Film made against the backdrop of NRC row gets people talking in Assam

Guwahati, Dec 17 (IANS) A feature film titled 'ID-My Identity', which was produced against the backdrop of Assam's controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) updating procedure, has been getting public attention after it is released in theatres.

The Bengali film has been written, directed and produced by Dipak Das, who was born and raised in Assam’s Silchar town. Since 1999, he has worked in Bollywood and Kolkata as an assistant director and fitness trainer.

Das told IANS that the first draft of the NRC was released in 2019 and that at least 40 lakh people did not have their names included in it. This is the basis for his film.

"The facts presented in the film are factual, however the people are from a fictitious family. We attempted to illustrate how some families were destroyed by the agony of being shut out of the NRC. How identity doubt contributed to suicides," he said.

Regarding the narrative, Das stated that the main character, Rimpy, is among the 19 lakh individuals whose names were omitted from the final NRC draft that was published in August 2019.

The filmmaker said, "Her spouse commits suicide due to worry, and one night police arrive to take Rimpy into custody due to her unclear identification. She escapes with her children, but six months later, destiny finds her. My tale is what transpires after that."

After seeing the film, renowned Guwahati film producer Sanjive Narain commented that the director had done a great job of handling a difficult subject like the NRC while also evoking the necessary emotions.

"Dipak Das is one of the few directors who has the guts to address the difficult subject of the NRC. I felt an emotional connection to the subject matter the entire time I watched the film, and the actors did a great job in their parts," Narain said.

“The director was unable to show the whole NRC picture because to legal concerns,” said

Krishnanu Bhattacharjee, a member of the Barak Valley-based film collective Beekshan Cine Commune.

He further said, “Das may be not allowed from presenting all aspects of the NRC update process because it is still ongoing. Nevertheless, he has been able to convey the agony, the losses, and the feelings. I have witnessed individuals sobbing after seeing the film. I also felt touched by the feelings.”

Assam-based film critic Biswajit Sheel, stated that although films have errors, the emotions are accurate.

“The director seemed to be making us experience the agony in some of the overly long passages. I have seen better works on related topics. However, I am grateful that he brought up such a delicate matter,” Sheel remarked.

Senior journalist Uttam Kumar Saha said that this is a special subject and the director has successfully touched the emotional chord.

"I am not judging the filmmaking or camera works etc, because this movie demands the subject to be presented with the right emotions and the director has done it. As an audience, I felt touched, at one point, felt like crying. There he is successful," Saha said.

He further said that though this movie is made in Bengali but the issue is universal. People across linguistic communities have suffered and the movie shows this perfectly.

It is a solid story filled with appropriate emotions, according to him.