhil'' (directed by Onir) and the novel ''The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay'' by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi. D'Souza was a frequent blood donor and a wo ...

, was one of the first mainstream

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

to deal with AIDS and

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

s. Onir won the

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

for his film ''

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" ( ...

''. He has won 16 film awards in total.

Life and career

Early life

Onir was born as Anirban Dhar in Samchi,

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. His father Aparesh Dhar and mother Manjushree are of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

origin. Onir spent much of his childhood going to the cinema. The family moved to Kolkata around 1990. In

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, Onir studied

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

and took a few film classes at Chitrabani film school. He graduated from

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

in 1989, after which he received a scholarship to study film editing at SFB/TTC in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He later returned to India and worked as an editor, scriptwriter, art director, music album producer and director before becoming an independent producer and director.

Early career

In 1992 Onir directed and produced his first documentary film, ''Fallen Hero,'' based on painter Bijan Choudhury's life. He also served as an assistant to

Kalpana Lajmi Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Lajmi was an independent filmmaker working more on realistic, low-budget films, which are known in India as parallel cinema. Her films were often woman-oriented ...

on '' Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence'' (2001), which was his first experience directing a full-length feature film. While working on a documentary about Dominic D'Souza, a champion swimmer and AIDS patient in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, Onir conceived the idea for his first film. His directorial debut '' My Brother... Nikhil'' (2005) dealt with the Goan government's harsh treatment of AIDS patients in the 1980s and the stigma attached to them. ''My Brother... Nikhil'' was screened at several international film festivals, and Juhi Chawla received an IIFA nomination for her role as the main character's supportive sister. The film was screened at over 40 international film festivals, and won the Audience Choice Awards in Milan, LGBT film festival, Best Film & Jury Audience Choice Award at Montreal, image+nation Film Festival amongst others. In 2006 he released his second film ''

Bas Ek Pal ''Bas Ek Pal'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language romantic crime thriller film directed by Onir. It stars Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Suri, and Urmila Matondkar with Jimmy Sheirgill, Rehaan Engineer, and Yashpal Sharma in supporting roles. The film's ...

''. He received a nomination for the Best Director Critic's Award at the

Global Indian Film Awards Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) was an awards ceremony held between 2005 and 2007, conceptualized and founded by Sameer Khan and Jordy Patel to acknowledge excellence in the Hindi film industry and honour artists in 28 categories across various ...

for the film. This film was not a financial success, only collecting 15–20 percent of its budget at the box office. His next film ''

Sorry Bhai! ''Sorry Bhai'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Onir, starring Sanjay Suri, Sharman Joshi,Chitrangada Singh, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani. The film was released on 28 November 2008. Plot Siddharth Mathur (Sharman ...

'' also failed to do well, as it was released the week of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Critical acclaim

Onir's eighth film was ''

'', which consists of four short films exploring themes of single motherhood, displacement, child abuse and same-sex relationships. ''I Am'' won the National Award in two categories; Best Film and Best Lyrics. It was also the winnerof I-VIEW 2010s Engendered Award (New York) for Outstanding Contribution. Onir was awarded the 2008/9 Triangle Media Group Honorary Award on 7 February 2010, and won Best Film awards at both the London Asian Film Festival and the

River to River. Florence Indian Film Festival A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

. He won Best Director for Social Concern at the IRDS Film Awards. Onir produced "Chauranga" (Four Colours) which won the Incredible India Award as the best script at the Goa Film Bazaar, International Film Festival of India, won best film India Gold at MAMI and IFFLA. This film is about a class conflict set in rural India and directed by Debutant Director Bikas Mishra. The script was also a part of Berlin Talent Campus 2010. The feature-length documentary "Raising the Bar", an Indi-Australian documentary featuring the lives of 6 children and young people living with down syndrome premiered at the Melbourne Indian Film Festival in 2016. "SHAB" (The night) directed by Onir released in 2017. The film premiered at New York Indian Film Festival, screened at Melbourne Indian Film Festival, Sydney Indian Film Festival, Florence River to River Indian Film Festival and Stuttgart India Film Festival. His 6th feature film as director "Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz" (Rain-soaked words) was released in Feb 2018. The film had its Festival premiere at the London South Asian Film Festival in March 2018. The film is currently streaming on Netflix. In 2018, he made a short documentary, 'Widows of Vrindavan', about unwanted mothers who try and seek solace in pursuit of divine love. The documentary portrays the lives of widows living at Maitri Ghar (House), their journey to Vrindavan, their childhood, their crushed dreams and what keeps them alive now. Widows of Vrindavan is a film about these widows trying to find dignity and hope as they await death. The documentary premiered at the Indisches Film festival Stuttgart in 2019. It received the Best Documentary (Audience choice award) at the 9th Jagran Film Festival. In 2018 he received Likho Award (Trailblazer Award) Onir has received the Diversity Award from Film Victoria Australia and La Trobe University at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019. Onir received the Engendered Spirit of Independent Cinema Award 2020 at the Engendered Human Rights Film Festival in Delhi. Onir directed the Indo-Italian documentary film on contemporary art, SAMA: Symbols and Gestures in Contemporary Art of Italy and India (2021) which underlines the artistic parallels between India and Italy. Onir's memoir; "I Am Onir and I Am Gay" which he has co-written with his sister Irene Dhar Malik was published by Penguin Viking in 2022. In August Onir's semi-autobiographical film "Pine Cone" premiered at 'The KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival where he won the 'Rainbow Warrior Award' for his film "Pine Cone". In August, 2023, "Pine Cone" had its Australian premiere at the 'Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne' where it won the 'Rainbow Stories Award'. Consecutively it was also screened at the 'Samabhav Travelling International film Festival' in Bhutan where Onir won the 'Trailblazing Award'. He is also working on a SonyLiv web series on Pulwama Attack based on Rahul Pandita's book. Onir is also working on a sequel to his 2011 National Award winning film "I Am", titled "We Are". - IMDb Mini Biography By: Onir

Personal life

Onir has one younger brother, Abhishek Dhar, who is a theoretical physicist at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, TIFR

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, adjunct faculty at

Raman Research Institute The Raman Research Institute (RRI) is an institute for scientific research located in Bengaluru, India. It was founded by Nobel laureate Sir C. V. Raman in 1948. Although it began as an institute privately owned by C. V. Raman, it became an ...

and winner of the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology Shanti or Shanthi may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of B ...

. Onir's sister Irene Dhar Malik is a film and television editor. Onir is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. He can speak

, Russian, German and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

. His favourite film directors are

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during hi ...

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

and

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

while he cites

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...

's '' Junoon'' as the reason he became a filmmaker. He is also one of the few openly gay directors in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

2018 'Widows of Vrindavan - It received the Best Documentary (Audience choice award) at the 9th Jagran Film Festival. In 2018 he received Likho Award (Trailblazer Award) Onir has received the Diversity Award from Film Victoria Australia and La Trobe University at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2019. Onir received the Engendered Spirit of Independent Cinema Award 2020 at the Engendered Human Rights Film Festival in Delhi. In August Onir's semi-autobiographical film "Pine Cone" premiered at 'The KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival where he won the 'Rainbow Warrior Award' for his film "Pine Cone". In August, 2023, "Pine Cone" had its Australian premiere at the 'Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne' where it won the 'Rainbow Stories Award'. Consecutively it was also screened at the 'Samabhav Travelling International film Festival' in Bhutan where Onir won the 'Trailblazing Award'.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onir 1969 births Living people Indian atheists Hindi-language film directors Jadavpur University alumni Indian LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors Bengali film directors Indian film directors Indian LGBTQ rights activists People from Thimphu Indian gay writers 21st-century Indian male writers Indian male screenwriters Indian LGBTQ screenwriters Gay screenwriters