Rima Das’ Not A Hero receives special mention at Berlinale; her National Award-winning film Village Rockstars earned 10 times its budget in Assam alone

Village Rockstars also fetched Rima her maiden National Award, for both Best Film and Best Editor. That made it only the second Assamese film after  Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987) to receive a national honour. The film revolved around Dhunu, a young girl in an Assamese village who dreams of playing the guitar and headlining a rock band of her own.

Rima, a self-taught filmmaker, made Village Rockstar on a shoestring budget of Rs 10 lakh. However, the film gained widespread popularity not only in Assam, but across India and around the world. It went on to earn Rs 1 crore in just Assam alone, making it the highest grossing Assamese film ever. It also got a wide release in India immediately after being selected as the country’s official Oscars entry.

Rima Das also made a sequel to her breakthrough movie, Village Rockstars 2, in 2024. While it received positive reviews and premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, the sequel failed to replicate the historic success of the first installment. Rima has continued to make critically acclaimed films like Bulbul Can Sing, Tora’s Husband (2022), and Not A Hero since then.

In an interview with SCREEN last year, Rima said, “There was no plan with Village Rockstars either, but it got visibility after the Oscars entry. Fortunately, it’s not like the audience aren’t enjoying my other films. But since I’m an independent producer, I realized that the buzz that was organically created for Village Rockstars, it wasn’t the same for Tora’s Husband and Village Rockstars 2.”

“Perhaps things have changed after the pandemic. So, making is not enough. How you’re promoting and marketing the film also matters. Probably, I could’ve reached out to more people for collaborations. You need a plan, especially when it’s a theatrical release. So it’s not the films. I didn’t expect that all my films will go for the Oscars. I just want to tell stories. Distribution isn’t in my hands, but I know that a plan helps,” added the filmmaker.

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Another coming-of-age film, Not A Hero seems to be on another successful film festival journey. It stars Sukanya Boruah, Bhuman Bhargav Das, and Mrinmoy Das in key roles. The official synopsis reads, “Exiled from city comforts to his ancestral village, a boy encounters his bitter aunt, befriends a horse, and joins wild local children on untamed adventures-discovering the beauty of life and a courage he never knew he had.”