Bringing little known Moran under the arclights

PANAJI

In November 2015, when he was asked about the scope of cinema in the north- east, Jaicheng Jai Dohutia had said, “It’s depressing, there isn’t much support. But, if I focus on the negative, I will not make a movie.”

This year, the Assamese filmmaker is back with his film

Haanduk

’ and even represented his state while speaking at a panel discussion at the

NFDC Film Bazaar

.

“It feels fantastic to represent the people of Moran from Assam and make a film about my small community. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t dared to explore the festivals and NFDC wouldn’t have recommended my film to the industry,” he says.

Haanduk’ won the ‘Grand Jury Prize’ at MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2016 and was awarded the ‘Best Moran Film’ at the 64th National Film Awards, earlier this year. With over 200 languages and cultures in the northeast remaining untapped, cinematically, Dohutia believes that Indian cinema is, “...losing out on the rich multi-coloured and diverse cultures if the industry ignores the potential the region has for stories and cinematography”.

Dohutia also makes it point to educate the audience on how ‘Haanduk’ was made. “I give them an introduction on the craft of filmmaking before the film and at the end, we always conclude with a Q&A. We have a responsibility to help our audiences grow with us in this digital age,” he says.

Dohutia has also began hosting four-day film appreciation workshops in different parts of Assam.


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