O’Neill is a well-known Indian filmmaker who directs, edits, writes scripts, and produces films and television shows. His notable works include the 2005 film My Brother… Nikhil, which shed light on the life of Indian AIDS activist Dominic d’Souza. The film, starring Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli, was one of the early Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships.
Wiki/Biography
Anirban Dhar was born on Thursday, May 1, 1969 in Thimphu, Bhutan (54 years; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Taurus.
Childhood photo of O’Neal (lying on his father’s lap)
He completed his high school education at Yangchenphug High School, Thimphu, Bhutan in 1984 and received his high school education at Motithang High School, Thimphu, Bhutan. In 1986, his family moved to Kolkata, India, from Thimphu, Bhutan. From 1986 to 1989, he pursued a BA in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal. While pursuing higher education in Kolkata, he simultaneously attended film courses at Chitrabani Film School.
While O’Neill was studying at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, West Bengal
In 1991 he received his Advanced Editorial Diploma from SFB/TTC Berlin. In a media conversation, O’Neill once revealed that he was born in a small village in Bhutan to Bangladeshi parents. As a child, he watched classic movies with his mother, who loved movies. At that time, there was no television in Bhutan.
young o’neal
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father’s name is Aparesh Dhar and mother’s name is Manjushree Dhar. His parents were once teachers. His brother Abhishek Dhar is a theoretical physicist and his sister Irene Dhar Malik is a film and television editor.
Onir (standing on the far left) with his father (sitting), mother (sitting in the middle), sister (wearing pink; sitting on the far right), brother (wearing a maroon shirt; standing), and sister-in-law (wearing a white top) Group photo, brother-in-law (in white shirt) and niece (in yellow and red dress)
wife
He is unmarried.
sexual orientation
O’Neill is one of the few openly gay filmmakers in the Hindi film industry.
Profession
After completing his studies, O’Neill returned to Calcutta from Berlin and used his scholarship to make a documentary about the leftist painter Bijan Chowdhury titled “The Fallen Hero”. Later, he worked in various capacities as art director, editor and music album director in Mumbai. O’Neill got his first experience directing a feature film in 2001 when he worked as an assistant to Kalpana Lajmi on the film Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence. He came up with the idea for his first film while working on a documentary about Dominic D’Souza, a Goan swimming champion and AIDS patient. Onir’s debut film “My Brother…Nikhil” was released in 2005, starring Sanjay Suri and Juhi Chawla. It highlights the plight of AIDS patients in the 1980s, who faced harsh treatment and social stigma from the Goan government. The film screened at several international film festivals and won numerous awards, including the Audience Choice Award at the Milan and LGBT Film Festivals, as well as Best Film and the Jury Audience Choice Award at the Image+nation Film Festival in Montreal.
Poster of the movie My Brother Nikhil (2005)
In 2006, O’Neill made his second film, Bas Ek Pal, starring Urmila Matondkar, Sanjay Suri and Jimmy Shergill. Despite being nominated for the Critics Award for Best Director at the Global Indian Film Awards, the film did not do well at the box office.
Movie “Bas Ek Pal” poster
His 2007 film Sorry Bhai! ” was released the week of the Mumbai terror attacks; therefore faced difficulties and underperformed at the box office.
Poster of the movie “Sorry Bhai”
In 2009, O’Neal released his eighth film, I Am, which included four short films that addressed topics such as single motherhood, displacement, child abuse, and same-sex relationships. “I Am” won two National Awards: Best Film and Best Lyrics. It also received the New York I-VIEW 2010s Outstanding Contribution Award.
Movie “I Am” poster
In 2005, O’Neal and Indian actor Sanjay Suri founded Anticlock Films, a production company that helps young directors. The company has helped filmmakers such as Bikas Ranjan Mishra, who directed the 2014 film Chauranga, which released on Netflix India.
Poster for the film production company “Anticlock Films”
In 2016, O’Neill produced a documentary called “Raising the Bar,” which told the stories of six young people from India and Australia with Down syndrome. The film won the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Award.
Movie “Raising the Bar” (2016) poster
In 2017, he released his fifth film Shab (Night), starring Raveena Tandon, Ashish Bisht, Arpita Chatterjee Chatterjee and French actor Simon Frenay. The film premiered at the New York Indian Film Festival and was screened at other events such as the River to River Indian Film Festival in Florence and the Melbourne Indian Film Festival.
Movie Shab (Night) (2017) Poster
Onir’s sixth film, Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz, released in 2018, starred National Award-winning actor Geetanjali Thapa and introduced Kashmiri actor Zain Khan Durrani. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Jagaran Film Festival and was screened at several other film festivals.
Poster of the movie Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz
O’Neill subsequently directed a documentary called The Widow of Vrindavan in 2018, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Jaglan Film Festival and was screened at the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival and the Melbourne Indian Film Festival in 2019.
Poster of the documentary “The Widow of Vrindavan”
In 2021, O’Neill directed a documentary titled “SAMA: Symbols and Gestures in Italian and Indian Contemporary Art”, which explores contemporary art in the Indian subcontinent and Italy. The documentary offers a glimpse into the aesthetics of both regions and investigates their signs and symbols throughout history and culture. The film also explores rare forms of craftsmanship.
Documentary “SAMA” poster
In 2022, he released the film Pinecone, which premiered at the Kashish International Queer Film Festival in Mumbai. The film also premiered at the “Melbourne Indian Film Festival” in Australia and won the “Rainbow Story Award”.
Movie “Pinecone” poster
In 2023, O’Neill shared on his social media that he was working on a web series on the Pulwama attack for SonyLiv based on Rahul Pandita’s book. He also mentioned that he is working on a sequel to the 2011 National Award-winning film “I Am” titled “We Are”.
literature
In 2022, O’Neal co-authored the book “I Am O’Neal and I’m Gay” with his sister Irene Dhar Malik. The book is published by Penguin Viking.
Poster for the book “I Am O’Neal and I’m Gay” by O’Neal
Awards and Honors
- In 2005, he won the Best Film (Jury) and Best Film (Audience) awards at the Montreal (Image+ Nation Film Festival), Best Director at the Saty Rainbow Film Awards in Kolkata, and Best Director/Producer at the TMG Global Awards. prize. The movie “My Brother…Nikhil”.
- In 2006, he won the Best Film (Audience) Award at the 20th Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival for his film “My Brother…Nikhil”.
- In 2010, he won the Triangle Media Group Honor Award and the Best Film Award at the London Asian Film Festival and the Florence Indian Film Festival. He also won the IRDS Film Awards for Best Director with Social Concern.
- In 2011, he won the National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film, the Best Director Award at the Jaglan Film Festival, the Best Film Award at the London Asian Film Festival, the NETPAC Award-Best in Asian Cinema and the IFFK 2010 International Special Jury Award. , the Best Narrative Award-winning film “I Am” won the Feature Film Award at the Kasish International Queer Film Festival in Mumbai, the Best Film (Audience) Award at the River to River Film Festival in Florence, and the 2010 I-VIEW Outstanding Contribution Award.
- In 2018, he received the Likho Award, also known as the Trailblazer Award.
- In 2019, he received the Diversity Award from the Australian Film Festival Victoria and La Trobe University at the Melbourne Indian Film Festival.
- In 2022, O’Neal won the Rainbow Warrior Award for his semi-autobiographical film “Pinecone.”
- In 2023, he won the “Pioneering Award” at the Samabhav Tourism International Film Festival in Bhutan for the movie “Pine Cone”.
Favorites
- Movies: Pedro Almodóvar’s “All About My Mother” (1999), Luis Bunuel’s “Belle de Jour” (1967), Ritwik Ghatak’s “Meghe Dhaka” Tara” (1960)
- Character: Michel Poiccard from Jean-Luc Godard’s À bout de souffle (Breathless) (1960)
Facts/Trivia
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- Once, during a media discussion, O’Neill stated that he decided to become a filmmaker after watching Shyam Benegal’s 1979 film Junoon. He added that “Junoon” had a great influence on him.
- In October 2020, O’Neill received a Special Jury Mention at the Indus Valley International Film Festival for his outstanding work on LGBT issues.
- According to O’Neill, his favorite film directors are Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, Luis Buñuel and Andrei Tarkovsky. In a media chat, O’Neill once mentioned that he admires Indian actress Madhuri Dixit and also likes the work of actors Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan. O’Neill also said that he prefers European movies to Hollywood and admires Hollywood actors such as Tom Hanks, Belmondo and Colin Farrell.
- O’Neill is fluent in Bengali, English, German, Hindi, Nepali, Oriya, Russian and Tamil.
- Onir enjoys traveling to faraway places, hiking, biking, and swimming in her free time.
O’Neal enjoys vacation
- He is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. He often uploads videos and photos of his workouts on various social media platforms.
O’Neal while working out in the gym
- He is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.
Onir while enjoying alcoholic beverages
- O’Neill is a frequent speaker and lecturer on various motivational speaking platforms around the world.
Onir speaking at TEDx
- In a media conversation, he once shared the story of how he realized he was gay. He said,
Initially, I fell in love with women. But around level 11, I realized, I was attracted to men. When I moved to Mumbai around 21, I kind of knew. When I told my sister “I think I’m gay” she just said “ok”. It’s just so cool and so simple. Even with my parents, it was never difficult. “
O’Neal’s pictures
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education