Young Bollywood star Bhumi
Pednekar is the first leading actress in India to envision award ceremonies to
be gender-neutral in the near future. Her reasoning is based on what’s
happening in award ceremonies the world over.
Recently, the Berlin Film Festival
has awarded its first ever gender-neutral acting prize to Maren Eggert. The new
award means both male and female actors now compete in the same category. The
Gotham Awards announced that their best-actor and best-actress prizes are being
combined into a single lead-performance category, starting with this year’s
November ceremony.
The Emmys announced that,
beginning in 2021, any acting trophy can
replace “actor” or “actress” with the neutral term of “performer,” even as they
maintain gender-separated competition. The Venice Film Festival is also
following the Berlin festival to award gender-neutral prizes.
Bhumi says, “Over the course
of last year, it was hugely encouraging to see award functions do away with
gendered awards. Even from our context, if strong enough roles continue to be
written for women and other genders, we can eventually reach a space where we
have gender neutral awards.”
She adds, “An artiste should
be known for the kind of work that one does and not seen from the lens of
gender. I see each one of us as artists who can do their bit to achieve
parity.”
Bhumi feels calling all actors
as performers is a step forward in the right direction. She says, “We all know
that we live in a non-binary world and I feel such steps will only promote
inclusivity. It will be a welcoming step towards embracing all genders. It is high
time that we break these walls and celebrate raw, real talent without the
filter of the gender.”
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