Rajni Basumataryis an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and actor fromAssam,India.She debuted as a director in 2014 with theAssamese languagedrama filmRaag.The 2019Boro languagefilm,Jwlwi: The Seedwas written, directed and produced by her. It won several awards including theAssam State Filmawards for Best Actor (Female) and Best Film in Other Language category, the Jury’s Special Award atBengaluru International Film Festival2020, the Jury’s Special Mention atGuwahati International Film Festival2019,Prag Cine Awardsfor Best Film in other than Assamese language andSailadhar BaruahFilm Awards for Best Screenplay. Her third directorial filmGorai Phakhripremiered at theVancouver International Film Festivalin 2023. It won Best Film at the 29thKolkata International Film Festivalunder the Indian Language Films category. She was awarded Best Director at the 6th Sailadhar Baruah Awards. The film won the Gautama Buddha Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at theNepal International Film Festival.She was awarded the Director's Vision Award at the 21st Indian Film Festival Stuttgart.
Rajni Basumatary | |
|---|---|
 Rajni Basumatary at the Third Eye Asian Film Festival 2024 | |
| Born | Rajni Basumatary |
| Alma mater | Handique Girls College |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004—present |
| Website | www |
Basumatary has acted in a few highly successful and acclaimed films, includingMary Kom(2014),The Shaukeens(2014),III Smoking Barrels(2017),Goodbye(2022) and Netflix crime-drama seriesRana Naidu(2023).
Early life and education
editBasumatary was born in aBorofamily and hails from the town ofRangapara,Assamin northeastIndia.[1][2]She has recounted her experience of growing up in politically violent times during state insurgency and during the rise of separatist groups and how they impacted her family, childhood and later film career.[1]The filmJwlwi: The Seed,is loosely inspired by her experiences.[2]
Basumatary received her undergraduate degree inAssamese literaturefromHandique Girls College,Guwahati University.[3]
Career
editIn 1995, Basumatary moved toDelhiand began directingcorporate films.In 2004, she produced and wrote the screenplay forAnuraag,anAssamese-language romantic drama film. Directed by Bidyut Chakraborty, this film also sees Basumatary in a supporting acting role.Anuragwas critically acclaimed at its time of release, winning several Assam State Film Awards such as Best Director.[citation needed]
Since the 2000s, she has been a part of print and TV campaigns includingAxis Bank[4]and has played minor roles inBollywoodfilms such asMary KomandThe Shaukeensas well as in independent films such asShuttlecock BoysandIII Smoking Barrels.She is also the brand Ambassador of Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).[5]
In 2014, she had her big break when she played Indian boxerMary Kom's mother in the biopicMary Kom.StarringPriyanka Choprain the lead role, the film received critical and commercial acclaim. In the same year, Basumatary released the Assamese feature filmRaag,which was her directorial debut. StarringAdil Hussain,Zerifa WahidandKenny Basumatary,it was produced byAssam State Filmin association with Basumatary's banner Manna Films. It was released all over Assam and in selected cities such as Delhi,Bangalore,Chennai,Hyderabad,KolkataandMumbai.Raagwas nominated for thePrag Cine Awardsin 14 categories including Best Director and Best Screenplay for Basumatary, Best Actor Female for Wahid, Best Actor Male for Adil Hussain, and Best Supporting Actor Male for Kenny Basumatary. It finally won Best Actor Male for Hussain.
In 2019, Basumatary directed her second feature filmJwlwi - The Seed,which was co-produced by artist and philanthropist Jani Viswanath[6]and partially crowdfunded throughWishberry.An independentBodo-language film,Jwlwiwas screened in various international film festivals in India in late 2019 and early 2020 includingBengaluru International Film Festival,[7]Chennai International Film Festival,Guwahati International Film Festival,Kolkata International Film FestivalandPune International Film Festival.[8]Basumatary received the Special Jury Award for directing in Guwahati and a Special Jury Mention in Bangalore for the film.[9]She also received the Best Screen Writer award at the 4thSailadhar BaruahMemorial Film Awards.[10]Jwlwi: The Seedhas garnered over a million views onYouTube.
Basumatary has notedSatyajit Ray,David LeanandVishal Bhardwajto be her favourite film directors.
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Director | Actor | Screenplay | Producer | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Anurag | Yes | Yes | Yes | [11] | ||
| 2011 | Shuttlecock Boys | Yes | [citation needed] | ||||
| 2014 | Raag | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cameo role Nominated forPrag Cine Awards 2014- Best Director Nominated forPrag Cine Awards 2014- Best Screenplay |
[11] | |
| 2014 | Mary Kom | Yes | [12] | ||||
| 2014 | The Shaukeens | Yes | [13] | ||||
| 2017 | III Smoking Barrels | Yes | [14] | ||||
| 2019 | Jwlwi - The Seed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Winner ofPrag Cine Awards- Best Film (Other Than Assamese)[10]Winner ofSailadhar BaruahMemorial Film Awards - Best Screen Writer[10] Winner ofGuwahati International Film Festival- Special Jury Award Winner ofBengaluru International Film Festival- Special Jury Mention[9] |
[15] |
| 2022 | Goodbye | Yes | Directed byVikas Bahland starringAmitabh Bachchan | ||||
| 2023 | Rana Naidu | Yes | Netflixweb series | ||||
| 2023 | Gorai Phakhri | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Winner ofKolkata International Film Festival- Best Film in Indian Language’s Films category[16] Winner ofSailadhar BaruahAwards - Best Director and Best Art Director[17]Winner ofNepal International Film Festival- Best Film Winner of North East India Film Festival - Best Sound Winner of Indian Film Festival Stuttgart - Director's Vision Award |
[18] |
References
edit- ^abDas, Gourab (31 May 2019)."Actress to screen conflict tale in rural BTAD".The Telegraph.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^ab"A new Bodo film tells the story of Assam's bloody past".The Indian Express.25 June 2019.Retrieved18 March2020.
- ^"A distinctive voice"(PDF).Assam Tribune.18 November 2018.Retrieved18 March2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^"AxisBank_Dil Se Open_The Chair - Hindi".Axis Bank.19 February 2020.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^"Happy To Tell Stories Depicting Horror Of AFSPA: Assam Filmmaker Rajni Basumatary On Her Film 'Jwlwi - The Seed'".Outlook India.23 June 2019.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^"Jwlwi - The Seed".Bengaluru International Film Festival. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2020.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^"Jwlwi - The Seed".Pune International Film Festival.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^ab"Panghrun wins Best Film, Special Jury Award for Biriyaani at BIFFES 2020".Cinestaan. 5 March 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 17 November 2021.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^abc"Sailadhar Baruah Memorial Film Awards Announced".Pratidin Time.26 December 2019.Retrieved17 March2020.
- ^ab"Rajni Basumatary on Creating Impactful Cinema and Championing Assamese Film Industry".Creativica. 28 February 2014.
- ^Dasgupta, Piyali (31 May 2014)."Delhi-based filmmaker debuts in Bollywood as Priyanka Chopra's mother".The Times of India.Retrieved19 May2018.
- ^"North-East actress Rajni Basumatary becomes brand Ambassador of SVEEP".The Economic Times.21 November 2014.Retrieved19 May2018.
- ^"III Smoking Barrels set for premiere in prestigious German Film Festival".South Asia Views. 31 May 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2018.Retrieved30 October2017.
- ^"Actress to screen conflict tale in rural BTAD".Retrieved2 August2019.
- ^"KIFF ends with a bang, Israeli film wins best film title".The Statesman.13 December 2023.Retrieved1 February2024.
- ^"SBFA Awards History - Sailadhar Baruah Film Awards".Sbfilmawards.co.in.Retrieved1 February2024.
- ^Khan, Murtaza Ali (24 September 2023)."An all-female cast makes 'Gorai Phakri' unique: Basumatary".The Sunday Guardian.Retrieved3 January2024.