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 4.1 - Rites and Rituals
[Full title: Cinematic Narrative through the Social Folk Customs (1) Rites and Rituals]
Rites of passage are an important component of every film made by Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia. Firstly, we observe the use of marriage rituals. In Sandhyarag we see the marriage of Kanta, daughter of Saru’s employer, where the filmmaker has tried to capture many aspects including the clothes, jewellery, painting and decoration of the house, guest reception, band of musicians and the food. Similarly, the film Anirban concludes with the marriage of Dibakar, who had a love affair with Nisha. The marriage here is used to signify complete shrinkage of Rajani and his wife in the catastrophe of Nisha’s death. The story of Agnisnan revolves around Mohikanta’s second marriage. Different wedding rituals like preparing betel nuts and rice for the guests have been shown. Apart from these, on the wedding day, Mohikanta is seen riding on an elephant as a groom, which prevailed as a popular custom among the elite Assamese class.
Like marriage, death has also been portrayed with varied shades in most of the films of Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia. Anirban begins with shots where Rajani buries one after another dead newborn and takes a dip in the river after that. When Nisha dies, scenes like making a bamboo bed to carry the body is shown in the film.
In Agnisnan, the death of Mohikanta’s mother is shown with the family mourning till the shraddha ceremony gets over. Mohikanta also mentions holding a grand feast for the villagers, followed by organizing a bhaona (traditional Vaishnavite drama) in honour of his deceased mother. On the other hand, Madan, the thief, is seen making plates from banana bark to be used during the death rituals.
Kolahol shows Moti’s death and the feast following the incident to manage the community. In Sarothi, shots of his dead mother being carried for burial are visualized through the eyes of Mr. Dutta. On the other hand, Itihaas concludes with the death of Lakhimi and finding her dead body inside the muddy well.
Kaalsandhya, the last film of Dr. Saikia is also based upon two killings and the shraddha ceremony of deceased Professor Banajit Dutta is shown with scenes of cooking a feast and people eating whole-heartedly (Images 15 & 16). These scenes depict the irony of the society, which can feast on the death of a teacher being brutally killed at his doorstep by some unidentified gunmen.