Gender-Neutral Awards

The Berlin International Film Festival’s recent decision to have gender-neutral awards has spurred many articles discussing this topic.Bollywood actress Kirti Kulhari recently stated, “I see no difference between male and female. Having said that, I like the idea of males and females being awarded differently and separately for their efforts. While we are fighting for a gender-neutral society, which is great, I think it’s also being pushed to an extent that I feel is not necessary.”

She continued stating, “I like the distinction between a male and a female and how they individually are enough in themselves because they have their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s the coming together of the two that kind of makes the society a whole. In this case, I don’t think categorising awards in the same slot was necessary. Honestly, we will see how this whole idea of making it gender-neutral works and the direction it takes. There is a possibility that it gets affected, at the same time, I think there’s an entire movement that the world is going through for women as well. Considering that, I think it will not really affect the kind of roles women are being offered, the number of roles offered to them and the content that is written for them. It’s very possible for this movement to go hand-in-hand with the cause of gender neutrality.”

 

One article posted a video of Bollywood filmmakers and actors coming together to discuss this recent decision to make acting categories gender neutral.