Director: Ardhendu Bhattacharya; Writer: Ardhendu Bhattacharya; Producer: Rishan Rapseng; Cinematographer: Bijoy Anand Sabharwal; Cast: William Rynjhah, Sheba Diengdoh, Gilbert Synnah, Veronica Nongbet, Benjamin Khongnor, Diamond Matthew
Summary: Documentarist Bhattacharya’s feature debut is
the first film in the North-Eastern language of
Khasi. It is a folk-tale about a poor man, Manik,
and his beloved Lieng who is forced to marry
the tribal chief Syiem. She refuses to live with
her husband and at one time has a sexual
encounter with Manik which leaves her
pregnant. She raises the child, but her lover is
condemned to death. She jumps into Manik’s
funeral pyre and dies with him. Reputed to be
one of Meghalaya’s most ancient legends,
relating to the origins of the region when seven
of the sixteen families with privileged access to
heaven decide to live on earth. In spite of some
awkward acting, the film evokes the sad
fatalism of marginalised people’s folk idiom in
India.
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