Sarmistha Pritam's birthday is being celebrated on the day of the announcement of the film Deoka.
Guwahati, Dec 19: Filmmaker Bobby Sarma Baruah announced her forthcoming movie 'Deoka' (Walking in the Air) which will be based on the life of young writer Sarmistha Pritam who has been diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare degenerative crippling neuromuscular disease since her childhood.
The announcement coincided with Sarmistha's birthday on December 18.
Quoting famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Sarmistha said, "Feet, what do I need them for, if I have wings to fly."
"The wings are made of the fire from the sun."
The project has been selected for the co-production market of the National Film Development Corporation of India's (NDFC) Film Bazaar. This year, 20 projects from 11 countries have been selected to participate in the market. The line-up is an eclectic mix of stories in Assamese, Bengali, Dari, English, German, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Portuguese, Sinhala, Tamil, and Telugu.
"We are glad to announce our project. We will try to reflect the struggles and life of Sarmistha. This is an adaptation," said director Baruah.
She said that they are planning to start shooting the film next year.
"We are working on the research and other related works. We will leave no stone unturned so that we can do justice to the story. I wanted to make this movie because I believe as human beings, we tend to get exhausted with the pettiest of struggles in our lives but when I came across Jyoti (protagonist), I was so inspired and moved," Baruah added.
"The fighting spirit and the fire that is within us need to be awakened."
She also mentioned that a portion of the money the film makes will be handed over to Sarmistha for her treatment.
Sulakhyana Baruah who is one of the producers will play the protagonist. Apart from her, senior actors Arun Nath, Bina Potongia and talented Arghadeep Baruah too will be seen in some of the significant roles. The story line of the film goes like this: Jyoti is 22 years of age and lives with her parents. But life is unfair as she is diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a battle she is destined to fight for life.
Her legs stopped functioning when she was 8 years old and so did her hopes. Her father is the strongest life support who dresses her up and carries her to school every day. Jyoti's fight against herself takes a toll on her, she attempts to commit suicide, but she requires more help to die than to live.
