Assam’s renowned Filmmaker Rajni Basumatary has slammed the government for the Bodo Film category in the list of 67th National Film Awards.
The 67th National Film Awards were announced on March 23 in New Delhi, with the honours for films from the year 2019.
The event was organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Basumatary in an open letter to the Chairperson of the National Film Awards urged the future jury members of the prestigious Awards to be not just cinematically but also socially responsible in upholding the aims and objectives of the awards.
The Bodo language was included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution in 2003.
Here is what complete letter:
Open Letter to Mr N. Chandra, the Honorable Jury Chairman, 67th National Film Awards
Dear Mr Chandra, a year ago the BTR Accord was signed to bring peace and prosperity ending the decade-long armed struggle of the Bodos. The armed struggle, you may be aware, was primarily to assert the language and cultural identity of the community which was about to vanish for various reasons. Having to take up arms to assert self-identity was indeed devastating for the State and the people in the region. Hence, the BTR accord was a welcome step taken by the current dispensation.
To celebrate one year of the Bodo Accord this January, the Union Home Minister attended a huge gathering at Kokrajhar where he promised the people in my region that his government will work to protect the language and culture of Assam.
The Hon’ble minister repeated this promise last Sunday in the same place, to the same people. It could be a sheer coincidence that the following day, the 67th National Film Awards were announced and it was found out with great disappointment that no Bodo film was awarded in the Best Bodo Film category, let alone in other categories.
According to the official site, “National Awards aim at encouraging the production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence and social relevance contributing to the understanding and appreciation of cultures of different regions of the country in cinematic form and thereby also promoting integration and unity of the nation.”
And apparently, the objective of awarding a film made in a certain Indian language is, we are told, to promote and preserve the language and culture in which the film is made.
Hon’ble Chairman, as a chairman does not and can not watch all films, you may not be aware of my Bodo language feature film “Jwlwi – The Seed”, which was submitted to be considered for the 67th National Film Awards. This film has travelled to several International Festivals and won awards and recognitions in Guwahati and Bengaluru. A film, based on Assam’s insurgency days when thousands of families were impacted by gun violence, “Jwlwi – The Seed” has garnered rave reviews in the media and immense love from the audience. This film, therefore, has to be more than a decent film. Moreover, Bodo films rarely make it to the limelight outside the region, and maybe only once in a decade, and entering a competition for national awards is even more seldom.
Therefore, it is distressing not only for me and my team but also for hundreds of thousands of Bodos who were keenly expecting a rightful recognition of our film by you, Hon’ble Chairman and your jury members.
In the wake of the government’s promises to the people belonging to smaller communities that their cultures and languages will be protected, preserved and promoted, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that an eminently important Bodo film not being selected for the Bodo language category is a failure of the jury members selected. It indicates their lack of awareness of the region, its people and their history. If this was not the case, they would have behaved more responsibly in contributing towards fulfilment of the government’s promises in regards to our language and culture and not making it look like doing just lip service.
I urge you, Hon’ble Chairman, not to dismiss this letter as the whining of a losing fighter. I am writing to you with utmost responsibility and I know what I am saying. This is not my first film that did not win a National award. I did make a film in 2014, which was in the Assamese language and had been submitted for consideration. I accepted the decision of the jury member wholeheartedly as I knew there were better films in the competition. But this time round, “Jwlwi – The Seed” not winning an award can not have a logical conclusion.
Through this open letter to you, Hon’ble Chairman, I urge future jury members of the prestigious National Film Awards to be not just cinematically but also socially responsible in upholding the aims and objectives of the awards. Those who are responsible to select Jury Members must also see to it that irresponsible and mediocre jury members are not placed for such a huge task as that of selecting Best Films in Indian Languages, who have no understanding or empathy for ethnic minority groups struggling to keep their languages and cultures alive.
Finally, if you haven’t seen the film kindly do watch it. You will be able to understand my contention and may want to admonish the ignorant jury members who blocked the film from coming to your table. People say ‘awards are like a lottery’ but in the case of my film, I feel the name-chit itself was kept out of the draw bowl!
Best wishes,
Rajni Basumatary