Axone, Village Rockstars, Aamis, Bornodi Bhotiai and Raag: Tales from Northeast find a voice on OTT

The OTT platforms have not only given a break to new or less appreciated talents, but are also helpful in bringing a diverse range of projects on the screen. This includes content from the Northeast. Often these small budget films get lost in the crowded Hindi mainstream market, but now, thanks to the digital medium, they are finding a way to reach a much wider audience.

Axone, Village Rockstars, Aamis, Bornodi Bhotiai and Raag are some such films that are available on OTT and have been able to strike a chord with viewers.

Actor Sayani Gupta, who starred in Axone which follows Northeast Indian migrants in New Delhi, in their attempt to organize a wedding party, says, “It was the first film that ever came out in the mainstream that represents the northeast characters and is original and authentic. There is a lot of interest coming from content makers and filmmakers about the northeast and the people.”

Noting how there is a growing appetite now for such stories, Siddharth Anand Kumar, vice president – Films & Events at Saregama India Ltd — which made Axone — says it is heartening to see people being receptive towards these stories, which enables them to explore the diverse cultures of the region.

“I think the interest in north east stories will only grow from here after India’s shining jewels – Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain who hail from Manipur and Assam respectively returned home with Olympic medals. The region is brimming with talent and stories and I hope they get the support and platform from the industry and leads to inclusivity and the end of stereotypes,” he shares.

Manipuri actor Lin Laishram, who was a part of the film, is happy that the makers thought of such a film and thought of casting actors from Northeast in it.

“We need more representation. We need more of our stories to be told in the main stream. I am happy that we are on the right path but there is a long way to go. The OTTs have been a major help for sure,” Laishram had said.

Not just films, now even web series shot in the Northeast, with actors from the region are making its way to our screens — for instance, The Last Hour.

“The makers took a lot of actors from there, so it has an authentic feel to it and that is what stood out and that is what makes the series so good and also visually beautiful because the locations are breathtaking,” shares Raima Sen, who starred in the supernatural crime thriller.

While this is a step in the right direction, many feel that Bollywood, despite being one of the biggest film industries in the world has failed to appropriately represent the region and its people, resorting to cliches and stereotypes within the story.

To this, Kumar says, “We wanted to bring the struggles of the Northeastern community to the mainstream. Our vision has always been to make films which have an underlying message and have the potential to spark conversations among the society and change mind sets. Axone was just the perfect platform for us to highlight the umpteen misconceptions and racism that people from north east face in their daily lives,”

Agreeing to the same, actor Adil Hussain, who hails from Assam says that it has been very helpful for audience to watch these stories from north east but he still feels that it is a drop in the ocean.

“The big OTT giants should scout for such stories rather than have people approach them. They should have proper scouts dedicated towards representing a region that is not represented well. I think that what they are doing is fantastic but a lot needs to be done. A lot of projects that are made there still don’t find their way in the mainstream,” says Hussain.