Ronita Torcato

 

 

Assamese Film: Local Kung Fu

Starring:  Kenny Basumatary, Sangeeta Nair, Utkal Hazowary, Bonny Deori 

Director Kenny Basumatary 

 

Helmed by novelist and  martial arts practitioner Kenny Basumatary who also stars in the film, this action-comedy  in Assamese (  and a smattering of Hindi with English subtitles)  was screened at last year's  Osian Cinefan Festival in Delhi and is now being released under PVR Director's Rare. Watched without a jaundiced eye,  Local Kung Fu is a pleasant enough diversion that was shot on a shoe-string budget ( less than a lakh) with a predominantly young cast  in the director's native  state.  

 

The story starts promisingly enough with a couple of small time extortionists who are satisfied with 20 bucks for a sokolaat - one character's lisp gives cause for much of the merriment. He, like most of the characters in the film, is obsessed with the martial arts.  He could have been the principal character but then  the narrative veers off to showcase the talents of the undeniably talented Basumatary. The script tries to raise some laughs from potty humour  which could have been dispensed with. Needless to carp, the thin narrative harps excessively on the  martial arts as practised in the country's Tea Garden. Needless to add, the film would have benefited by a  bit of  judicious editing.  But for a debut indie, it's a promising start. And talented,ambitious young film-makers deserve support.