GUWAHATI, Sept 12 - Pankaj Butalia, the award-winning documentary film-maker has asserted that the sense of being neglected was present in every part of Assam and in different communities.
While interacting with mediapersons at the Guwahati Press Club here on Friday, Butalia, who has carved a niche for himself with his indepth story telling and objectivity, said that this feeling of neglect had triggered a series of complex issues that needed to be addressed with sensitivity.
The third in the trilogy of Butalia � Assam, A Landscape of Neglect was screened today at the Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture, Uzanbazar. This film took Butalia to different parts of the State and amidst different communities. �While travelling across Assam, I felt that everybody has a strong feeling of being neglected. The smaller communities feel neglected by the bigger communities, while the bigger communities feel neglected by mainstream India,� said Butalia, adding that he would like to screen the trilogy at various platforms so that everyone gets an idea what is happening around.
It needs to be mentioned here that the first two in the trilogy � a film on Manipur and the other on Kashmir � have won rave reviews for portrayal of issues that are not yet resolved. �I got satisfaction from making this trilogy on conflict. There has been no attempt to understand these issues from the perspective of those who are affected,� said Butalia.
According to Butalia, in his journey to depict issues of the people, he had learned to look at things more deeply. �By making serious documentaries, one can develop a perspective that makes the creative ventures stand apart from the rest,� stressed Butalia, informing that his next venture would be on an artist.
His objectivity and indepth approach in handling sensitive issues�have won him critical acclaim. His film�Moksha,�on the issue of widowhood, had brought him international recognition. �I worked the hardest on Moksha,� recollected Butalia, adding that each film was a product of labour and love.
