<div>When Bhaskar Hazarika chanced upon the idea of re-imagining popular folk tales of Assam in a realist setting, the stories became “colder and darker in narrative”. Having grown up in the 80s, in a small town in Assam called Dergaon, ‘Grandma’s Tales’ were hard to be missed by him. While some of the stories are more like the Assamese version of Panchatantra, with speaking animals and birds as main characters of the story, most of these are inspired from the lives of villagers. Based on Burhi Aai’r Xaadhu (Grandma’s Tales) of author and poet Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, compiled in 1911, filmmaker Hazarika depicts stories of four women in his soon to be released debut feature film titled Kothanodi (River of Fables). <br /><br />“The concept was to re-imagine folk tales in a realist setting and see what emerges. Most folk tales and epics, when rendered as theatre or film, tend to be presented as spectacles high on drama and music. Kothanodi does away with these adornments and presents events as they are - and what has emerged is a colder, darker narrative,” notes Hazarika.<br /><br />Having worked on several television and film projects including Star TV’s Ssshhh Phir Koi Hai and SAB TV’s Left Right Left and one of the writers on Abbas Mastan’s Players (2012), it is his first attempt at a feature film. He tells Metrolife, “I always wanted to make films.”<br /><br />Blending magic and reality, the film attempts to offer alternate interpretations of characters in the popular folklores, especially the female characters. Referencing on the four fables of Tejimola, Champawati, Ou Kuwori (The Maiden) and Tawoir Xadhu (The Story of Tawoi), the film captures Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain among others in lead roles. <br /><br />With emotions of hate, fear, happiness, greed, and drudgery, the film tells the story of a psychotic woman who hates her stepdaughter and ends up killing her but the daughter lives in spirit. Her husband goes on a distant trip where he meets a woman who has given birth to an outenga or elephant apple. In another village, a rich land owner wants her daughter married to a python and another is a story of woman who wants to stop her husband from sacrificing her fourth child after the first three. <br /><br />Recollecting some of the challenges during the shoot, Hazarika describes, “Shooting in Majuli – a massive river island in the middle of the Brahmaputra was definitely tough. My crew fell ill, rain ruined four days of our schedule, everybody was unsure about what would happen as the Assamese crew had never encountered such a project before. But soon the unit came together, the weather took a turn for the better, and we eventually finished our schedule!”<br /><br />Receiving a grant from the Asian Cinema Fund and through raising more than 20 lakhs in a crowdfunding campaign, he says, “We did our post-production (final colouring and sound mix) in Korea due to the grant and it was overall a very educational experience.” <br /><br />Kothanodi has become the first film from Assam to receive an official selection at the Busan and London film festivals. Hazarika concludes, “It feels good that our work is being appreciated outside Assam. Hopefully Assamese audiences too would love the film.”<br /><br /></div>
<div>When Bhaskar Hazarika chanced upon the idea of re-imagining popular folk tales of Assam in a realist setting, the stories became “colder and darker in narrative”. Having grown up in the 80s, in a small town in Assam called Dergaon, ‘Grandma’s Tales’ were hard to be missed by him. While some of the stories are more like the Assamese version of Panchatantra, with speaking animals and birds as main characters of the story, most of these are inspired from the lives of villagers. Based on Burhi Aai’r Xaadhu (Grandma’s Tales) of author and poet Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, compiled in 1911, filmmaker Hazarika depicts stories of four women in his soon to be released debut feature film titled Kothanodi (River of Fables). <br /><br />“The concept was to re-imagine folk tales in a realist setting and see what emerges. Most folk tales and epics, when rendered as theatre or film, tend to be presented as spectacles high on drama and music. Kothanodi does away with these adornments and presents events as they are - and what has emerged is a colder, darker narrative,” notes Hazarika.<br /><br />Having worked on several television and film projects including Star TV’s Ssshhh Phir Koi Hai and SAB TV’s Left Right Left and one of the writers on Abbas Mastan’s Players (2012), it is his first attempt at a feature film. He tells Metrolife, “I always wanted to make films.”<br /><br />Blending magic and reality, the film attempts to offer alternate interpretations of characters in the popular folklores, especially the female characters. Referencing on the four fables of Tejimola, Champawati, Ou Kuwori (The Maiden) and Tawoir Xadhu (The Story of Tawoi), the film captures Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain among others in lead roles. <br /><br />With emotions of hate, fear, happiness, greed, and drudgery, the film tells the story of a psychotic woman who hates her stepdaughter and ends up killing her but the daughter lives in spirit. Her husband goes on a distant trip where he meets a woman who has given birth to an outenga or elephant apple. In another village, a rich land owner wants her daughter married to a python and another is a story of woman who wants to stop her husband from sacrificing her fourth child after the first three. <br /><br />Recollecting some of the challenges during the shoot, Hazarika describes, “Shooting in Majuli – a massive river island in the middle of the Brahmaputra was definitely tough. My crew fell ill, rain ruined four days of our schedule, everybody was unsure about what would happen as the Assamese crew had never encountered such a project before. But soon the unit came together, the weather took a turn for the better, and we eventually finished our schedule!”<br /><br />Receiving a grant from the Asian Cinema Fund and through raising more than 20 lakhs in a crowdfunding campaign, he says, “We did our post-production (final colouring and sound mix) in Korea due to the grant and it was overall a very educational experience.” <br /><br />Kothanodi has become the first film from Assam to receive an official selection at the Busan and London film festivals. Hazarika concludes, “It feels good that our work is being appreciated outside Assam. Hopefully Assamese audiences too would love the film.”<br /><br /></div>
