Filmmaker Devansh Saraf on his gender equality film X or Y

Delhi-based filmmaker Devansh Saraf who is a self-made filmmaker and a gender-sensitive individual directs X or Y, a movie that takes a deep look at the misconception that prevails in India about how the sex of a child is determined. With quality actors like Iqbal Khan , Shafaq Naaz , Abha Parmar, and Sachin Khurana, and enough expert guidance from  Sachin Khurana, Devansh also talks of the lack of support a working mother gets in bringing up her child. Especially if it is a daughter. Acclaimed for taking up such an important subject and dealing with it sensitively. X or Y has won 13 very reputed awards international and national awards like Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, White Unicorn International Film Festival, Diamond Eye, San Diego Movie Awards, Gangtok International Film Festival, Cineville Calcutta Global Cinefest, Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards, Bright International Film Festival, Madras Independent Film Festival, Istanbul Film Awards, International Motion Picture Awards, Los Angeles Film Awards. The film has officially been selected at 2 film festivals and a finalist at one. The film has a selection percentage of 84 percent.

[caption id=“attachment_10972681” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Still from X or Y[/caption]

X or Y is a movie that talks about the stereotypical mentality still prevailing in our society where still there is a want and expectation of a male child. It has highlighted the fact that still in today’s age and time a woman is expected to leave her work, and take care of the house and the child after she delivers whereas the husband continues to live the way he wants to as normally as he wants. The movie talks about the struggle that a woman needs to face and is made to do superstitious rituals for the want of a male child after her 1st child is a baby girl. The climax of the movie is that the gender of the child is actually not determined by the wife but in fact it the man’s X or Y chromosomes that determine the gender of the child.

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Devansh says, “My movie is an effort to broaden the conversation on gender equality for the public at large. The film is a significant step towards addressing social norms regarding childbirth and the day-to-day sexism faced by women and girls in our country. In our country, women are often blamed for the birth of girls when the family wants a boy which is in itself a problematic desire. However, scientifically, the sex of a child is determined by the chromosomes of the father and not the mother. Although we learn about sex determination in biology classes in school, most people tend to forget this detail with time.”

[caption id=“attachment_10972641” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  still from X or Y[/caption]

Devansh Saraf being the youngest kid in the family grew up with two sisters. While growing up he realized that gender disparity was very evident in our society and resembled similar incidences in his very own family, which is extremely progressive in other ways. He shuddered to think of how immense its effects must be in other households This motivated him to work so deeply towards the execution of X or Y. The budget of the film was higher than any of the smaller experimental short films that he had made before, he was sure of the fact that he wanted to fund his dream project at such a young age without asking his parents to contribute towards his movie. Luckily, Devansh had a deep passion for investing ever since he was 11 years old. Just before his 12th birthday, He started investing his pocket money in the stock market, using his parents’ DEMAT accounts and that’s how he was able to fund his own money.

He says, “When X or Y started receiving awards like Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, White Unicorn International Film Festival and 11 other awards, I was super excited and thrilled but at the same time I am very nervous as to how the audience will respond to the movie. But yes we are looking forward to see the reaction and the reviews of the audience.”

Talking about what inspired him to do X or Y Devansh explained that he was born in a Marwari family in New Delhi and his parents wanted a son not because they were unhappy with two elder sisters but thought who is going to take the family name forward. He says, “I was an IVF baby because that was the safest way to conceive for my mother. I saw this in my household as well as in our society that no matter what, the ultimate pressure is on the woman and not the man and that’s when the idea of making a movie with this message grew onto me.

X or Y, is showing on Disney+ Hotstar starring Irfan Khan, Shafaq Naaz, Sachin Khurana, and Abha Parmar. 

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