Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma on Saturday urged the government to have Doordarshan, India’s public service broadcaster, telecast more films by directors from the northeastern states.
“More of our films should be shown on Doordarshan,” Sharma said after being honoured at the three-day film festival in Delhi, Fragrances of the Northeast, where a retrospective of his works was held.
He said showing such films on Doordarshan would give exposure to directors as well as the culture of the region.
He also thanked the government for holding the northeast film festival, which is in its second year.
“This attempt by the government is good for the northeast. Directors and artists from the northeast will come under focus through this festival.”
Minister of state for the development of the northeastern region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh, who also attended the event, said Sharma’s works reflected the cinematic culture of the region.
“Aribam’s work will not only be valuable for future filmmakers but also remain as material for reference for researchers,” he said.
“His films should be subtitled in languages other than English. This is very much possible in today’s digitised world,” he added.
The ceremony was held after the screening of Sharma’s 1990 classic Ishanou (The Chosen One).
The film shows how the harmony in a family in the Manipur valley is disrupted by the sudden transformation of a gentle, young wife and mother into a violent woman prone to fits of wild visions. She goes in search of a Meibi guru who she thinks has chosen her to be initiated into the sect.
Her pleasure lies in devotion and love through dance and music. She finds solace in the vivid and colourful performing arts.
Ishanou was one of the official selections at the Cannes Film Festival in 1991.
The film was shown at the Centenary Indian Cinema section of the 43rd International Film Festival of India in 2012 as one of the 27 specially selected feature films and was also one of the 10 selected Indian films at the Festival des Cinemas a Asia de Vesoul in France in 2013.
Another Sharma classic, 1981 film Imagi Ningthem (My Son, My Precious), was screened on Sunday, the third and final day of the festival.
Based on the life of rural women, the film is about an educated working woman and a housewife, each with a “common similar sense of feeling and understanding”. It portrays their everyday struggles that are different in form and level.
Imagi Ningthem received the Grand Prix at the Festival des Trois Continents in Nantes, France, in 1982.
Four of Sharma’s non-feature films were also shown as part of the retrospective.
Events during the festival, such as Indigenous Games of Manipur, showcased the traditional games and sports of the state, including mukna (Manipuri-style wrestling), kangjei (a form of hockey), and sagol-kangjei (the precursor to polo).
Orchids of Manipur took the viewer on a journey through the rich forests of Manipur, which are home to beautiful varieties of orchids. Around 400 species have been identified so far and some of them are exclusive to Manipur.
Yelhou Jagoi narrated an annual festival of Manipur valley that recreates the myth of the creation of the universe such as heaven, earth and life in its manifestations of flora, fauna and humankind.
The Deer on the Lake showcased Sangai, the brow-antlered deer found at Keibul Lamjao, the floating national park on the Loktak lake in Manipur.
