“It reminded me of home and of the times I’ve never lived in”, said an ecstatic 21-year-old who came all the way to see the screening of India’s foray into this year’s Oscars. Village Rockstars, directed by Rima Das, an independent filmmaker captures the innocence and purity of the free-spirited children in a contemporary rural village in Assam.
Set in Chaygaon, the director’s home village, the story follows Dhunu a lively 10-year-old tomboy who dreams of being a Rockstar. In a short span of 1 hour and 22 minutes Rima Das successfully weaves multiple layers into her story. The beautiful landscape along with the artistic way of direction, leaves the audience wanting for more. In scenes where the narrative fell short, Das’s ingenious eye for all things beautiful and mesmerising left the audience gasping in their seats. “To me every frame told a story “, said a journalism student from Shillong.
Basanti Das who plays Dhunu’s widowed mother left quite an impression. Despite their oppressive state Dhunu’s mother always came through for her children, from protecting her girl from the prying eyes of their neighbours to scolding her for being irresponsible, “you can’t help but fall in love.” Dhunu proves that through hard work and determination anything is possible.
The movie shot in Kamrupi, a dialect of Assam over a span of four years proved to be quite a crowd puller especially among the locals. As each scene unfolds, one can’t help but notice Das’s love and utter devotion towards her homeland and people. The village rock stars with their thermocol guitar, make shift drums and high- spirits struck a chord in each and every viewer.” It is truly a film made with love “remarked an almost teary- eyed viewer.