Majuli’s Story Retold

Now,15 years after Ghose’s death,debut director Bidyut Kotaky has made a film loosely based on Ghose’s life,highlighting the problems of the insurgency-laden state,especially the island of Majuli. Titled As the River Flows and produced by National Film Development Council (NFDC),the bilingual film — in Hindi and Assam — was released yesterday. “I was working on a few documentaries in Assam in the ’90s when the incident took place. So I knew exactly how everything unfolded,was reported and talked about. Even if you did not want to know,people were constantly talking about that case in those days. The story was there in the subconscious,” says Kotaky,who started working on the film in 2010.

As a young boy growing up in Guwahati,Kotaky remembers what he had to go through in Assam by way of militant issues. He recalls the day,when he was all of 12 and saw many houses burning in the neighbourhood while returning from school. The militants charged towards his house too but somehow got diverted. The incident is still etched in his memory. “After being in a conflict zone for many years,there are many such incidents that have caused me to make this film. Militants thrive on propaganda and the government counters it with more propaganda,but nobody talks about the people who suffer. This film is not taking any sides,but is about the Assamese people who have suffered for so long,” says Kotaky.

Starring Victor Banerjee,Sanjay Suri,Raj Zutshi and Bidita Beg,the film has been largely shot in Majuli and Guwahati. The director also had to face some trouble after a hand grenade was thrown at the resort where the cast and crew were staying. “In a matter of no time,many young men from the village gathered around the resort and said that since we were their guests,they would protect us. I was so touched that I wanted to make this film all the more,” says Kotaky,who also got legendary composer and writer Bhupen Hazarika to recite a poem in the fim.