Indian actor and filmmaker Manohara has had an inspirational journey. Hailing from humble circumstances in Bengaluru, southern India, Manohara was picked out of school and cast by filmmaker Prithvi Konanur in “Railway Children” (2016), which won him best child actor at India’s National Film Awards. Manohara went on to act in supporting roles in Konanur’s Busan and Hainan selection “Where Is Pinki?” (2020) and Busan, Hong Kong and Goa title “Seventeeners,” on which he also assisted.
“ Bird of a Different Feather ” (“Mikka Bannada Hakki”) is based on Sonia S’s autobiography of the same name. Written by Manohara and Sonia S, the film is selected at the Shanghai International Film Festival where it has five nominations at the Asian New Talent Awards. “Bird of a Different Feather” is the coming-of-age story of Sonia, who has albinism.
Sonia comes from a poor family from a small village near Bengaluru. Her alcoholic father almost disdains her for what she is. And her mother is helpless, although well-intentioned.
Aged 12, Sonia is saved from suicide by her mother. Sonia is admitted to a new school in the city with new classmates who are discriminatory and hostile because of how she looks, and her teachers are apathetic. The film explores her transformation from a shy, self-pitying teenager to a mature young woman who learns to live in peace with herself and her surroundings.
“I wanted to inspire the youth in my first film. I looked for a story in tha.
