Onir on LGBTQIA+ community: More and more people must say no to fake marriages

Filmmaker Onir is known to live an open life for a very long time. This Pride Month, he talked about his life and the way he sees changes in the LGBTQIA+ community in India.

Onir feels that there has been a change since decriminalisation in 2018 and a lot more people have come out. However, he also believes that the community sees a lot of resistance from society. “We must also realise that the more we reclaim our spaces the more resistance we see against the community as well. It is very similar to the women's rights movement. The more women reclaim their space the more aggression we see against women,” he says adding that this resistance is the result of patriarchy. “It is the stigma of the insecure patriarchy,” he said. 

Talking about marriage equality, Onir said, “Just imagine if a child gets married to their gay partner then the property rights get shifted to another family. They don’t want to lose that money. This country now doesn’t have a problem with sex being decriminalised but it has a problem that love is getting legitimised. More and more people must say no to fake marriages. You will see so many queer couples getting married.”

Onir said that he enjoyed a loving and supportive family. However, like other individuals, he also has a vacuum in his life. “I am very close to my family. They have loved me, accepted me, and celebrated me. Like everyone else, my life is not perfect also. I have vacuums. Until 2018, before decriminalisation, a lot of people feared coming out. Being a filmmaker it is not easy for me to get into a relationship. I have a lot of love in me. However, over the years, your identity as a filmmaker takes over. And there are times you don’t know why a person wants to be with you – if they want to be with you for the person you are or they want to be with you because you are a filmmaker. And since I am very open about my identity a lot of people fear being with me because they would be identified as gay and they don't have half the courage to come out. I lived this open life for too long to now care. I am tired of people not having the courage,” he said.