NEW DELHI: This year’s Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) in New York will see the world premiere of the Indian entry Aamis, an Assamese feature written and directed by Bhaskar Hazarika.
Aamis is Hazarika’s second feature film. His first feature, Kathanodi, won India’s National Award for the best feature film in Assamese in 2016. Kathanodi has traveled to festivals such as BFI London Film Festival 2015, Jio MAMI Film Festival 2015, Goteborg Film Festival 2016, and IFFLA 2016 among others.
Aamis tells the story of two people whom love finds, and yet, with too many boundaries between them, it degenerates into self-destruction – their love facilitated by urban anonymity, access to public eateries, and instant messaging apps. The film explores a bleak nihilistic view of life where every character emerges scarred in the end, no matter what choices are made. At its core, Aamis is not designed to carry any message other than empathy for those who make terrible choices in the pursuit of love.
The film shows Nirmali, a pediatrician in her late 30s, leading a peaceful but joyless domestic life in Guwahati, Assam. Her husband, a senior doctor, spends most of his time doing relief work in surrounding areas, leaving her alone at home to take care of their son. One day, she meets Sumon, a young PhD student researching food habits in northeastern India, who warms up to her in a manner she seems unaccustomed to.
Sumon’s work exposes him to the belief that there is no kind of food that can be considered abnormal, and Nirmali is drawn to this idea. The two quickly discover that they have a shared love for food – specifically, meat. Together, they bond over meals comprising unusual meats in platonic dates, although Sumon longs for some physical contact. As Nirmali’stastebuds grow more adventurous, their relationship takes a dark and bizarre turn.
“Love is a central pillar holding up the experience of being human,” says writer-director Hazarika.
“Yet, whom you can love cane be limited by a bewildering range of boundaries – of class, caste, religion, age, nationality and gender. But as the saying goes, ‘Love isn’t something that you find, it is something that finds you’.”
Hazarika completed his MA in film and drama from the University of Reading. He has worked extensively in Indian films, television and documentaries for over a decade.
Aamis stars Lima Das, ArghadeepBarua, Neetali Das, Sagar Saurabh, Manash K. Das, Momee Borah, Samarjyoti Sarkar, Chandan Bhuyan and UtkalHazowari. While the cinematography is done by Riju Das, the music is composed by Quan Bay. Shweta Rai Chamling is the editor.
The film is produced by Poonam Goel and Shyam Bora while Anshulika Dubey and Priyanka Agarwal are the co-producers.
At TFF 2019, Aamis will compete in the international narrative competition. Started in 2002, this year too, the film festival will be held in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, from April 24 to May 5.
TFF has become a recognized outlet for independent filmmakers in all genres to release their work to a broad audience.
