Since the beginning of award film shows, actors have received trophies separately for both male and female performances. However, in an unprecedented move, the Berlin International Film Festival has decided to opt for a gender-neutral award for next year’s edition. Instead of awards for the best actor and actress, Silver Bears will be awarded for best leading performance and best supporting performance.
Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana is one of the leading voices to have come in support of this decision. He says gender divisions only highlight the long prevalent divisive nature of societies. Ayushmann who is a vocal champion of normalizing gender conversations in India said he is thrilled about the decision.
Ayushmann Khurrana on Gender Neutral Awards
Lauding the Berlin International Film Festival’s decision he said, “I wholeheartedly laud the Berlin Film Festival’s decision to award gender-neutral recognitions and I hope all film festivals across the world and India follow suit. At the end of the day, we are all actors, and gender divisions only highlight the long prevalent divisive nature of societies. Thus, it is important that gender-neutral awards should become the norm when it comes to adjudicating the best work in a year.”
Ayushmann who is currently at his hometown Chandigarh amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic believes that actors and films can do their it to keep such conversations alive and help achieve gender parity in society.
Explaining further, he said, “Gender divisions are too deeprooted and the film industry can really do its bit to champion change. Gendered awards, according to me, are totally outdated and should be scrapped.”
The Gulabo Sitabo actor further hoped that the award function in India also adopt this same trend someday. “I seriously hope all award functions in India take a step in the right direction and do what is the most obvious thing towards having a more progressive society. For me, good performances are good performances and they should be seen without the gender lens,” Ayushmann Khurrana said.
Meanwhile, Ayushmann Khurrana who was last seen in Shoojit Sircar’s OTT release, Gulabo Sitabo will next be seen in filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor’s yet-untitled next that will see him play a cross-functional athlete. The actor is said to be undergoing a massive physical transformation for his role. According to reports, he is also roped in for Anubhav Sinha’s intense political drama next.
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