Prabin Kalita (BOMBAY TIMES; January 20, 2020)

Assam is preparing to host the 65th Filmfare Awards on February 15, which is taking place outside Mumbai for the first time since its inception.

What has set the mood for the biggest extravaganza in the cine world is the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games, which has been attracting huge numbers of sports enthusiasts despite continuing street protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Before the 14-day Games started on January 9, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) — the spearhead of the campaign against the new citizenship law — had signalled that education, games, business and other non-political events and activities such as culture and entertainment would continue alongside the protests against the Act.

Most in the state are of the view that the Filmfare Awards, which is being jointly organised by the Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited and Worldwide Media, will help showcase Assam’s heritage, art and culture, and music before the world. The prestigious event is expected to play a key role in projecting Assam as a major destination for tourism and investment.

“It is only after the advent of the internet that people started knowing about us,” says noted filmmaker Rima Das, whose Village Rockstars was India’s official entry at the 2018 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film Category. “An event like this is a great opportunity to showcase our culture. More importantly, we can interact with people from the world of cinema, music and art and culture,” she remarks, adding, “We can connect with the world — emotionally and culturally. If the event is successful, all of us can reap the benefits.”

Equally elated, Utpal Borpujari, a National Award-winning movie critic and filmmaker, explains, “The event will be shown on television, which will give the state’s tourism a wide visibility. The presence of Bollywood big names will create a buzz about our state within and outside of India.” He further says, “The Filmfare Awards is one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious events. This will definitely add a lot of value to Assam’s cinema and tourism industries.”

The IIT-Roorkee alumnus is hopeful that the event can encourage filmmakers from across the country to use Assam’s beautiful locations for shooting. He says, “If the event is allowed to run smoothly without any obstructions, Assam will be the sole gainer. Protests can continue along with such events from which we can learn and benefit a lot. AASU, too, supports this view.” He adds, “Slogans were raised during the recent T20 match, but nobody disturbed it. The game got washed out because of rain.”

Arunjit Borah, a young director and writer from Assam, believes that the event will open up the state’s virgin locations to the outside world. He says, “The Hindi film industry is very big. When it comes here, people attached to it will find Assam as a shooting location that is as good as Himachal Pradesh. This will finally lead to employment generation for the locals.” He adds, “We must remember that Switzerland got exposure in India because of Yash Chopra’s films. We can call it cinema tourism.” Chopra’s larger-than-life films featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan made Switzerland a must-visit holiday destination for Indians.

Zublee Baruah, one of Assam’s most celebrated singers and social activists, says the Filmfare Awards will help “people from across the country know us better. We can prove our ability to hold such big events in our state.” She believes that alongside the protests all other normal activities must continue and hopes that the film fraternity and people of Assam will participate actively to ensure the emotional connect isn’t missing.