A feature-length documentary about the human cost of war and the toll the Second World War took on solders from Nagaland and Manipur soldiers is to release soon. Titled Memories of a Forgotten War, the film, made by Utpal Borpujari, focuses on the two northeast states that were collectively known as region Burma front.
It was on the rough terrain of these states that the Allied Army and its Japanese counterpart fought the decisive battles that stopped the Japanese advance into India.
From India’s point of view, these battles were significant since besides the fact that thousands of Indian soldiers were part of the Allied Army, the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army sought to fight against the British for Indian’s Independence by siding with the Japanese.
“My aim to make this film is to capture the memories of these people because they are very old today,” says Borpujari.
“After some time, they will not be with us. In [the] northeast there is a strong tradition of oral storytelling. They use this to pass culture, history, rituals to next generation. So, I thought to use this treatment in the movie,” he said at the trailer launch of his movie’s first look in New Delhi.
“These stories are personal, they are sad memories. People would not have shared with others. They lost their friends, saw others getting killed. So I thought this is the angle I should take.”
According to Borpujari, some European soldiers refused to speak about the war, saying they did not want to remember bad times, although people in the northeast region were willing to share their stories. “Some felt okay to talk about it now as 70 years have passed, while for many this was the first time they were sharing something about the war. It was not difficult for me to convince them to share information.”
Borpujari also spoke about his research. “I searched as many veterans I could locate. There were not many. I read a lot online and books. There was a lot of stuff from the military point of view so I decided to stop reading that because that is not what I am showing in the film.
“Then I started shooting and as I kept finding new things, I weaved the story around the people’s narration,” he said.
Borpujari has tried to make minimum use of the available footage on the subject as he wants to give a new view about the battles.
He said he would like to show the movie to state governments as it is a documentary everyone should watch and is important not only from Indian perspective but also from the point of view of tourism.
The principal photography of the movie, produced by Subimal Bhattacharjee, is expected to complete by December end. Borpujari will then take it to different film festivals.
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