Assamese films today are truly defying stereotypes in terms of both genre and scripts. A case in point is the upcoming release Emuthi Puthi, which is essentially a comedy drama that revolves around a road trip spanning the riverine stretch from Bongaigaon to Majuli. As the name suggests 'fish'- which is a ubiquitous food item associated with Assamese cuisines occupies a central (albeit symbolic) place in the narrative. The film is refreshing and unprecedented (in the context of Assamese cinema) in more ways than one. Emuthi Puthi is cardinally all about the internal sojourn (through the road journey) of three women hailing from three generations of a single family.
Ritika (19) hates her life in a small town under the strict control of her single mother Indira (43), who is also the local cop. Ritika wants to escape and has the will, but no money. Ritika's grandma Makhoni (67) too plans to escape and has for long fantasized about her exit from life. Makhoni is determined to leave the world on a boat rowed by a mythical angel in a lake hidden from the world. It is said that if one reaches the angel, he will offer a special sweet fish and upon consuming it the angel would row the person into afterlife.
An agreement of convenience takes place between grand-daughter and grandmother. For a princely sum, Ritika will smuggle Makhoni all the way to the mythical angel. With her newfound money, Ritika plans to escape home. The two sneak out of the house at night. Although a shrewd Ritika had expertly planned the whole escape their plans go awry. To compound their issues on the road, a very angry Indira is hot on their heels.
As the trip branches off in unexpected directions, both pursued and pursuer meet a bunch of characters and discover new meanings to their own lives. By the time they finally reach the mythical lake, Ritika loves her grandma too much to let her go and Indira wants them both to stay back. Makhoni has a decision to make.
If (just in case) the overview of the narrative is not compelling enough this turnkey decision of Makhoni should intrigue one to watch the movie. For this decision reveals profound (albeit subtle and often unpronounced) layers about the human mind, relationships and life itself. The film is the directorial debut of Kulanandini Mahanta. In her words, "This film is about three generations of women who are starkly different at various levels. Yet they have one thing in common- the stubbornness of leading their life under their own rules, which ultimately drives each one of them away from one another. However, love and affection glues them back for the last journey. This film is my humble attempt in understanding and presenting the different folds of these three characters -Makhoni, Indira and Ritika and the invincible (yet very real) chord that connects them." She adds that the film is about burning and rebuilding bridges and happy accidents. "The central message of the film is that the most important journey in life is the one within," she states.
The story has been written by Bhaskar Hazarika, the famed director of internationally acclaimed films like Aamis and Kothanodi. He is also the producer of Emuthi Puthi along with Shyam Bora. Both are co-founders of Metanormal.
Talking about the experience of producing Emuthi Puthi, which comes with English subtitles, Shyam Bora said, "The film has been shot on an iPhone. This is the first time that a film in the north east has been shot on an iPhone. Now this had its own set of advantages and disadvantages. "While on one hand we could easily shoot small corners and closed spaces we had more work at the post production stage," says Shyam. "The overall cast and crew are very young (most are in their twenties and thirties) and this translated to a lot of energy and zeal on the sets. Infact the energy was almost palpable," he concludes.
As part of its promotion initiatives, Emuthi Puthi, which is steeped in environment messages had organised a zero waste cleanup drive on the occasion of World Environment Day (5th June) at Deepor Beel. A total of 125 people registered for the clean-up drive. The plastic waste collected during the drive was segregated into separate piles including recyclable and reusable plastics after being thoroughly washed. The second leg of the day was dedicated to the fishing community of Deepor Beel. The programme included a mime act on the importance of keeping our water bodies pollution- free for fish and other wildlife to thrive and maintain balance in the ecosystem. This was followed by a short informative segment by Abhinandan Saikia, assistant professor, TISS, Guwahati on sustainable fishing and conservation of water bodies. The main highlight of the programme was the felicitation of twenty fishermen above the age of 65 from the community for their tireless contribution to the community and the Deepor Beel ecosystem at large. The programme concluded with a small interaction between the team of Emuthi Puthi and the representatives of the community- Niren Das and Pramod Kalita to understand their struggles and issues.
An Art Contest on the occasion of World Environment Day was also organised for schools across Assam between the 21st of May to the 29th of May and this had participation from about 20 schools. A total of 676 students participated in the art competition. The winners have been awarded art supplies comprising of items like artline kit sets, drawing books, glitter pens, paint brushes, poster colours, water colours etc.
All the other participants have been awarded participation certificates The participating schools have been awarded a memento thanking them for their participation along with a sapling to be planted on the occasion World Environment Day.
Also Watch: