Assamese film 'Raghupati' creating buzz: Sight & Sound

Prantik Deka

assamese film 'raghupati' creating buzz

Assamese cinema reached new heights in the year 2019. The year brought forth positive and inspiring moments, besides confirming the fact that a healthy environment for cinema is finally taking shape in Assam. With the year 2020, some inventive, and visually interesting projects are in progress. One such highly awaited big-budget Assamese film is 'Raghupati'. After the success of 'Rananggan', this is the second venture for the popular actor of Assamese cinema and theatre, Ravi Sarma as a storyteller.

'Raghupati', which marks the directorial debut of young filmmaker Suvrat Kakoti, is a full-blown commercial entertainer, with some power-packed action sequences. Action films have always found enthusiastic audiences in Assam. Filmmakers are always challenged to come up with something imaginative. They are quite convinced of the fact that if they offered audiences production values like sound scripts, improved acting, artistic editing, cinematography, among other things, they could succeed in bringing back their viewers to the theatres.

Produced by Saroj Sarma under the banner of Trishna Motion Pictures, 'Raghupati's story and dialogue have been penned by Ravi Sarma, while the screenplay has been written by the director himself. The official poster for the film was released recently, and it created huge buzz among movie lovers. According to the producer, a team from Hyderabad will come in to direct the action sequences, and the weapons used in this movie will also be different from the ones used in our movies.

The various roles in the film are being played by Ravi Sarma, Arun Nath, Preety Kongana, Arun Hazarika, Rina Bora, Madhurima Choudhury, Siddhartha Sarma, Manjit Sarma, Priyam Pallabee, Sima Bora, Raj Sarma, Antariksh Sahariah, among others. The cinematography has been done by Pradip Daimary around various locations of Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Golaghat, etc. The film's aerial cinematographer is Arnab Hazarika. The music is composed by Pranoy Dutta and Archad Masud Rahman.

assam's adil hussain and dipannita sharma unites in a short film on the lgbtq community

Assam-born actors Adil Hussain and Dipannita Sharma are all set to act together in a short film 'Saving Chintu', which is being directed by Ritika Jayaswal and Tushar Tyagi. The film explores the challenges faced by the LGBTQ community and also brings more complex issues to perspective.

The film revolves around the lives of an Indian-American gay couple, in India to adopt a child. The film throws light on problems that loom large over the LGBTQ community in the country, as well as other social issues like child adoption and HIV.

"Our film comes at a time when changes in LGBTQ laws are happening across Asia, and noteworthy among them is the 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court where they decriminalised homosexuality by declaring Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. Around the same time, Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage in May 2019, which was a historic first for Asia," said Ritika on why she felt the need to make a film like 'Saving Chintu'.

"This film explores the challenges faced by the protagonists and the emotional complexities within their relationship. It also brings more complex issues to perspective like child adoption and HIV. I feel that each one of us has the right to live our life according to our choice. Through this film, we are supporting LGBTQ community to fight for their rights, and I hope that after watching this film, there will be a change in people's perspective while looking at this community," said Ritika.

"India has a long way to go, since the landmark judgement on the same-sex couples is not recognised, and it is difficult for them to build a family or adopt a child. Apart from legal acceptance, I feel that cultural acceptance is a far bigger challenge to overcome."

'Saving Chintu' unites the talents of Assam-born artistes Adil Hussain and Dipannita Sharma. Adil Hussain's performances in films have confirmed his status as one of the best in the business. The 56-year-old internationally-acclaimed actor of films like 'Life Of Pi', 'English Vinglish' and 'What Will People Say', has acted in a number of English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, Norwegian and even French films. On the other hand, Dipannita Sharma is known for her roles in films like 'Ladies vs Ricky Bahl', 'Jodi Breakers', 'War' and the Assamese film 'Xhoixobote Dhemalite'. The cast also comprises of Edward Sonnenblick, Sachin Bhatt, Priyanka Setia among others.

'Saving Chintu' is all set for participation at Sundance, Cleveland International, Ann Arbor and Riverrun Film Festivals this year. The trailer of the short film was released on February 4.

rima das to be part of berlin 14 plus jury

Noted filmmaker Rima Das has been invited to be part of the 14Plus international jury at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

14Plus is part of the Generation sections in Berlinale, as the prestigious festival is called. The films in the Generation section compete in two subcategories: Kplus Generation, which creates stories aimed at those over four years old, and Generation 14 plus, aimed at those over 14 years old.

"Being on the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival is a great honor and responsibility. I feel blessed to have had this opportunity at an early stage of my trip. Only last year, 'Bulbul Can Sing' was part of Generation 14 Plus. This is even more special since the Generation section shows films for children and young people, which are very close to my heart. I hope that more filmmakers in India are also inspired to make films for children and young people," Das said.

The two subcategories in the Generation section include short films and feature films. The winners are determined by three jurors: the Children's Jury, the Youth Jury and an international jury of experts.

For this year's 14Plus section, Das is on the jury along with Iranian filmmaker Abbas Amini and South African filmmaker Jenna Bass. For KPlus, the jury will be in charge of French cinematographer Marine Atlan, Mexican filmmaker Maria Novaro and German filmmaker Erik Schmitt.

The awards ceremony for the Generation 14plus competition will take place on February 28.

Rima Das has been described as one of the most influential young Indians of 2018 by GQ India. Das' film 'Village Rockstars' premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and earned four National Film Awards in 2018, including Best Film and Best Editing for the director. The Assamese language feature was India's official entry to last year's Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The filmmaker's 2018 film 'Bulbul Can Sing', too, has had an interesting flight ­ — the film, among other honours, bagged the Best Assamese Film at last year's National Film Awards and Best Indie Honour at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

mp's kalidas award for renowned artiste jatin goswami

Nrittyacharya Padmashree Jatin Goswami and renowned Kathak danseuse Guru Uma Sharma will be conferred Madhya Pradesh's prestigious cultural award, National Kalidas Samman, for 2017 and 2018 respectively, during the Khajuraho Dance festival later this month.

The award amount comprises Rs 2 lakh and a plaque.

Goswami, 87, is a legendary choreographer of the Sattriya dance form which originated in eastern Assam. It is a dance-drama form with origins in the Krishna-centric Vaishnavite monasteries of Assam and attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev.

Born on August 2, 1933 in Assam, Goswami received dance education from his father and senior gurus. He was fond of dance from a young age and was instrumental in getting nationwide prestige to several northeast dance forms. His place is of utmost importance in terms of contribution made to excellence and preserving a rare dance tradition.

Similarly, Sharma has a reputation as a senior guru, choreographer and dancer in the field of Kathak dance. Born in Delhi in 1942, she received dance education from Guru Hiralal and Girivar Dayal. Following the Kathak tradition of the Jaipur Gharana, she also received guidance from Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj. Her dedication to Kathak is acknowledged the world over. She has also received the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.