Dr.
Brian Mendonça
brianlibra@gmail.com
Preview
A
survey of films emerging from the North East shows an abiding preoccupation
with themes concerning women. From Bhupen Hazarika’s trailblazer Shakuntala (1961) in Assamese to
Santwana Bardoloi’s Adajya (1996)
also in Assamese directors have provided keen insights into the psyche of a
woman. The themes have been bold. Adjaya,
for instance, is about Giribala a young attractive widow who has to confront
her needs when an American scholar comes visiting. The film is based on a novel by Indira
Goswami and is set in the 1940’s in Assam. Widowhood has also been the theme of Padum
Borah’s Gonga Silonir Pakhi/ Wings of the
Tern (1976). This is a compelling
story of Basanti who thinks of her freedom after her husband’s death and of a
new life with her lover Dhananjay. Adomya
(2014) by Bobby Sarma Baruah tells the story of Juri infected by her
AIDS-stricken husband who dies later. Juri has to bring up her daughter in
these circumstances.
The
latest poetic offering Dau Huduni Methai/
Song of the Horned Owl (2016) by
Manju Borah catalogues the human cost of insurgency seen through the eyes of a
rape victim Raimili. Mention must be made of Aparoopa (1982) by Jahnu Baruah. Aparoopa is forced to give up her
University education to marry a rich tea estate. She later realises she was a
pawn to repay her father’s debts. She begins a dalliance with an old classmate.
Agnisaan (1985) by Bhabendranath
Saikila dwells on the theme of the revenge of the first wife who has been
discarded. In Kothanodi / River of Tales (2015) Bhaskar Hazarika has taken
recourse to Assamese folktales weaving in witchcraft, infanticide and snake
worship – practised by women and endemic to Assam. Woman as destroyer is seen
in her terrible forms. He gives us four stories instead of one and disrupts the
linearity of the traditional film length.
With
more sensitive films from the North East being made, recognition has been
global. Though all the films discussed so far have been Assamese films from the
rest of the seven states do make their contribution as well. These films seek
to map the territory of a woman’s destiny. While empowering their women
characters they offer role models to a society caught up in conflict. The field
is yet fertile and these gallant efforts have still to reach a wider audience –
given the sway of Bollywood.
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International
Interdisciplinary Conference on Indian Cinema and Women, Mallikarjun College of
Arts and Commerce, Delem, Canacona, Goa,
3-4 February 2017
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