Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Unlike most indie filmmakers,who often go after tackling lofty issues in their films,director Kenny Basumatary projects his debut feature film,Local Kung Fu,as a family entertainer. The promotional material of the film sports the look of a Chinese eatery menu card with an inviting tagline that reads: Fresh and healthy family entertainment. Yet,given the content of this Assamese indie film,it appears a bit skewed towards youth.
Made on a shoestring budget of Rs 95,000,and set in the kung fu quarters of Guwahati,the film is an upcoming release at PVR Directors Rare. But,where the film could suffer from low-production values of the total budget,the camera alone cost Rs 45,000 it has made up with its cast of trained martial arts practitioners. Most of them happen to be family and friends of Basumatary. Almost all of them have been trained at his uncles martial arts training academy in Guwahati. As a result,all the action that takes place on screen is real. There are almost no camera tricks,fake action or blood. In action films,most of the times you dont even realise who is hitting whom because there are four cuts in a second. Here,we have clean and visible action. This we could capture because we used trained fighters,who employ technique, he says.
As a fan of the genre itself,Basumatary decided to model his first feature film around Hong Kong action comedies made famous by Jackie Chan. I like to make entertaining and engrossing things. Those action comedies are so much fun and they have a lot of repeat value, he adds.
Local Kung Fus plot revolves around Charlie,an ordinary boy from Guwahati with a delicate stomach,his girlfriend and a number of madcap characters such as a wannabe local don and a thief who is rumoured to roam naked. The film was shot over six months in Guwahati. It premiered at the Osians Cinefan Film Festival 2012. There it received encouraging reviews for its humour,genuine action and entertainment quotient.
Local Kung Fu is the second script that Basumatary wrote. His first was turned into a book called Chocolate Guitar Momos. When he got tired of looking for a producer to support his project,he decided to go independent. I realised I had resources that I could use to make a film. I had martial arts practitioners as crew and a knack for comedy. I decided to put them together, says the 33-year-old filmmaker. Being trained in martial arts also helped him while making the movie. Basumatary,who has acted in Shanghai (2012),will be seen in the upcoming biopic of Mary Kom.
Local Kung Fu is the second Assamese film to get a national release,after Jahnu Baruas Bandhon. It is scheduled to release in Mumbai,Gurgaon,Pune,Bangalore,Ahmedabad,Chennai and Kolkata on August 23. Talks are
on to take it to other cities including Delhi.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
