The members of Jyoti Cine Club and the Assam Film Society, also headquartered here in Jorhat, protested against limited shows of Rima Das’ ‘Village Rockstars’ being screened at the only two cinema halls operating here, Inox and Smriti Gopal.
Jayanta Nath, vice president of Jyoti Cine Club, said that from today, two shows were being screened in both the halls so they had conducted an awareness among the people to go and watch the movie which was the only entry to the Oscars from India this year.
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“Earlier, both the halls were screening only one show each and we demanded that two to three shows be aired, ” Nath, who is a well-known singer, said.
The banner carried by Jyoti Cine Club read ‘Jorhator darxakhor pratibad’ (Protest by Jorhat audience)
He further said that Jyoti Cine Club had conducted the awareness programme so that people came to view the movie which had won several national and international awards, otherwise, it would be pulled out of the theatres after a week.
In Inox, the timings were 4.30 pm and 8.30 pm while in Smriti Gopal, it was 10 am and 7.30 pm.
Jayanta Madhav Dutta, general secretary of Assam Film Society in a statement had said that the shows should not only be more in number but it should also be at prime time.
Even now, both the halls have kept one show at an odd hour, 10 am, in Smriti Gopal and 8.30 pm in Inox. These are not prime time. As a result of this there is a huge crowd during the prime time and people are being turned away due to lack of tickets.
Dutta said that the film was realistic to the core, with the actors being non-actors but playing out their lives in their natural element.
The film depicts the dreams or rather shattered dreams of children living in the backwaters of the State, for whom wading through water to go to school is the reality.
“The protagonists’ repetition that had the embankment been in place, her father would have been alive today, is a telling comment on government apathy (a political undertone) to better the lot of people living on the edge and surviving and dreaming despite the odds, ” Dutta said.
This is a film which should be seen by everyone as it is different and does away with the glitter and glam associated with the silver screen, he further said.
On Friday, Himjyoti Talukdar of ‘Calendar’ fame had put up a WhatsApp status in which he had written that this was the first time that national media had rated an Assamese movie.
Times of India, Indian Express, News 18 (Rajeev Masand), Film Companion had given 4/5 and NDTV and Rediff 5/5.