Maninee De is happy to have collaborated again with brother-sister duo Shivankar Arora and Shipra Arora on their next project, Am I Bisexual? The actor plays the leading role of the mother in this short film that has been directed by Shivankar and written by Shipra. It will be streaming on their YouTube channel Content Ka Keeda.
The topic of the short film is quite bold and Maninee felt that such stories needed to be told. “Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are put into boxes and labels, and our sexuality sort of speaks about who we are. But, I genuinely feel that sexuality is something which is very personal, and everybody should be allowed their orientation. The way that they want to live life, their love language, these things are very personal to every human being. So, yes, it is still a taboo subject. And people do not speak about it very openly. Now, of course, people have started talking about it. But there is still a judgment. We can’t live in a bubble and say that it does not exist,” she says.
Speaking more on the subject, she adds, “I’m always up for things that spread awareness, bring in awareness in terms of changing mindsets, and help in opening up minds to other people’s orientation. When I was approached, I wanted to understand how they (the Aroras’) are going to weave this into the story because I trust them innately for their creativity, sensitivity, and for the aesthetic level that they bring to any subject. And they have dealt with it beautifully so I don’t have an iota of doubt in my head. I feel that everybody has the right to express their love in whatever way that they want to, and I have no judgment on it. I’m a heterosexual but I respect everybody who has their own orientation or their own love language.”
Bisexuality exists but no one talks about it openly. “And, the reasons are lack of knowledge and awareness. I remember somebody telling me that it happens because you’re bored of one gender. So you go to the other one, I was like, ‘oh, okay, whatever’. Imagine the insensitivity or lack of understanding. I also don’t know the science or the reason why it happens, and I am equally curious but not judgemental,” she explains.
Praising the Aroras for the way they have handled such a subject sensitively, Maninee adds, “They navigate the path very beautifully with no intention to hurt anybody’s feelings. Whatever number of films I’ve done with them, I have realized that they are very accommodating to new thoughts and ideas. We have been mostly on the same page when it comes to working. I think the biggest quality apart from the fact that they are very open-minded and extremely tolerant and very inclusive, is that most of the films are socially driven. Personally, I’ll be honest, initially, I had quite a few questions regarding it, and I wanted to learn more about it in terms of how we are going to play this out. Any creative person would have those questions, but as always, it has been a learning experience. And this girl has absolutely done such a beautiful job. More than anything else, I think we had so much fun making it. I really hope the audience enjoys it too,” she says.
