Assamese director Bidyut Kotoky's film wins Best Foreign Film Award in the US

For someone who has never gone to a film school, Bidyut Kotoky's ability to tell a cinematic tale can stir the soul.
The Assamese filmmaker's first movie - Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xhipare (As the River Flows) - which dealt with the mysterious disappearance of a social activist who was hell-bent on stopping the menace of erosion in the shrinking river island of Majuli in insurgency-hit Assam won the awards for Best Script and Best Actor at the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival in 2013.
His new film - the Victor Banerjee-starrer Xoixobote Dhemalite (Rainbow Fields) - has now earned the Best Foreign Film Award at the Hollywood International CineFest in Los Angeles. The movie is inspired by the Assam Student Movement which was littered with gory violence.
"Having come from a strife-torn region in India, I have always felt deeply about these issues," Kotoky said during a candid interview with City Times.
Conflict zone "In this film, I am talking about Assam as I know her better than any other part of the world - but I'm sure the emotion I'm dealing with holds true to any conflict zone across the globe." Rainbow Fields is semi-autobiographical, the Mumbai-based director said.
"Yes, you can say it's inspired by some of my childhood memories of Assam. Those are haunting memories. I remember seeing houses burning during the riots. One day, when I was returning home from school, I encountered a man who was hiding in our backyard with a baby in his arms and blood all over him. He was hiding because the mob was baying for his blood. My mother called the police who came in the nick of time to rescue him. But I don't know what happened to him and that child after that..."
Kotoky admits the troubled North East region of India might continue to be the theme of his future projects. "You know some of the best books and movies come from conflict zones. War and Peace and Dr Zhivago are classic examples. "Unfortunately, we still don't have enough books and movies from North East (India) to draw international attention. Through our films, we may not be in a position to offer any answer, but that doesn't mean that we stop asking those questions," he said. Respect for filmmakers like Kotoky grows manifold when you get to know the treacherous conditions they have to work in.
"The irony is that the movie has won an international award, but we don't yet have the money to get it out of the post-production studio," he said matter-of-factly.
"We can't release it due to lack of funds. You know when the legendary Satyajit Ray was making his movie Pather Panchali, he mortgaged his wife's jewellery to raise funds. Our situation is no different. Not that we are claiming to make a film which can be even remotely compared to that classic.
"But the truth is that to release our movie, we may have to go for crowd-funding. That's why it is even more important for us to make films that transcend geographical boundaries and can reach out to a wider audience at international festivals." Remarkably, National award-winning sound designer Amrit Pritam and some of the actors didn't charge a penny for working in the movie.
"I am an Assamese, so my emotions for the state are very strong," said Pritam who recently received a membership invitation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to join the Oscar body.
"I have been working in Bollywood since 2002. But whenever I get an Assamese film with a good story, I always say yes to the filmmaker. And this movie appealed to me because I grew up in Assam when it was burning. This is a story that demands attention," said Pritam who has worked in cult movies like PK and Slumdog Millionaire.
Amrit Pritam on Oscar membership
"Yes it's a great honour to receive the invitation from Oscar's body. Why this is so special because you can't apply for the membership, only they can invite you to be a member. I am very happy that I am the second Indian from the technical category - after Resul Pookutty - to get this invitation."
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com