Pine Cone

A film that sheds light on the evolving landscape of queer rights in India... This poignant narrative captures the essence of first love, the harsh realities of cynicism, and the relentless fight for equality --- highlights the broader struggle for LGBTQ+ rights in India!!

Watching Sid Mehra's journey unfold on screen, I was reminded of my own first love-the excitement, the vulnerability, and the profound impact it had on my life. Sid's transformation from a proud, hopeful filmmaker to a cynical yet resilient advocate for queer rights resonated with my experiences of navigating the complexities of love and identity.

This film is more than just a love story; it is a call to action, a testament to resilience, and a vital contribution to the ongoing quest for equal rights and acceptance for queer folks in India.

As we say Hope is like the clouds , some pass by , others bring rain !

Pine Cone is a nuanced ,beautiful and silently conversational film. As I watched it, as a part of special preview at American Centre, Kolkata, I found that it has an unique poetic quality build in through the constant interaction of humans and inanimate objects alongside it's subtle association with life,love ,realization and acceptance.

Would highly recommend this film ! Do watch it for it's authentic storytelling narrative and competent performances.

Best wishes to Onir and the team for showcasing this beautiful film !

I watched the Pinecone premiere during the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in August 2023. The film included some beautiful photography and its three arcs were all visually and thematically distinct, which was impressive and essential for the telling of this story.

The story felt instantly familiar and relatable yet it managed to surprise and delight at times. There is an underlying sense of sadness in the overall narrative presented but fortunately this is balanced out with a message of hope which is immensely important for the target audience, especially those in a more vulnerable state of mind.

Congratulations to director Onir and team for another stellar feature.

Indian film industry needed to move on from 'subtle' to 'comedy' to telling authentic stories of queer people. As a heterosexual male watching this film at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023, it wasn't short of challenging, to be honest. But the film won't let you take your eyes off screen with intimate and bold love-making scenes along with great cinematography.

Beautifully scripted with authentic storyline, PineCone has been sensitively directed by Onir to bring the universal human emotions of love on the large screen. While the film will definitely endear the specific target groups, I strongly recommend this for the heterosexual community to understand the true meaning of LOVE and that the feelings of pain, desire & intimacy transcend any human orientations. I am a better human being having watched this film.

Thank you Onir for always bringing out meaningful cinema. The film richly deserves all accolades.

The film demands your full attention. I watched the most beautiful love-making scenes between two men in a hall full of high school and college students, and none of us felt uncomfortable. Instead, we rooted for the character and hoped for a happy ending, even though the film was as realistic as it came. Pine Cone has one of the most unique stories, which even the most progressive Western films on queer themes fail to portray. The dialogues and verses of poetry in the film pull your heartstrings, making me want to meet the writer and whoever inspired it.

This makes me proud as a south Asian and someone who grew up watching Bollywood, that this industry is finally cathing up in telling authentic stories of queer people.