BENGALURU: Actor-director Rajni Basumatary’s movie Jwlwi - The Seed garnered a lot of attention at the 12th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES). The film, in Bodo, a dialect used by a tribe in Assam, stirred much interest owing to few filmmakers who make films in the language. In the city for the ongoing film festival till March 4, Basumatary says the reason she made the movie was to create awareness about the language and the people who speak it as their official language. “In a way, it is my own story – hailing from the Bodo community, my family and I have been victims of the whole situation,” says Basumatary, who is currently living in Thailand.
Although she has been producing movies since 2003, Jwlwi is Basumatary’s second directorial venture. “The first movie I directed was Raag in 2004, which was supposed to be in Hindi. But I was suggested that if I make the movie in Assamese then the state government would fund it,” says Basumatary, who started directing movie after she assisted Muzaffar Ali who directed Umrao Jaan in 1981. The director, in her late 40s, always wanted to be an actor and grew up watching Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt. “I always wanted to act. During that time, there was hardly any roles for those from the North-East, so my dream got shelved,” says Basumatary.
But she did get a chance to fulfill it when she played the role of the mother of Mary Kom in the film, which starred Priyanka Chopra. “It was a different world from the movie sets I am used to working. The budgets are high and actors are actually allowed to get spoilt,” laughs Basumatary.She agrees that things are changing in India when it comes to casting actors from North-East. “Now, the Hindi movie industry is slowing changing and making more realistic movies where North-Eastern actors get opportunities.”
However, she feels that when it comes to blockbuster movies, there is a need to be more inclusive. “Let’s be more optimistic and hope the change happens soon,” says Basumatary.Ask her if she often faces any challenge in the male-dominated film industry and she says, “The issue may have existed earlier, but now things are changing. However, women directors have to worry about family issues. But then again, that’s true for any woman.”
Our picks for today
Movie: Tyagayya(Telugu)
Director: Chittor V Nagaiah
Venue: PVR Cinemas,
Orion Mall
Time: 9:30am
Movie: A Tale of Two Sisters (Turkish)
Director: Emin Alper
Venue: PVR Cinemas,
Orion Mall
Time: 4:15pm
Movie: Leaving Afghanistan(Russian)
Director: Pavel Lungin
Venue: PVR Cinemas,
Orion Mall
Time: 6:30pm