Movie Reflection: I Am (2011)

Directed by Onir

Produced by Onir & Sanjay Suri

Anticlock Film Production

Cast of Note: Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Suri, Rahul Bose, Manisha Koirala, Nandita Das, Purab Kohli, Abhimanyu Singh & Arjun Mathur.

Finally a movie that truly reflects the times that we live in; a movie that depicts the struggles with our individuality in the transforming modernity, relatively weak against the traditions so deeply rooted in us. It isn’t a movie intended to paint a bleak picture of our society but nevertheless wanted to show the stark reality that exists beneath the surface of a civilization we long to call modern and global.

The movies moved through four narratives with characters cross appearing through each others’ although the connect isn’t deeply delved into nor necessarily serve as the main premise in the bigger picture.

I AM AFIA

Nandita Das plays Afia, a fresh divorcee who wants to become a single mother through artificial insemination. The vulnerability of her emotional and mental state is constantly pointed out by her friend, Megha (essayed by Juhi Chawla) who discourages the move. Although Megha’s lack of support towards Afia’s decision seems to stem out of personal concern for a friend but also many times ends up representing society’s protective prejudice against independent women. Purab Kohli plays the coy college student who is Afia’s sperm donor and not very comfortable with the idea of meeting the ‘beneficiary’ or keeping in touch with her or to know anything about the child. 

I AM MEGHA

In this segment, Megha steps out of the supportive shadow of a friend and we learn about her story. Megha is shown to be landing up in Kashmir and meets an old friend, Rubina (Manisha Koirala makes a great comeback with this role!). As an audience, Megha who prior to her visit seemed like a well meaning person suddenly appears cold and objective with Rubina but since its Kashmir, one is assured there’s a damned good reason to it. Most movies on conflict areas and situations end up reflecting one side of the story and in that process, perpetuating the ever embroiling politics. I Am is without agenda. Rather, Onir’s only agenda was to make the audience empathize with both sides, all of whom have suffered in the vicious cycle of hatred and violence. Megha as a Kashmiri Pandit, whose family was driven out of the valley and Rubina, whose family’s and her own future was destroyed by the fate that it fell to with only a dismal hope of any revival of it old, natural prosperity.

I AM ABHIMANYU

Seen previously exchanging flirtatious-friendly vibes with Afia in her office in Kolkata and in a failed attempt to interview Megha in Kashmir, Abhimanyu (essayed by Sanjay Suri) is a filmmaker based out of Bangalore. This story moves in a different tandem from the others being a little less dramatic with more flashbacks and existential pondering over ‘doobies’. Onir craftily handled the complex and traumatic subject matter of child sexual abuse and its consequences of it as an ‘adult. He steers away from some stereotypical images but keeps many common facts and symptoms intact. He leaves the sexuality (in particular, his orientation) of the character in an ambiguous space of discussion and inquisitiveness, that has a strong connect to his past.

I AM OMAR

Jay (bravely and beautifully performed by Rahul Bose) makes his first appearance running into Abhimanyu in a coffee shop in Bangalore and exchanging a few words in awkwardness and seemingly suppressed emotions. In this narrative, he apparently just arrived to his home base in Mumbai from business trips across different cities. Co-incidentally in a coffee shop, he’s cutely eyed by Omar (newcomer, Arjun Mathur does a brilliant job) and the both end up spending their evening acquainting and heavily flirting over a fancy dinner. As the two get intimate with each other, their party gets crashed by a uncivilized cop. Onir literally takes the audience to the highs of a metropolitan romantic comedy feel to the disturbing reality of the gross violation of the rights and respect that the individuals of the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual) community face and just how inhumanely we as a society treat our own bodies in views of sexuality.

I Am is a movie for the people, of the people and produced by the people. Besides the laurels of remarkable cinema on its badge, the film was co-produced with more than 400 individuals across 35 cities around the world through social networking sites like Facebook, making I AM one of India’s first and the biggest crowd sourced film.

As a movie, not only has it marked a significant turn for the Indian film industry in realistic and sensitive depiction (without unnecessarily flaring it up in drama) but also as a holistic project, paved the way for many young and aspiring filmmakers to move beyond commercial cinema for the masses without making a closed departure or any derisions.