Indian filmmaker Onir had been planning a protest against public broadcaster Prasar Bharati for refusing to show his film I Am (which features a gay storyline) despite it winning a National Award.

Now Prasar Bharati (India’s BBC) has announced it will show all National Award winning films in full at the 10pm slot.

Onir sent a petition to the director general of Prasar Bharati, Tripurari Sharan, and had been planning a protest against the censorship on 3 May.

‘I am glad that he [Sharan] agreed to telecast the films and documentaries that have won National Awards or been part of major film festivals,’ said Onir to Times of India. ‘It’s great progress.’

Last July Onir was furious that I Am was not going to be shown despite the fact that all National-Award-winning films are usually broadcast on national TV.

‘I’m angry at this because, when so many regressive films screen on DD [TV channel], a national award film is denied the same!’ Onir said at the time.

Now Prasar Bharati has agreed to show the films Onir says it will be good for the Indian film industry.

‘It will encourage experimentation,’ he said. ‘We all know that digitalization has made filmmaking easier and more feasible. So it’s an encouragement for new filmmakers and students to experiment.’