Aranya Doloi
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It’s the most wide-open race for the best picture in years. The third edition of Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Awards explored the theme of ‘Cinema Beyond Stereotypes’ with nine films nominated from all around India. On Mumbai Film Festival’s 20th eve, the award promises to honour those movies that ‘break the stereotypical portrayal of male and female characters in films’.
The films are a reckoning force this year. While Marathi movie ‘Imago’ talks about a shy, teenage girl battling leucoderma and the social stigma attached to it, ‘Hamid’ explores the Kashmir conflict through the eyes of an 8-year-old. On the other hand, Kannada film ‘Balekempa’ revolves around a couple dreaming of a child and ‘Jonaki’ from Bengal shows an eighty year old woman’s quest for love.
Coming to a conclusion for the jury is getting harder with films like ‘Soni’ by Ivan Ayr, ‘Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil’ by Aadish Keluskar, ‘Light In The Room’ by Rahul Riji Nair being added to the list. Mansore’s ‘Nathicharami’ in Kannada and ‘Sivaranjani And The Two Other Women’ directed by Vasanth S Sai in Tamil are also bouncing up as the toughest of the competitors.
The Best Film on gender equality will be awarded on November 1st, 2018 during the closing ceremony of the festival. Rima Das’ ‘Village Rockstars’ which is India’s official entry to the Oscars bagged the award last year. Das is a jury member alongside National Award winning actor Parvathy and Fatima Al Remaihi, CEO of Doha Film Institute.
