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First ever dialect film from Arunachal Pradesh screened

Ziya Us Salam

Late invitation keeps Chief Minister Apang from being present

Gegong Apang

PANAJI: A little piece of history was created at the 37th International Film Festival of India on Wednesday with the screening of an Arunachal Pradesh feature film, Sonam, the first ever film in a local dialect from the eastern State.

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Gegong Apang was said to have "expressed a desire" to be a part of the historic occasion by watching director Ahsan Muzid's film, Sonam, that is part of the Indian Panorama here, and has also entered the competition fray at IFFI.

The debutant director's film, in Monpa dialect, has an entire cast of debutants only, a cast that has never seen a cinema hall, never seen celluloid fare.

However, thanks to the usual organisational delay, he got the invitation from the festival organisers very late. "He had expressed his desire to be present at the screening of Sonam on November 16. However, the authorities could reply to him only after nine days. After the delay it was not possible for the Chief Minister to fly down to Goa at a short notice," a senior crew member of the film stated.

Mr. Muzid expressed his disappointment with the non-arrival of Mr. Apang but pledged to show him the film near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Monpa is spoken by a little more than 40,000 people. It is the first feature film in any Arunachal dialect. The State has no film industry of its own. No acting school or provision for learning about theatre. My entire crew and cast are debutants. Out of a 27-member crew, 22 are from Arunachal Pradesh and three from Sikkim. The cast has seen cinema for the first time in their life. In Arunachal, there is no film or theatre culture. There are only two cinema halls in the State. People depend on DVDs for watching films. This film will not be released commercially in the state," Mr Muzid said, adding, "my film is about real people, real characters. Such cinema is seen only at film festivals. Elsewhere Bollywood is popular."

The cast was given special training at a workshop prior to the shooting.

They were visibly happy at their accomplishment at the screening of the Monpa film with English sub-titles.

Based on an Assamese novel by Yashe Dorje Thongchi, the film tackles the rarely touched subject of polyandry, a practice where a woman takes more than one husband. It has been shot in Arunachal Pradesh and is based on the polygamous practice of the yak rearing tribes in eastern Himalayas who occupy the Arunachal border with Bhutan.

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First ever dialect film from Arunachal Pradesh screened

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