Synopsis
Set in Assam's insurgency ridden decades beginning from 90s, “Jwlwi- The Seed” is a story of hope lost and found through resolute perseverance even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Alaari copes with her husband’s death for over a decade, who was killed in cross firing between the Indian Army and rebel cadres. A new concern emerges for Alaari, in the form of Erak, who has just completed his college education at a time when the political climate is heating up with renewed efforts to rebel against the majoritarian state. New reports of young Bodo youth joining the separatist movement inspired in their revolutionary zeal by the thoughts of iconic leaders such as Mao Zedong and Che Guevara gain momentum, yet again.
Alaari panics.
Could her impressionable lad fall under the influence of the rebels? Will he too feel that he can free the community from generations of oppression through the barrel of a gun? She must now protect the last seed of her family.
Director’s Statement
The insurgency was in the peak in India’s northeast in the 90s. I had moved out of my home town for my college education and hence I was spared of the first-hand, physical experience of the horrific incidences, which my own family went through. Arbitrary killings, torture, enforced disappearances, kidnapping whether at the hands of state actors or the non-state actors were wide spread. My nephews got killed and one of my brothers disappeared, who has not returned home till today! My parents lived and died hoping their son would return home some day.
My film, “Jwlwi- The Seed” is not a story of my family though. It is a story of thousands of families of 90s in the region I come from. The situation has somewhat improved now. But I haven’t yet mastered the courage to look at this episode of our history with tinted glasses. Hence this film.
The film is about a family which loses one of their members to the gun violence. Stories of people who are living a scarred life could have been downward and heavy. Fortunately, my characters are humorous, empathetic, and dreamers. And some of them are musicians! So, if they are under the boots and barrels of the gun one day, they are forming a musical band the other day. And then there is Alaari, a half educated village woman who is nutty enough to travel all the way to Thailand to bring home her offspring!
The film was shot and edited in a way that reflects everyday life of rural India. We did not use cranes, drones, excessive steady cam or pans. We have maintained a warm colour-tone to counter the grimness of the central plot.
Cast & Crew
