It was one of the most traumatic episodes of my life: Onir

Filmmaker Onir may be very happy with the critical acclaim his recently released film got, but he still hasn’t got over the trauma of the controversy he was embroiled in, just before that. A male actor had accused him of involving him in the casting couch and the film-maker had denied it from the start.

Eventually it came to light that it was not the case but Onir says that he is still distrubed by the episode. “Yes, it was one of the most traumatic episodes of my life. The incident made me very sad and I feel it was blown out of proportion without any proof and my reputation was at risk,” he says. Onir adds that after 15 years of being in the industry, he feels lucky to be surrounded with people who trust him and stood up for him during his testing times.

“Today I am a much stronger person,” says Onir adding that the incident has made him weary of people looking for their 15 seconds of fame. “Honestly, I keep reminding myself that good things have happened to me and that people are not as bad after all. But I’ve realised that as a film-maker I am also a soft target for a lot of controversies. The worst part is that my family had to suffer through the agony of such allegations and I don’t want to put them through such a situation again. What has happened cannot be undone but at the same time it has made me more aware and determined to fight for my rights,” says.

Point out that one of the stories in his recent film has similarities to this incident in his life and Onir acknowledges it saying, “The only difference is that the pain was a thousand times worse when it happened to me for real!” he concludes.