Skip to content Skip to navigation

Tripura film bags first National Film Award

By editor |

Internationally acclaimed Kokborok film YARWNG (Roots) won the first national film award for Tripura at 56th National Film Awards (2008) held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, 19 March, 2010. The President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil handed over the medal and certificate to Don Bosco priests Joseph Kizhakechennadu (producer) and Fr. Joseph Pulinthanath (director) for their second feature film.


Pulinthanath dressed in white cassock and Kizhakechennadu in his preferred saffron lungi and half-sleeved white kurta were among 52 film award winners of 2008, including high-profile Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra and the doyen of Indian Cinematography V.K. Murthy who was awarded country’s highest honor in cinema - the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.


Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni and Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, and other officials accompanied the President.


Accent on People’s Cinema


The award winning 95 minute film Yarwng (Roots) tells the story of large-scale displacement of tribal people that took place in the tiny Northeastern state when a hydel project was set up there in the late 1970s. Yarwng was the opening film at the prestigious Indian Panorama section of the 39th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa, November 2008.


According to the filmmakers, the script of Yarwng emerged from the numerous encounters they held with displaced people in the sanctity of their ramshackle homes. “All the incidents and emotional turmoil we see in the film were etched in the subconscious psyche of the people. All we did was to get close to them and feel their stories as they recalled them with looks, sighs, tears and also words,” recalled the priest director and winner of national and international awards.


“Although the technical team came from Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and the support team from Guwahati (Assam), the best part of the production was the involvement of the local people,” says producer Kizhakechennadu who claims cinematic traditions from his legendary relative John Abraham, a genius in Malayalam cinema and founder of a people's cinema movement called Odessa.


All the artistes and production hands were from Tripura state including noted actors Meena Debbarma who plays the lead role of Karmati, Amulya Ratan Jamatia, Nirmal Jamatia and Surabhi Debbarma.


Yarwng has traveled throughout India and has been screened in major cities around the world including New York, Brisbane, Moscow, Taipei, Stuttgart and Dhaka.


Yarwng also won a Special Jury Mention Award at the 3rd Eye Asian film festival held in Mumbai in 2008.


The film, part-financed by Church organizations – Missio Germany, Signis and the Salesian Congregation is also a compelling testament to the commitment of the Church and the Don Bosco Society to preservation of local, indigenous cultures and people.


C.M. Paul, New Delhi

Comments

KOUSHIK HAZARIKA's picture

Submitted by KOUSHIK HAZARIKA on Sat, 27/03/2010 - 07:06
In the year of the brilliant Samson and Delilah, BIFF will bring a stream of films by or about Indigenous people, called Colourise films. These include The Inheritors, which documents rural Mexico, capturing the dignity and humanity of people in the face of incredible exploitation. Both Roots and Birdwatchers tell a universal story of displacement from land and culture.

Pages

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Konwar to quit as Tripura Governor

27 Jun 2014 - 10:30pm | AT News
 Debananda Konwar is all set to put in his papers as Tripura Governor on Saturday to again enter into the state politics in the ruling Congress. The vetern Congressman and former Assam minister...

Sub Junior Hand Ball Championship concludes at Maibang

1 Apr 2012 - 7:41pm | Anup Biswas
The 17th All Assam Sub-Junior Inter dist Handball Championship for the year 2012 was held at Dishru Cultural Club Playground, Maibang from 27th March to 30th March 2012. Altogether 30 teams from...

Parl secy get portfolios: Sarat gets home

2 May 2012 - 1:10am | editor
Finally Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to his parliamentary secretaries. Gogoi keeps Mansingh Rangpi in finance giving home to Sarat Saikia. Raju Sahu gets Labour and...

Engineers body to observe golden jubilee from Nov

15 Oct 2007 - 4:58am | pbaruah
The Institution of Engineers here has arranged to celebrate its year-long golden jubilee starting November next.According to information, a number of programmes have been lined up, like science...

Other Contents by Author

Yet another record on the cards

Assam is set to set yet another record. Come January 6. Altogether 15,000 artistes are going to perform kholat Mejenga Pathar in Titabor with an aim to create a Guinness world record. The venture would help the state spread the culture that was introduced by Vaishnavite siant Srimanta Sankardeva. The event is being organized under the aegis of Srimanta Sankardeva Sangha Titabor Committee.The mega event is being held to showcase the Assamese khol for the global community to admire. The artistes, wearing the same traditional attire, are gearing up to play the same beat on the instrument for 15 minutes in their bid to create to create a Guinness world record.

Blast near CM’s residence; boy injured

Despite watertight security, a low intensity blast exploded near Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s official residence in Koinadhara leaving a teenager boy injured on Saturday.He sustained injury when a detonator he carried home exploded near Gogoi's official residence at Koinadhora. Identified as Sanjib Das, the boy found the detonator attached to a wire at a stone quarry on the Assam-Meghalaya border and was carrying it home at Uday Nagar and it exploded in the high security area.According to police, the teenager suffered minor injuries in the explosion which was a small one and caused no damage. He said that Das was administered first aid at a hospital and released.

ATSU bandh total in Morigaon

Normal life came to a grinding halt in four districts following the 24-hour bandh call by the All Tiwa Students Union which ended on Saturday evening. The bandh call was given to demand immediate election in six Tiwa Autonomous Council constituencies in Kamrup (Metro) district. The impact of the bandh call was total in Morigaon district only. The other three districts -- Nagaon, Karbi Anglong an Dimasao - the bandh had partial effect on life. Mostly in Morigaon district, shops, business establishments and banks remained closed, while vehicles kept off the roads and National Highway 37. The day being a fourth Saturday of the month, state and central government offices remained closed, while...

Aaranyak observes Dolphin Day on the bank of Kulsi River

Dolphin Day observed by Aaranyak at Kukurmara on the bank of Kulsi River in Kamrup district today evoked overwhelming response from the local community of the area.Dolphin Day was observed by Aaranyak  which is recognized as a Scientific and Industrial  Research Organisation (SIRO), under its  Gangetic (River) Dolphin Research and Conservation Initiative to raise the level of awareness among the community on the urgent need for conservation of the endangered species of river dolphin.Kukurmara was selected for the purpose as it is located on the bank of Kulsi River where at least 30 species of the endangered national aquatic animal reside and is an important site for river...

Journalist arrested on bribery charge

Police arrested a Guwahati based journalist for allegedly collecting lakhs of rupees from various people on the pretext of providing them jobs in public sector undertaking Oil India Ltd.Monikuntol Saikia was arrested yesterday based on a FIR filed by a person. The complainant had filed the FIR alleging that Saikia had taken money from him and promised to facilitate a job in exchange.Saikia is also alleged to have duped several other people with false promises of providing jobs.

Guwahati food fest pulls huge crowd

An ethnic food festival pulls huge crowd in Guwahati as it focusing the cuisines of the various Mongolian origin ethnic people. The visitors are overwhelmed by the range of available cuisines. Entitled NORTHEAST MONGOLIAN FOOD FESTIVAL, the event at Last Gate witnessed huge turn out with tasty dishes. Local rice beer was also served at most of the stalls much to the delight of the visitors.

Bandhoon brings new glory for Baruah

Veteran Assamese film maker enjoys a fresh honour. His new film Bandhoon has been adjudged as the best film in the in the Bangaluru international film festival. The encouraging news came on Friday morning bringing glory for the internationally renowned film director who is known for his uncompromising and unique cinematic vision. His tenth movie 'Bandhoon' is produced by Assam State Film Finance and Development Corporation. This is their second movie after a gap of twelve years. 'Bandhoon's story and script are written by Jahnu Barua himself. 'Bandhoon' stars include Bishnu Khargharia, Jatin Bora, Zerifa Waheed, Beena Patangia, Dinesh Das, Abatush Bhuyan, Angshuman Bhuyan, Rita Barua Das,...

Mass Jogging on December 31 at Guwahati

Assam Jogging Association (AJA) has organized a Mass Jogging program on December 31, 2012 to usher in the New Year. AJA organizes the program on the last day of the year to welcome the New Year with an appropriate message that suits the time. The theme for 2013 is: “Hold Roses not Guns Communal harmony, for peace and Peace for Progress.”The Mass Jogging will be started from Dispur Parade Ground (Janata Bhawan Field) and it will end at the same point after completing a 8 kilometer round touching Chandmari Fly- over. The masss Jogging program will be flagged off by Mr. Universe Mahadeb Deka AJA appeals all to participate in the program. The march will be started at 6-15 AM. AJA requested to...

Tension in Tinsukia; tea garden owner killed

Tension prevails in Tinsukia a day after the owner of a tea estate and his wife were charred to death by a mob of angry workers. The incident took place at the Borduma Tea Estate when the estate owner Mridul Kumar Bhattacharjee and his wife Rita Bhattacharjee were burnt alive in the evening. According to police, the incident took place after Bhattacharya served eviction notice to two workers of his estate asking them to vacate their quarters. The two workers refused to leave and Bhattacharya called the police who arrested the duo on Wednesday. A group of workers rampaged through the bungalow of the owner. They set fire to the building and also torched two cars belonging to Bhattacharya. The...

Businessman shot at in Gossaigaon

A local trader sustained serious injury at a shoot out in Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district on Wednesday.The incident took place at night when unidentified gunmen fired upon the trader at his residence before disappearing in dense darkness. Identified as Bikash Sarkar, the injured businessman was rushed to the hospital. Police officials rushed to the spot but no one has so far been arrested.