Stop screening of ‘Semkhor’ film, Dimasa groups ask President Murmu

The 2021 film is the first Dimasa language film and was awarded the Rajat Kamal at the 68th National Film Awards. Aimee Baruah, who is also the co producer and lead actor of ‘Semkhor’ won the Special Jury Mention award

GUWAHATI: ‘Semkhor’, an award-winning film from Assam, has run into a controversy after several groups alleged that the film misrepresents Dimasa custom, tradition and livelihood in a very wrong way and has hurt their feelings.

Dimasa groups said the film misrepresented the tradition of the community and portrays the practice of female infanticide in Dimasa society which is completely wrong and false. (Facebook/kolbesh.nunisa.58)

In a representation, several Dimasa outfits on Thursday asked President Draupadi Murmu to order stopping the screening of the film and get the film producer to apologise to the community. The representation also blamed the producer for the death of an 84-day-old infant cast in the film. They said the infant was cast without approval of the district magistrate, claimed that this was a violation of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, and alleged that child fell ill and died due to exposure to cold weather conditions.

The film, Semkhor, is based on the traditions and culture of Semsas, a Dimasa community living in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, and won the award for the best feature film in Dimasa language in the 68th national film awards announced in July.

“The film has represented Dimasa custom, tradition and livelihood in a very wrong way and this has hurt our sentiments and damaged the morality of our Dimasa people,” the memorandum submitted by the Dimasa bodies to the President said.

The memorandum alleged that the film showed that Dimasas were against development and practices like superstition and child marriages are followed by the tribe.

“It portrays the practice of female infanticide in Dimasa society which is completely wrong and false. Such practices are never known to the Dimasa society since time immemorial,” it read.

Earlier this week, former president of All Dimasa Students Union, Mohendra Kemprai, filed a police complaint against producer-director Baruah, who also acts in the movie, for misrepresenting Dimasa culture and perpetuating stereotypes about the tribe.

Responding to the criticism, the film’s producer-director Aimee Baruah said the plotline of Semkhor was created on basis of information collected from newspapers, books and a few individuals but the story is “completely fictional”.

“It has never been our intention to hurt anyone’s feelings or self-respect through this film. I simply attempted to draw the attention of our society to the beauty of the location, the local language, the attire and so on. Nonetheless, we sincerely apologise if we have hurt anyone in any way,” Baruah said in a Facebook post on Thursday.