GUWAHATI, Aug 24 - The makers of the award-winning Assamese film Kothanodi are also attempting to take the rich folklore of the State to the young generation.
The film, based on events and characters described in Burhi Aair Xadhu by Lakshminath Bezbaroa, is ready to hit the theatres next month and as part of an outreach programme, a panel discussion was hosted in the conference hall of Cotton College here today.
The topic of the discussion was �Traditions of folklore in Assamese Culture�. Garima Kalita, associate professor, Dept of English, Cotton College State University, Tillotama Misra, author of The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North East India and Professor (retd), Dept of English, Dibrugarh University, Madhurima Baruah, Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Govt of Assam and Bhaskar Hazarika, writer-director of Kothanodi, were the panellists. The session was moderated by writer Phanindra Kumar Dev Choudhury.
In the discussion, Garima Kalita said, �I watched the movie during a private screening yesterday and what I liked most was the interpretation of folklore put forward by the movie. The folklores/folktales which we have heard about since our childhood days could never be presented so well as done through Kothanodi by Bhaskar Hazarika. The movie takes us to our childhood.�
Sharing his experience, Phanindra Kumar Dev Choudhary said, �We have heard so many folktales during our childhood that influence us even today. Folktales of Burhi Aair Xadhu teach us many things in our day-to-day life. The new generation should revive those old folklore and recreate the Assamese identity which originally lies in our culture and tradition.� He further said that representation of the folklore on the screen will attract the young generation to their roots and pointed out that folktales from different languages, nations, traditions, etc., are used now in management institutes.
Madhurima Barua recollected her childhood days and said that folklore or folktales exert great influence on the lives of individuals. She also dwelt on the pathetic condition of the Assamese film industry and said that new films with innovative ways of presenting the stories have to be made to revive the industry.
�The technique of retelling folktales through the medium of cinema is commendable. Today in the entire North East, different communities are trying to revive their folktales and search for their identity through them,� said Tilottama Misra. Kothanodi won the national award for the best Assamese film in the 63rd National Awards and will hit the theatres on September 16.
