Short Stream | In Son of the Soil, who is a native, and who is a foreigner?
Akanshya Bhagabati’s award-winning film on immigration, land rights and the sense of belonging is set in rural Assam
A static camera shows a farmer and his cow from across a river — the human and animal figures insignificant, the lush green of a ripe farm, bluish-grey ripply waters of the river below a cloudy sky, like an expansive landscape painting. The bearded, greying farmer is attentive and precise with his movements and handwork. What this scene establishes in Akanshya Bhagawati’s film Matir Apun (Son of the Soil ), unflinchingly and patiently, is that this man has a deep connection to this soil. Is he then the son of the soil, as the title suggests?
No, Ali (Dhananjay Debnath) is a third-generation Bangladeshi immigrant in this village — going by the dialect, somewhere in upper Assam — whose father, we are told, bought this land from a native Assamese family for a measly 10,000 rupees. On the land that he inherits from his father, he is the tiller, protector and cultivator — not that the soil is giving him and his family enough to flourish. When Haren (Sudarson Nath), his son, returns after seeking lucrative opportunities in faraway Bangalore, tension simmers. Who is the rightful owner of this land? Can Ali retain the only thing he has?
Bhagabati relies heavily on silences. An establishing scene in which a routine, monosyllabic conversation unfolds between Ali and Haren — about the trying circumstances of both their lives — sets the sparse, visually evocative narrative up for an awkward conflict. Will the two men, who have known each other from childhood in this fertile, scenic village, claim ownership over the other? An unexpected event leads to a community decision — neither lose nor win in any overt way. Generational baggage would continue to gnaw at these two men.
Bhagabati is a 27-year-old filmmaker based in Guwahati, Assam. During the pandemic, she relocated to Assam after she lived in Mumbai while studying at Mumbai University. She decided to make films in Guwahati. Her first short fiction film, Kumu: The Song Of A Wingless Bird, set against the lush green tea gardens of Assam, is about a 12-year-old adivasi girl, Kumu, whose family forces her to forsake her education and free spirit. The film was screened at several film festivals in India and it got the prestigious John Abraham National Award for Best Short Feature at the 15th edition of the renowned SiGNS Film Festival in Kerala.
The themes that inform Son of the Soil are identity and belonging, set against the backdrop of a historical conflict in the region between indigenous populations and Bangladeshi immigrants.
Cinematographer Nahid Ahmed captures the minutiae of rural Assam — its vibrant colours, the soothing hues of green, the vivid blue of water bodies, and the typically Assamese objects and kitchen paraphernalia inside homes complement the wonderfully controlled but eloquent language of the film. Son of the Soil premiered at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, 2023, and it won the Best Film award at Kelvin Cinema Festival, Shillong and at the NEFVTA Film Festival, Guwahati. Bhagabati said that her choice of subject has something to do with what she has been witnessing in Assam herself, growing up: “Many feel that the "Assamese" stand threatened today of losing what belongs to them— their resources, culture, language and overall identity. The theme of the film is inspired by the significant and sensitive reality of Assam today. I have grown up listening to discussions on this subject within my family, friends and even in media and politics of Assam,” Bhagabati added.
Bhagabati assisted film scholar and documentary filmmaker Parthajit Baruah in two of his films, The Children of God (2021) and Brush Stroke (2022) before starting to make her own films. “I have grown up admiring the works of a few filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Girish Kasaravalli, and Jahnu Barua,” Bhagabati said, who has no immediate plans of trying her luck in Mumbai’s film industry. “I am glad I moved back to Assam. I truly enjoy working on subjects which are relevant to my place and resonate with my existence and identity as an Assamese girl. Staying here, I believe I get a better view and experience of things,” Bhagabati said.
A guerilla-style film made with a budget of around ₹2 lakh, Bhagabati shot the film at Rangolu and Kosupith villages, near Nagaon district, with a very lean crew and with the help of the local community. There are a few scenes with non-actors: “I feel this is what makes filmmaking a wholesome experience."
Son of the Soil ends with a verse that Bhagabati wrote herself in Vrajabali, an ancient dialect in Assam used in Vaishnaivite literary texts:
“There are ten truths in your feet, o lord
Which one did you see?
O Lord, tell me…
Whose pain did you see?”
“The story has no hero or villain; it is just a depiction of what reality often looks like. I had to put a lot of thought into this song. It is an extension of the basic philosophy of the film, which is to understand that truth is multifaceted, and your perspective mostly depends on where you stand,” Bhagabati said.
In Assam, while many people have appreciated Son of the Soil, some communities have refused to screen the film. “It is easy to say things that people already know and believe in, and collect all likes, but to say what’s often inconvenient or provocative, that’s what I am interested in,” said Bhagabati, who is currently at work on a documentary on maternity health among adivasi tea tribes of Assam.
Short Stream is a monthly curated section, in which we present an India film that hasn’t been seen before or not widely seen before but are making the right buzz in the film industry and film festival circles. We stream the film for a month on HT Premium, the subscription-only section in hindustantimes.com.
Sanjukta Sharma is a Mumbai-based writer and film critic. Write to her at Sanjukta.sharma@gmail.com
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