Bodo language film, Jwlwi – The Seed, by Rajni Basumatary continues to impress critics and viewers across the country. The film, which depicts the horror of insurgency and counter insurgency, has won the Special Jury Mention award at the 12th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) on March 4.
The film is about a family that crumbles amid insurgency and the mother’s journey to bring home her last offspring.
“It has been a great journey so far. The film has travelled almost all the major festivals in the country. And I am happy that after Guwahati International Film Festival, it has got the Special Jury Mention here at Bengaluru. Above all, it has reached to a wider audience which is estimated to be more than six lakh which I think is commendable,” Rajni told The News Mill.
Rajni plays the protagonist whose husband was killed mistakenly during a counter-insurgency operation. Later her son was also killed. And finally her journey to find her grandchild lands her in Thailand.
Jwlwi has portrayed the horror of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which gives the security forces sweeping powers to arrest any individual on the basis of suspicion.
Rajni, who played Mary Kom’s mother in the Priyanaka Chopra-starrer biopic, has herself witnessed the horrific incidents of insurgency and counter-insurgency in the region in the 1990s.
The film has been screened in several major international film festivals across the country. Besides having its theatrical release, the film was displayed in rural areas especially in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). The screenings took place in more than 50 villages.
The film has also won a number of awards in several film festivals in the country.
The BIFF is being organized by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy for Karnataka government. The 12th edition of BIFFES concluded on March 4 in Bengaluru.
