Assamese filmmakers's movie on fables thrills audience at DIFF

Assamese filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika's debut film "Kothanodi", based on characters and events described in late Assamese writer Lakshminath Bezbaroa's collection of stories titled "Burhi Aair Sadhu", managed to send chills down the spine of the audience at the fourth edition of the ongoing Dharamsala International Film Festival (DIFF) here on Saturday.

Language clearly posed no problem when the film premiered here.

Critics, local residents, foreigners, aspiring filmmakers and other film enthusiasts were impressed by the movie, which had premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival earlier this year.

Starring established names like Seema Biswas and Adil Hussian apart from Zerifa Wahid, Urmila Mahanta and Kopil Bora, "Kothanodi" revolves around four fables referenced in the film as Tejimola, Champawati, Ou Kuwori (The outenga maiden) and Taiwoir Xadhu (The story of Tawoi).

The film not only received a thumbs up from the audience, but was also described as one of the "best horror film made independently in India" and as "better than most of the Bollywood horror films" by the critics, during the question and answer session after the screening here.

Hazarika said that he didn't make the film with the intention of promoting superstitions.

"I get to hear a lot that 'Are you promoting superstitions through this film?' But that's not the case. It is not inspired from any real life story. I just made it for entertainment purposes," Hazarika said.

"I'm not trying to preach anything through this film. I want people to watch it and and take their own inspiration from the stories," he added.

DIFF, an independent film festival which kickstarted on Thursday with the screening of Kanu Behl's "Titli", is aimed at providing a platform to filmmakers to come forward and showcase their internationally acclaimed films to Indian audiences.

Some of the films that are yet to be screened include Abhay Kumar's "Placebo", Ruchika Oberoi's "Island City", Gurvinder Singh's "Chauthi Koot" and Neeraj Ghaywan's "Masaan" among others.

The four-day festival will conclude on Sunday.