Two young, independent films the country is looking forward to with much anticipation these days are Karma Takapa’s atmospheric Ralang Road from Sikkim and Rima Das’ ode to childhood and music, the Assamese film Village Rockstars . Takapa and Das are the latest additions to the blooming Northeast cinema. Over the last five years or so a lot seems to have been happening there: new filmmakers, fresh and independent voices, interesting themes and stories, variety of dialects — Sherdukpen, Wancho, Kokborok — and a diversity of cinematic influences, from within the region and the world over.
The advent of and easy accessibility to digital filmmaking has been the key in opening up new windows. There has been a growing pool of young, idiosyncratic self-taught talent. Mapuia Chawngthu from Mizoram, who made Khawnglung Run ( The Raid of Khawnglung ), has taught Hindi in a government school, made hundreds of music videos, while directing films in his spare time. Prashant Rasaily, who made the Sikkimese film, Kathaa and comes from a family of artistes, is a musician, composer and self-taught filmmaker.
When Weekend asked some young filmmakers of the Northeast to recommend their favourite contemporary films from the region, Loktak Lairembee , Kothanodi , Local Kung Fu and Bokul seemed to be on most lists. But there were some unusual finds as well:
Filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika, Kothanodi
1) Dau Huduni Methai ( Song of the Horned Owl , Manju Borah, 2015, Bodo): This lyrical and haunting film explores the terrible price paid by civilians when the state uses its iron fist to smash militant movements. It uses an old folk tale retold by a timeless grandma to frame the slowly unfolding doom, which makes the viewing experience gentle yet chilling at the same time.
2) Antareen (Monjul Baruah, 2017, Assamese): A complex story about mental illness and male privilege is deftly handled in Antareen . Based on a story by novelist Rita Choudhary, it is one of those rare adaptations that end up enhancing the appeal of the original story.
3) Loktak Lairembee ( Lady of the Lake , Haobam Paban Kumar, 2016, Manipuri): This drama is based on events surrounding the government's attempts to evict fishing communities living on Loktak lake’s unique phumdi - floating islets of biomass. The beautiful lake and the hard but fascinating life of its inhabitants makes a stark setting for the film's slow burn narrative.
4) Sonar Baran Pakhi ( The Golden Wing , Bobby Sarma Baruah, 2016, Assamese): A sophisticated biopic of iconic folk singer Pratima Barua Pandey, this film serves as a great introduction to her music and muses. The film painstakingly recreates the Assam of the 1950s, including legends-in-the-making Bhupen Hazarika and Ritwik Ghatak.
5) Local Kung Fu 2 (Kenny Basumatary, 2017, Assamese): A hilarious adaptation of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors . LKF2 is special not just because it is a sequel (a rarity in Assamese cinema), but also for its tongue-in-cheek subversion of the nasty anti-gay streak in popular Indian comedy films.
Classic pick: Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai ( The Catastrophe , Jahnu Barua, 1987, Assamese): In my opinion it is one of Indian cinema’s most powerful stories about the exploitation of the landless farmer by feudal and political interests. This film deserves all the rich accolades it has received since its release thirty years ago, and is even more relevant in these times of rural distress and crony capitalism.
Filmmaker Kenny Basumatary, Local Kung Fu and Local Kung Fu 2
I realize I haven’t watched enough when it comes to films from the North East. Not from lack of trying, but because most of the good films haven’t been easily available.
1) Dooronir Nirola Poja ( Home, Faraway , Dhruva J. Bordoloi, 2015, Assamese)
Rarely has small town life been captured as beautifully. This was exactly how I grew up, cycling to friends’ places and tuitions, crushing on girls. I almost had a tear in my eye towards the end.
2) Kothanodi ( River of Fables , Bhaskar Hazarika, 2015, Assamese): Deliciously dark and scary. A few things are too much for me, but it is a great achievement.
3) Bokul (Reema Borah, 2015, Assamese): Beautifully shot, it is a wonderful exploration of the Assamese psyche in the context of socio-political changes and insurgency.
4) Konikar Ramdhenu ( Ride on the Rainbow , Jahnu Barua, 2003, Assamese): It showed me how it is possible to create engaging, entertaining stories even on a small scale. This was the first film in which I noticed inclusiveness — there were characters from several communities
Classic picks:
1) Kolahol (Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia, 1988, Assamese) I saw it one Sunday afternoon at the 1.30 pm regional film slot on Doordarshan. I was just a child then, but the film kept me engaged even at that sleepy afternoon hour. And I do remember being made aware of my privileged life: compared to the film’s protagonist, for whom even one sack of rice was such a big deal.
2) Xagoroloi Bohu Door ( It’s a Long Way to the Sea , Jahnu Barua, 1995, Assamese) Bishnu Khargoria almost won the National Award for his performance here, losing out to Nana Patekar for Krantiveer.
Filmmaker, critic and journalist Utpal Borpujari, Ishu
Disclaimer: I have not yet got an opportunity to watch two recent acclaimed films from the Northeast: Village Rockstars by Rima Das and Ralang Road by Karma Takapa.)
1) Loktak Lairembee ( Lady of the Lake , Haobam Paban Kumar, 2016, Manipuri): This fiction feature debut of much-acclaimed Haobam Paban Kumar uses magic realism and sparse storytelling to combine two very important issues raging in the Northeast for years — the gun culture and environmental concerns. Proof of why Paban is one of the most important original voices to emerge in Indian cinema recently.
2) Kothanodi ( River of Fables , Bhaskar Hazarika, 2015, Assamese): A reworking of four popular stories from the much-loved Burhi Aair Xadhu (Grandma’s Tales) of Lakshminath Bezbaroa, one of Assamese literature’s doyens, Kothanodi brings out the macabre that lies beneath the sugarcoated world of many folk tales. Beautifully weaves four different stories into one narrative. Despite being a bit uneven, it underlined the emergence of a fresh voice in writer-director Bhaskar Hazarika.
3) Haanduk ( The Hidden Corner , Jaicheng Dohutiya, 2016, Assamese & Moran): Totally experimental and structurally closer to Apichatpong Weerasethakul school of filmmaking, this evocatively-shot film recreates the gloomy state of the Assamese society during the period when insurgency was at its peak. Jaicheng Dohutiya, the young alumni of the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute, Guwahati, is definitely someone to watch out.
4) Onataah ( Of the Earth , Pradip Kurbah, 2015, Khasi): Visually rich, this love story between a rape survivor from the city and a village bumpkin is sentimental in parts but has a universal style of storytelling. No wonder it is being remade in Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam languages.
5) Khawnlung Run ( The Raid of Khawnlung , Mapuia Chawngthu, 2012, Mizo): An action-romance set against the backdrop of the historical raid of Khawnlung village by another Mizo village in the late 19th century, this high-adrenaline drama will never let you believe that Mapuia Chawngthu is a completely self-taught filmmaker.
6) Local Kung Fu (Part 1 & 2) (Kenny Basumatary, 2013 and 2017, Assamese): Madcap martial arts comedies, the raw energy of the two films leaves the viewer in splits. Genuine Kung Fu by experts (executed without any VFX help) who play goofball characters makes it a roller-coaster ride.
7) III Smoking Barrels (Sanjib Dey, 2017, English/Assamese/Hindi/Manipuri/Nagamese): This anthology of three short films that explore the impact of the gun culture on the people of the Northeast brings different storytelling styles together in an impactful way. One can expect to hear more about Golaghat, Assam-born and Mumbai-based director Sanjib Dey in the near future.
Filmmaker Karma Takapa, Ralang Road
1) Loktak Lairembee ( Lady of the Lake , Haobam Paban Kumar, 2016, Manipuri): It’s an observational film that explores life in the Lake Loktak. The conflict and struggle can be felt up-close. The cast of non-professional actors and a narrative which evokes an underlying sense of uneasiness make this film very authentic.
2) Crossing Bridges (Sange Dorjee Thongdok, 2013, Sherdukpen): Made on a micro budget in a small village in Arunachal Pradesh, it tells the tale of homecoming, an experience relatable to all those who, after years of living outside, start feeling alien to their own culture. It touches on how mainland India forgets citizens in these remote parts, who, in turn, consider places like Mumbai a foreign land.
3) Bokul (Reema Borah, 2015, Assamese): It is a film that strongly manages to evoke a poetic rhythm and a simplistic telling of the narrative rooted in the socio-politics of the region and the people within it.
Filmmaker Rima Das, Village Rockstars
I have watched the following films and I am encouraged and enthused by them. I hope many more films will be gracing India’s and International landscape, as this is an exciting period for film makers from the Northeast.
1) Loktak Lairembee ( Lady of the Lake , Haobam Paban Kumar, 2016, Manipuri)
2) Kothanodi ( River of Fables , Bhaskar Hazarika, 2015, Assamese)
3) Haanduk ( The Hidden Corner , Jaicheng Dohutiya, 2016, Assamese & Moran)
4) Sonar Baran Pakhi ( The Golden Wing , Bobby Sarma Baruah, 2016, Assamese)
5) Dooronir Nirola Poja ( Home, Faraway , Dhruva J. Bordoloi, 2015, Assamese)
6) Onataah ( Of the Earth , Pradip Kurbah, 2015, Khasi)
Classic pick: It is difficult to take names when it comes to classics of Northeast cinema and, unfortunately, I have only seen Assamese cinema. Jyomoti , Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla’s film in black & white, which was also the first Assamese film will remain, of course, an important milestone both in terms of being a historical classic but also heralding the birth of filmmaking. I loved Padum Baruah’s Ganga Silonir Pakhi and Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai . I will also have to take the name of Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia. His films like Agnisnaan right up to the recent Itihaas will remain for me the best of Assamese classics.
Filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar, Loktak Lairembee
I am looking forward to watching Ralang Road and Village Rockstars .
1) Haanduk ( The Hidden Corner , Jaicheng Dohutiya, 2016, Assamese & Moran): It’s a very rooted film about insurgency and is very different in its treatment.
2) Onataah ( Of the Earth , Pradip Kurbah, 2015, Khasi): A serious issue like the aftermath of rape is not easy to handle. The film is also technically well accomplished, one of the most professional works from the Northeast.
3) Orong (Suraj Kumar Duwarah, 2014, Assamese)
Classic pick: In the classics there is Aribam Syam Sharma’s 1990 film Ishanou ( The Chosen One ), perhaps the only Northeast film to be on official Cannes selection. It’s very Manipuri in its sensibility. The shot-taking — long shots and close-ups — it is so cinematic.
Filmmaker Pradip Kurbah, Onataah
1) Mami Sami ( Blurred Shadow , Ningthouja Lancha, 2008, Meitei): Looks at the army in Manipur. It’s about conflict, hope, existence of individuals and complexity of emotions. It has great music and is very well shot.
2) Loktak Lairembee ( Lady of the Lake , Haobam Paban Kumar, 2016, Manipuri): It’s a great film that I would rate very high.
3) Kothanodi ( River of Fables , Bhaskar Hazarika, 2015, Assamese): It is a beautifully written film.
In the classics Aribam Syam Sharma’s 1990 film Ishanou ( The Chosen One ), talks about the transformation from the gentle to the violent. Then there is Brajen Barua’s 1969 Assamese thriller Dr Bezbarua . It was remade in Hindi as Shivam but turned out to be a mess. Ardhendu Bhattacharya’s Manik Raitong (1984) was the first colour film in Khasi. A classic tragedy of love and passion with great music. It’s my dream to remake it.
