My Brother Nikhil director Onir’s upcoming movie Pine Cone, which deals with the topic of queer desire, is going to arrive in cinemas later this year.

The filmmaker revealed this during a recent chat with us at Glenburn Penthouse in Kolkata as he visited the city to speak about his book I am Onir & I am Gay at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival.

“I have just finished shooting for Pine Cone. The movie tries to capture society’s reaction to the first gay pride in Kolkata in 1999 to decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2019,” he said.

The director also said he had been taking the narrative forward since coming up with his debut feature film My Brother Nikhil, which was about acceptance of homosexuality. “My next movies extend that concept of social acceptance. I Am was about Section 377 and Shab was about living one’s life as a queer person. Following this pattern, Pine Cone is about queer desire.’’

Talking about his new movie, Onir said Pine Cone would be the first mainstream film where the lead actor was an out and proud gay person.

“It was very important for me to have queer actors since our stories are told from a very cis-male or female perspective. In Pine Cone I’m introducing five new actors from Kolkata, Kashmir, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. I’m happy that I’m trying to empower new talent so that they can get a foothold in our industry,’ he elaborated.

Explaining his take on the characters of his movies, Onir said the characters of his stories were personal because they reflected the way he looked at the world. “Stories of marginalised people inspire me to make films,’’ he added.

He spoke about the movies that impacted his view as a creative person and a director. “Megha Dhaka Tara by Ritwick Ghatak has greatly impacted my life. As I grew up in different places like Bhutan and Kolkata, it was easy for me to connect with the emotion of homelessness. The brother-sister relationship also affected me deeply. Satyajit Ray also portrayed women brilliantly in his films. I think modern cinema should learn from them.’’

Onir was also all praises for Joyland, which is Pakistan’s official entry for the Oscars this year. “Coming from Pakistan, it’s a bold movie. Last year, I was trying to make a film on a real-life story of a gay Army Major, but the defence ministry did not allow me to tell the story. I feel it should win the Oscars for the Best Film in Foreign category,’’ he signed off.