Onir wraps up My Melbourne project with his film based on the subject of sexuality

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has wrapped up the shoot of the first out of its four anthology films under their My Melbourne project. The film, which is yet untitled, is directed by Onir and the Australian filmmaker William Duan.

It stars Arka Das, Mouli Ganguli (an actor from Australia, not to be confused by the Indian actress of the same name), and Jackson Gallagher. The film was shot in five days and the story is based on grief and forgiveness. The film follows the reunion of a queer Indian man, Indraneel, played by Arka, and his father, Mihir, played by Mouli, after many years of estrangement.

Speaking about the film and the experience, Onir said in a statement, “I am happy to be part of My Melbourne as it is a unique special film. It’s the first time such a unique cross-country initiative has been taken to bridge cultural ties and bring the two communities together using the medium of cinema. The films of My Melbourne are based on diversity and are focused on bringing forth talent locally from Melbourne and I can vouch that there are such incredible local talents waiting to be discovered and this project has done just that.”

Throwing light on his film, he added, “My film tells one such story of an integral part of diversity, bringing forth a warm story of a father trying to re-bond with his gay son. It was a great experience to work and collaborate with talent from Melbourne. I am glad that Film Victoria and Mitu Bhowmick Lange (festival director) have taken this step to celebrate cinema and diversity.”

Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “This is a very ambitious project of love celebrating the core values of IFFM - Diversity and inclusivity. The key idea was to provide a platform to emerging creatives from diverse marginalised backgrounds from various walks and abilities of Australia, mentored by some of the world’s best filmmakers. It’s an anthology of four stories weaved into one feature film called My Melbourne based on authentic migrant experiences. We cannot be what we cannot see.”

The other three films in the anthology will be helmed by Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali and Rima Das.

Also Read: REVEALED: Onir was offered to direct Chameli; says, “Things didn’t work out, possibly because Kareena Kapoor Khan was not keen on working with a new director”