Who says Aditya Chopra interferes?
I have been chasing Onir for a couple of days. But he’s just completed the shoot for Sorry Bhai and is totally caught up with the dubbing for the film. My offer to meet him at the dubbing studio is rejected outright. Onir mentions that when he's dubbing he stays put in the studio, doesn't believe in taking breaks. One of those ardent committed types, I groan to myself. And yes, that’s Onir in a nutshell. Soft-spoken but firm, his passion for cinema is reflected in his face. (Unfortunately, so far the audience hasn't been exactly passionate about his work). But it doesn’t seem to bother Onir. He's been around for a long time. He spent almost a decade in Mumbai working in every conceivable role from editor to corporate producer to music album producer and simultaneously inching towards his goal of feature film direction. And irrespective of whether his films fare well or flop like Bas Ek Pal Onir will continue making films. He may have struggled to create his base in Mumbai but now there's no stopping him…
Why do most people have this impression that you belong to Kerala?
I have no idea actually; it could be because of my build and complexion. But I belong to Bhutan. I was born and brought up there.
My Brother Nikhil was a courageous film for a debut director. Didn’t you hesitate before taking up such a controversial topic?
You can think about my film as one which deals with relationships or one, which talks about sexuality. Unfortunately most people see it as a film, which focuses on sexual choices. For me there is one constant theme, which runs through all my films. Relationships and the commitments people make towards their various relationships.
How did you succeed in raising the money for such a controversial subject?
Well, basically Sanjay Suri and me co-produced it and we just kept passing the hat around. When things are supposed to happen, they just fall into place.
Isn’t it a bit terrifying working in these circumstances?
No, I would rather work like that. For Bas Ek Pal I worked with a producer and somewhere I found things were not under my control any more. The film wasn't promoted correctly and I didn't agree with the choice of distributors. So now for my third film Sorry Bhai once again Sanjay and me decided to co-produce the film.
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