Change in script: films to underground links

Chand Heisnam,a well-known Imphal-based filmmaker,considers himself lucky. Hardly had he completed the shooting...

Chand Heisnam,a well-known Imphal-based filmmaker,considers himself lucky. Hardly had he completed the shooting of his feature film Nangeemit Anido (Your Eyes) when his lead actress,Urikhinbam Devita Devi,was arrested by the police for allegedly having links with an underground outfit.

No one in the Manipuri film industry,wants to comment on the arrest of Devi last week for her alleged links with an underground outfit. It is her personal problem. It has nothing to do with cinema, said W Lalitkumar,chairman of Film Forum,Manipur.

Devi (25) was initially picked up by the police from a guest house in New Delhis South Extension on June 28 along with one R K Raghunath alias Nongshaba,a self-styled captain of the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL),a proscribed outfit,but was let off.

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She was picked up again as soon as she landed in the Tulihal airport in Imphal on Monday,and was booked under Section 17/20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police suspected her to be a member of the underground outfit.

Devi is a popular actress in Manipur,having already acted in as many as 30 feature films in the past five or six years. She is definitely a very good actress and is very popular among the audiences,both young and old, said Heisnam from Imphal. Devi,he said,would definitely figure among the top three actresses in the state today.

In fact,it was only recently that Tayai,a feature film starring Devi,was released in Imphal and other towns,and the film is doing well at the box office. Tayai was produced and directed by Gokul Singh,a popular state actor .

Devi has also won a number of awards. Last year she was adjudged the best actress for playing the lead female role in Lakhipurgee Lakhipyari,a feature film that literally swept the Festival of Manipuri Cinema awards. Two other hit films in which Devi played very memorable roles are Athengbada Pharakpa Thabal and Laibaki Chandan,both made in the digital format.