GUWAHATI, June 2? Ever heard of a film whose script had to be changed on location because a character?s wife did not want her husband to play dead? It has happened in the case of the Mising VCD film Miro that was canned recently. Though it is virtually impossible in mainline cinema, Mising VCD films, that have seen a spurt in recent years, are known for their adaptability. After all they cater to an audience who are very sensitive in nature and for whom such films have become the rage. Hollywood and Bollywood may be going through a lean phase but local Mising films are a roaring success.
VCD films in the local dialect have become very popular these days. These small budget films, mostly shot in the VHS format, have made inroads into the most interior villages of the Mising community in Dhemaji, Jorhat, Sibsagar and Lakhimpur districts in Assam and the contagious areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Along with a boom in the sale of audio cassettes of folk drama and music, these films are also lapping up audiences thanks to the innovative strategies of the producers.
Exhibited in small halls on big screens, the Mising VCD films are also taken to the villages by the exhibitors where the colourful villagers get to see and feel a re-enactment of their lives. The themes are all local. So too are the actors, most of whom do their part gratis. ?There is a huge potential and talent. People are willing to act without taking money,? says Miro producer Dipul Malakar. He says that films like his sometimes do better than mainstream Assamese movies though the Mising people are not averse to watching the odd Assamese or Hindi flick.
Miro has several firsts to its name. It is the first Mising film shot on a betacam camera. It is also among the first Mising films that have been shot in locales in Guwahati and Barapani (Umium), although the main shooting was done at Mingmung, near Gogamukh.. Miro (a genuine man) will be the latest of Mising VCD films that will be premiered on June 8 at Gogamukh in Dhemaji at the headquarters of the Mising Autonomous Council. The film has used all the common props like special light effects, trolleys, etc. Naturally the cost has been quite high by usual standards. Rs 6.5 lakh has been spent in making Miro, Malakar says.
Miro?s original script has been changed. The change was forced by the wife of an actor, playing a teacher, not allowing her husband to die on screen. The woman pleaded that her husband had already ?died? once in an earlier film. ?These people do not like death and violence,? says Malakar. Eventually, it is another actor who gets ?killed? by villains.
Miro is the story of a teacher, a journalist and an ex-serviceman who together try to stop a smuggler from exploiting the local youth. The villain indulges in all kinds of criminal activities and manages to lure the na?ve youths into his fold. The journalist exposes the smuggler and loses his life in the process. It is the teacher?s son, the hero, who eventually organizes the fightback after returning to his village from the city. The film is interspersed with songs that the people love so much.