From street to silver screen!

Bhaoria depicts plight of traditiol artistes fighting all odds to keep moribund culture alive

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 26: From the street to the silver screen is one of the best possible ways to sum up the metamorphosis of Sanmilita tya Gosthi, an amateur troupe of artistes of Mirza in Kamrup district. The amateur troupe had the mohurat of its debut film on the silver screen on Monday.

Set up way back in 1991 at Dakshin Kamrup College at Mirza by the then student Biswajit Kalita of the college the amateur troupe of artistes – Sanmilita tya Gosthi – has traversed a long way, spanning around 27 years. Now the amateur troupe has metamorphosed itself into a stage that has ebled it to make its debut on the silver screen with one of its many dramas – Bhaoria – a story based on the life of a Dholia (drummer). The film is produced by Pankaj Kumar Jain.  

Addressing the media at Gauhati Press Club on Monday, head of the troupe and director of the film, Biswajit Kalita said: “The shooting of Nipon Goswami, Bishnu Khargoria, Atul Pasnoi, Hiranya Das, Debojani and Pubali Kalita starrer film is to begin in this March at various locations in South Kamrup. The film has a number of amateur artistes from diverse walks of life like service holders and traders.”

The misty storyline of Bhaoria, according to Kalita, depicts the plight of traditiol artistes many of whom have to fight out their hunger pangs by getting their stomachs tied tight with towels. 

Dholia is Kamrup is one of the age-old traditiol cultures on the verge of extinction in the face of cultural onslaught from the West now. However, there are a few artistes who keep fighting against such cultural invasions even as they know it well that they are fighting losing battles in the absence of anything tangible from the government and society to keep the moribund culture alive is taken. Dholia in Kamrup can be taken as a representative type of the whole lot of artistes who excelled in altertive media or traditiol mass media that is on the wane in the face of, what is called, modernity. The film, according to Kalita, is a true depiction of the dying art and altertive media of the State.

Back to the tale of Sanmilita tya Gosthi, Kalita said: “We started in 1991 with a few street plays – Ragging, Chakori (job), Nirbachon Ahil Oi (election is round the corner), to me a few. We kept on making strides shifting our interest to one-act play. Jibonor Asfalon is one of our many one-act plays. For the first time in 1999, we set our feet on double-stage theatre as an amateur troupe.  Norokot Prem (love in hell), Bigyapon (advertisement), Bhaoria (one who tells own stories) are some of the dramas we have staged. And now we’re going to make our debut on the silver screen with Bhaoria.”