current project-

(i) Rainbow Fields (xhoihobote dhemalite)

On realizing that his little sister was very disappointed  for not being able to go to see her grandfather’s play due to the law and order situation, her brother offers to enact a play with the support of his best friend- a play that leads to a terrible tragedy. Years later, now an accomplished film maker, when the brother returns to his native town on hearing the news of the death of his best friend who was gunned to death by the police as a dreaded terrorist, he is stunned to find out that the death of his best friend was all linked to that fateful day the play was enacted in their innocent childhood.

(ii) Guns and Guitars…

(English, non-fiction)                     

just a spark but!
so you thought?
not worthy of another glance…

busy you were, of course!
ignorant, even to know
of your ignorance…

doesn’t matter really-
in your macro subsistence
the micro realities of existence!

but a gossamer wrap
around the flicker –
oh – to hide the glimmer!

wise heads!
too wise to remember
the eternal truth of
prelude to a Fire…

‘Guns & Guitars’ is a journey into the Northeast India -land of seven sisters and one brother -to unveil how over the decades, her children have alternately taken up the Guns and the Guitars to vent their woes and carve their dreams…

(iii) as the River flows … (ekhon nedekha nadir xipare)

(bi-lingual feature film, Assamese/ Hindi)

I know
long ago
the river used to speak.

But when he realised
every drop of pain
flows above horizon of words
he surrendered to silence.

People came to his bosom
creating to destroy
and named it civilization.

People came to his bosom
looking for the meaning in destruction
and called it history.

More the time flows
more the time remains still.
More the things change
more the things remain the same.

The drops of pain
mounting on the bank –
will it overflow…
as the River flows?

In the India’s state of Assam, during the last 3 decades, over 30,000 lives have been lost to insurgency and an unknown number of people remain trace less till date…

Yet to live the dream …

(i)…a shot in the dark (khel toh humein khelne do!)

( Hindi feature film)

Raj was just one of the many frustrated ex-terrorist who has become dissolute with life and looked for his solace in the bottle. Things would have continued the same way had it not been for the school teacher Mr. Bhattacharya, who reignited a dream which Raj had long given up – that of having a world class football club…this time as a coach and organizer! And using his goodwill, Mr. Bhattacharya even managed to organize an exhibition match between one of the top football team of the region with their football club – ‘Rising Star’!

When Raj approached his ex-colleagues in their hide out, they knew that he is struggling with money to keep Rising Star afloat and will be forced to seek their help for a bail out. But there is this bizarre request: for self styled ‘Major’ -Joel, and cadet- Raikom, to play for Rising Star in the exhibition match!! Raj is adamant -he had played & seen enough football in his life to know the capabilities of Joel, the centre forward & Raikom, the goal keeper.

The problem with fairy-tale is that it doesn’t last forever… In the exhibition match, Joel misses a golden opportunity to score the equalizer at the dying moment! As the final whistle is blown, Raj understood the bitter truth in a hard way – keeping your cool in a battle field with bullet chasing you all around to snatch your life is much different from keeping your cool in a actual pressure cooker situation of a football match, in front of a thousand cheering crowd …

Next day, after a long search, Mr. Bhattacharya finds Raj sleeping outside the local wine brewing joint. But Raj’s hangover is taken care of by what he has to say. Rising Star XI lost the match alright, but the young team managed to win quite a few hearts – and they are being invited in the neighboring town as a wild card entrant to play in the qualifying tournament for the prestigious national league!!

Raj realized that this is the closet he could come to live his childhood dream…But is he going back to Joel & Raikom for two of the most crucial position of his team? Especially because the township where tournament is going to be held falls under police officer Ranjit – his school mate, who is also responsible for the encounter deaths of many of Raj’s ex-colleagues …

(ii) Moi… aru mur saa    (My shadow…my companion)

(bi-lingual feature film, Assamese/ Bengali)

The 1980’s Assam…the burning Assam…. not the best place for love… more so, if the people involved are from two different communities: Assamese and Bengali.

Raktim Phukan.  A popular young singer. Also active with the student agitation.

Anamika Banerjee. A young girl and also a popular singer, from a different part of the state.

Music is the common bond that created the vibration in their hearts… but it was not the best of time for love… Circumstances forced them to move on separate ways…

Time – the greatest leveler! In the twist of time, Raktim ends up marrying a Bengali girl. And Anamika marries an Assamese boy… but not each other… They are married to Mayuri and Madhurjya, respectively.

They are moving on with their lives. Happily… or so they thought… till destiny again brings Raktim and Anamika in front of each other…

Almost 15 years has passed since they had last met! But, more the things changed, more they remain the same…

Or, do they actually remain the same?

(iii) angry Mountain

(Hindi, feature film)

Mr Arindam Kashyap is heading the Atomic Minerals Division (AMD) of the Atomic Energy Commission, situated at Shillong, capital of Meghalaya.Professionally, Mr Kashyap’s last few months before retirements would have been happier had it not been for the local rock star and environmentalist Danny Lyngdoh. Contemporary to Mr Kashyap in age, Danny Lyngdoh somehow seem to have developed an intense disliking towards him and his work….

Arindam Kashyap’s personal life revolves around his darling daughter Pubalim who is doing her doctorate in Geology from IIT Rurkee. Pubalim has a very friendly relation with her father. Mr Kashyap leaves no stone unturned to ensure that she doesn’t feel the absence of a mother in her life. Still there are times when Pubalim misses her mother, especially when it comes to sharing a secret… It would have been so much easier to explain to her mom why Pratik is coming over to Shillong…For her father, her explanation for the presence of Pratik was good enough – ‘he has come over to join her in her exploration of a lime stone cave system.’

Arunav Sharma. Photo journalist by profession. Explorer by choice. In his late 30s. Based in Shillong. Pubalim, who knows him for some time, requested him to join the expedition to possibly the longest natural cave system in the south east Asia – the Krem Umlawan cave system. The cave system has a surveyed length of almost 56 kms, with a possibility of extending to even more. Arunav was the part of previous couple of expedition to survey the cave – hence it was natural for Pubalim to expect him to lead the group.

The expedition has started. They have to walk for some eight hours through the dense jungle of Jaintia hills before they will arrive at the mouth of Krem Umlawan. After the initial euphoria wears off, Pratik started to find the trek a little hazardous. His constant complaining about things which one should consider pretty normal in the jungle sometimes tends to get into the nerve of Arunav. But he stops himself from reacting by reminding himself that most of this is due to Pratik’s lack of exposure to outdoor life more than anything else. Another reason of Arunav’s being ‘extra polite’ to Pratik – by his own standard- was he wanted to ensure to himself that there is no connection between his dislike to Pratik with Pratik’s relationship with Pubalim…

Finally the group has reached the entrance of Krem Umlawan cave. Pubalim is surprised to find that for such a huge cave, the opening is hardly a 3feet by 3 feet! One has to crawl in to enter the cave, which itself is un-nerving for the un-initiated. Had it not been for the long route through the jungle to reach the ‘civilized world’, Pratik is not sure whether Pubalim’s company alone would have been enough to keep him on track…

The group is resting by the river inside the cave. Suddenly there is a deafening noise! Nobody understood anything, but the natural instinct is to run from whatever it is…But in the dark passages, running is easier said than done! They try to gather their wits end by standing below a giant rock in one side of the cave- but it turned out to be a wrong decision! After a while, they could feel the rock vibrating…They could move themselves only at the nick of time from being crushed under the weight of the giant rock as it rolled down the cave…The rock got struck in a comparatively narrow cave passage after rolling down for a little distant…

The rock is too big for them even to think of the possibility of removing it. And it got struck in such a way that only a mouse could think of sneaking out in the gap between the wall and the rock…

Was it an earthquake? Or was it something else?? One can be sure only when one goes out to the surface. So what is the way out? Definitely the option of returning the same way is ruled out…The only option is to move ahead.

But it is easier said than done. They are not prepared for it. It was supposed to be a minor exploration where they are supposed to spend a couple of night inside the cave studying its different geological features and not a full fledged expedition to survey the cave by spending a week or so inside it. That requires a very different preparation, both psychologically as well as food/equipment wise. But there is no choice…

(iv) of many lives…

(English, non-fiction)     

The film is in the form of an exploratory travelogue- on a subject which fascinates many of us, but about which a very little is known to the people outside the Buddhist world – the concept of reincarnation. A chance meeting with a young incarnate in 1998, has grown into a full blown quest woven with stunning landscapes, age old monasteries, intricate rituals and surprising revelations. An inside view into an integral Buddhist philosophy that few discuss. This film traverses centuries, beliefs and regions of India to unravel the mysteries of Buddhist reincarnation.