NHRC announced the seventh winners of its ninth prestigious annual competition for human rights short films out of 139 entries received
The film on LGBTQI+ rights- ‘Kiran – A ray of hope’ from Delhi chosen for the first prize of Rs. 2 lakh
‘Mukhagni – The Cremation’ from Assam depicting caste discrimination and the right of dignity to the dead selected for the second prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh
‘Right to freedom’ from Uttar Pradesh symbolically advocating equal opportunities for the children of slum dwellers chosen for the third prize of Rs. 1 lakh
Four films selected for the ‘Certificate of Special Mention’ with a cash award of Rs. 50 thousand each
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has announced the winners of its ninth prestigious annual competition for human rights short films in 2023. It has chosen ‘Kiran-A ray of hope’ for the first prize of Rs. 2 lakh. The film by Bhushan Arun Mehare from Delhi highlights and raises concerns on LGBTQI+ rights, including among others, the right to equal opportunities with dignity to earn a livelihood. It is in Hindi and English with subtitles in English.

About the short film: ‘Kiran-A ray of hope’

“Law is in action whenever there is wrong in the society. However, at the same time we also need a positive societal built-up to abstain people from doing wrong”. Despite having a robust legal framework for non-discrimination, the transgender community at large is struggling in pursuit of equality.

Kiran, a qualified advocate, being a transgender exposed to the humiliation and exploitation in walks of life, finally being optimistic found some motivation in a tweet of a law firm applauding the judiciary’s views on equality, dared to apply for a job at their leading work place.
On the day of the interview, amongst the shortlisted candidates, Harshita, a granddaughter of a distinguished Judge was interviewed, despite her less interest in the offered profile a partner of the law firm Adv. Ranjeet (the interviewer) appraises her privileged background as her qualification for the job and an asset to the firm.
After qualifying for initial shortlisting, Kiran approaches for an interview, but to his disappointment encounters the common reactions from the interviewer, who is supposed to be a torch bearer for justice.
Disheartened Kiran without manipulating, replies to the interviewers’ prejudice subtly, and wraps up the conversation to leave the interview. Adv. Ranjeet being terrified with Kiran’s reaction narrates the incident to the other two partners, Adv. Pallavi and Adv. Abhijeet. Though Adv. Pallavi looks at this episode as an encouraging step from Kiran and relates the struggle of a transgender community with women’s liberation.
Nevertheless Adv. Abhijeet feels that their firm will be at fault if they do not offer Kiran a fair chance for an interview. Kiran with full determination reflects well in a fair call for an interview. More than a result of an interview, being heard without any prejudice gives Kiran a sense of being relevant.
Partners select Kiran and Harshita and both of them even join the firm. Harshita being perused as a privileged one and Kiran being perused as not qualified, ultimately stand on equal footing with their education and inclusion, truly reflecting the spirit of the preamble “An Equality of Status and of Opportunity”.

‘Mukhagni- The Cremation’ by Bibhujjal Raj Kashyap from Assam has been selected for the Second prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh. Inspired by a true story, the film raises various issues including untouchability, caste discrimination, social dogmas, overbearing diktat of caste panchayat, right of dignity to the dead. It is in the Assamese language with subtitles in English.
‘Right to freedom’ by Nitin Sonkar from Uttar Pradesh has been selected for the Third prize of Rs. 1 lakh. The film symbolically advocates equal opportunities for the children of slum dwellers and highlights that there should be no cap on dreaming and achieving big in life through the story of a young boy living in a slum.
The Commission has also decided to give a cash award of Rs.50,000/- each to the four short films selected for the ‘Certificate of Special Mention’. These are:

‘Glass of Humanity’ by Abdullah Alfazeena from Tamil Nadu. It is a silent film and using cinematic expressions raises the issues of denial of rights due to corruption, discrimination and unlawful practices;

‘Harassment of Deepshikha’ by Supriti Ghosh from Tripura. It is in Bengali with subtitles in English. Inspired by a true story, the film highlights and raises concerns on the issue of body shaming and denial of the right to life with dignity and equal opportunities;

‘Naragam – Hell’ by M. Baskar from Tamil Nadu. It is in Tamil with subtitles in English. Inspired by a true story, the film highlights how citizens’ initiatives can protect violations of human rights;

‘RAHAS’ by Rashid Usman Nimblkar from Maharashtra. It is a silent film. The film highlights the challenges of nomadic tribes in realizing their rights to lead a life with dignity by earning a living through their folk arts.
The full Commission Jury, chaired by the NHRC Chairperson, Justice Arun Mishra comprised Members, Dr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, Rajiv Jain, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, Secretary General, Bharat Lal and two external experts, former DG, Doordarshan, Leela Dhar Mandloi and Prof. Rachna Sharma of IIMC.
The aim of the NHRC Short Film Award Scheme since 2015 has been to encourage and acknowledge cinematic and creative efforts of the citizens towards the promotion and protection of human rights. For the ninth edition of this competition in 2023, a total of 114 short films were in the fray for the awards after scrutiny of 139 entries received in different Indian languages from various parts of the country.