Last Updated: January 14, 2023, 12:50 IST
Onir Dhir is known for his directorial ventures like I Am, Shab, and Kuch Bheege Alfaaz, to name a few.
Onir Dhir expressed that he was appalled that no official reason was given for the arbitrary cancellation of his session.
Filmmaker Onir Dhir’s talk session on ‘Making Literature LGBTQ Neutral’ at the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival was cancelled on Friday after a group allegedly threatened to protest if the topic and the filmmaker were made part of the festival. Condemning the incident, Dhar expressed that he was shocked and sad at the same time after he was dropped from the event as he was looking forward to it.
“Shocked and sad that an event I was looking forward to speaking at had to drop me. There was a group threatening protest and violence and the police told the organisers that they cannot guarantee my safety. So they cancelled the event. Let me process this…” he wrote in a tweet.
Shocked and Sad that an event I was really looking forward to speaking at had to drop me . Apparently there was a group threatening protest and violence and the police told the organisers that they cannot guarantee my safety. So they cancelled the event. Let me process this… pic.twitter.com/AMSeG9CAa1— iamOnir (@IamOnir) January 12, 2023
Speaking with Free Press Journal, festival director Raghav Chandra said that they had to cancel the session because they were concerned about the filmmaker’s safety. “We got advice in oral communications from the state government itself that there would be opposition to him. We received information that there would be opposition against both the filmmaker and the topic,” shared Chandra.
In a chat with the Times Of India, Onir Dhir revealed he was appalled that no official reason was given for the arbitrary cancellation of his session. “I was merely told that there would be a threat to my safety if I went to the venue. The event wasn’t cancelled, only my session was nixed. I want to know why I was singled out and who was giving threats against me,” added Dhar.
He also mentioned that on Thursday morning, he received a text from the travel agent that his flight to Bhopal was cancelled. When the filmmaker asked the organisers about the same, they informed him that they were “planning” to text him about the same. Dhir called it unprofessional and also mentioned that they were forced to drop him.
Earlier today, January 14, the 53-year-old shared a video on Twitter and thanked Kolkata Literature Festival for welcoming discussions on different subjects. “Good morning beautiful people. Happy to be here at Kolkata Literature Festival. Happy that the city and the people welcome artists and allow discussion on different subjects. A welcome change after being told that I will not be allowed to speak at the Bhopal Literature Festival” tweeted Dhar.
Onir Dhir is known for his directorial ventures like I Am, Shab, and Kuch Bheege Alfaaz, to name a few.
