Folklore in Cinema (study)
by Meghna Choudhury | 2022 | 64,583 words
This essay studies the relationship between folklore and cinema by placing Special emphasis on the films by Assamese filmmaker Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia. The research focuses on the impact of of folklore on audience engagement and exposes Assamese folktales and cinema as a cultural mirror by showing how it preserves oral literature, material cultur...
Part 5 - Assamese Cinema and the Untold Stories of Marginal Communities
Most of the Assamese cinema has tried to stick to the formula of portraying divides between rural and urban, haves and have-nots, the peasants and the money lenders, and such other stories leading mostly to happy endings. Like in many other film industries of India, films highlighting the life and struggles of marginal communities have not been produced in large numbers in Assam. An unusual collective cinematic experiment happened when a group of four, composed of writers and painters including Phani Talukdar, Gauri Barman, Atul Bordoloi and Munin Bayan, under a joint direction banner called ‘Chaturanga�, made Aparajeya (1970). This film is about the plight of the marginal fishermen’s community, consisting mainly of Bengali immigrants. The film is remembered mainly for its unusual ‘frontier� cultural primitivism.
Other such films based on the life of the marginal communities of Assam include Tothapio Nodi (1990, Dir. Hemanta Das) and Matsyagandha (2000, Dir. Sanjeeb Hazarika). Tothapio Nodi narrates the plight of the boating community in wake of construction of the first bridge on the river Brahmaputra. On the other hand, Matsyagandha deals with the many shades of the struggles of the fishing community.
Tea gardens and the community of tea garden tribes form an integral part of Assamese cultural fabric. Era Bator Sur (1956, Dir. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika) deals with the cultural traditions of the tea garden labourers of Assam and their celebrated folk music. The story revolves around a town-bred folklore researcher and a young flautist from the tea garden community, who fall in love with the same woman. Finally the former detaches him from the triangle for the cause of the flute, which he believed, must not be silenced. The film is a testimony of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s keen desire in bringing folklore to the celluloid, not only as a music director but also in his directorial ventures.
Kencha Sone (1959, Dir. Phani Sarma) produced by Hridayananda Agarwalla under the banner of Tezpur District Chah Mazdoor Sangha (Tea Workers� Association) is based on the life of tea garden labourers. Dialect of the labourers has been used in the film to make it more impactful. One film set in the backdrop of tea gardens that caught the attention of critics at the national level was Chameli Memsaab (1975, Dir. Abdul Mazid). The film won the National Award for Best Music Director (Dr. Bhupen Hazarika) and Best Regional Film in Assamese. The music for the film was deeply influenced by traditional tunes of the tea garden community and are still popular among the masses. Two other films which realistically portrayed the marginal community are Ronga Madar (1990, Dir. Timothy Das Hanse) and Budhu-Arjun (1997, Dir. Padma Koiri). Apart from the struggles of the marginal communities, these films reflected certain faces of folklore, which are otherwise not evident in Assamese cinema.