Kenny Basumatary's 'Local Utpaat' Raises 10 Lakh Through Crowdfunding: Sight & Sound

Kenny Basumatary's 'local utpaat' raises 10 lakh through crowdfunding

In a heartening news, upcoming Assamese film 'Local Utpaat' made history as a record number of well-wishers came together at Wishberry.in to help crowdsource the targeted Rs 10 Lakh for the film's completion.

Written and directed by Kenny Basumatary, the film features the entertaining team of Local Kung Fu films and YouTube's 'Heavy Budget'. After the successful crowdfunding campaign, Basumatary informed that the Assamese version of the film will release on September 4.

"Very much thankful to the 1,271 contributors, who have helped 'Local Utpaat' to cross the target! We have set a new Wishberry record for most number of contributors. The film will release on September 4," said a grateful Kenny Basumatary.

Speaking on the response that 'Local Utpaat' got throughout the crowdfunding campaign, Wishberry co-founder Anshulika Dubey said, "We are very delighted to see people's response to 'Local Utpaat', it has garnered the highest number of donors in Wishberry's history, creating a new record. Kenny's films are loved by the public and its shows in the success of his crowdfunding campaign. Many Assamese filmmakers have succeeded at crowdfunding and we hope after Kenny's success, even more Assamese filmmakers are encouraged to try crowdfunding."

The teaser of 'Local Utpaat' was released on February 11 and subsequent behind-the-scenes were released on the social media throughout the crowdfunding campaign.

The lead roles in 'Local Utpaat' are played by Bonny Deori and Poonam Gurung. Bonny is well-known for his role as Bonzo in the Local Kung Fu movies and also for his work in the serial 'Heavy Budget'. Poonam was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the Prag Cine Awards for her wonderful work in the film 'Suspended Inspector Boro'. The rest of the cast comprises of the Local Kung Fu / Heavy Budget team, with new additions being Himanshu Gogoi and Kaushik Nath from the much acclaimed film 'Bornodi Bhotiai'.

Kenny has also assured that his film is an out-and-out comedy that one can watch repeatedly with friends and family.

music competition in aid of cancer patients

Established in 2016, Suprabh Rupantarar Batere - an organisation, whose main motto is to provide financial help and support to child cancer patients and to offer a platform in the field of music for the hidden talents hailing from Assam and the North-East. Presently, the organisation has been able to help 23 financially weak child cancer patients with their needs. Suprabh has been organising the All Assam Music Competition every year and has uncovered many hidden talents in the field of music. It also provides a national level platform for the first three winners of the competition. Harshita Bhattacharya - the inaugural champion of the All Assam Music Competition-Season-1, has even got the chance to participate in &TV's 'Love Me India', where she won the second runners-up. The organisation also provided financial assistance to some children with cancer during the Season-2 of the competition.

Highly praised for their noble work for the society, Suprabh also organised the Season-3 of the 'All Assam Music Competition' recently at the Shraddhanjali Kanan and provided financial support for the families of children with cancer. The programme was attended by several well-known persons from various walks of life, including the principal of North-East Cancer Hospital, Ganesh Tamuly, popular cultural activist Gopal Jalan, senior journalist Galibur Rahman, journalist Moshphika Ahmed, State Bank of India's (GM) Dwijen Chandra Bora, litterateur Thaneswar Malakar, socialist Anita Sarma, Keshav Nath, singer Pranjal Parakh, Manoj Kashyap, child artiste Harshita Bhattacharya, among others. The celebrity judges of this year's competition were JP Das, Bhitali Das and Rupam Bhuyan. The first prize was bagged by Rajkumari Phalguni, the second prize was won by Bhargavi Goswami, while the third prize was received by Violina Deka. Suprabh Rupantarar Batere's president Ashim Kumar Deka, vice-president Nilopha Rahman and secretary Shekharjyoti Nath welcomed the gathering and expressed their gratitude for making the event a successful one.

into the wild

Eros International is all set to release three movies simultaneously – 'Haathi Mere Saathi' in Hindi, 'Kaadan' in Tamil and 'Aranya' in Telugu. All these three films will explore the relationship between a mahout and his elephant.

The films are slated to release on April 2, 2020. Rana Daggubati will play the protagonist. 'Haathi Mere Saathi' in Hindi will feature Pulkit Samrat as the parallel lead. All three movies also star Shriya Pilgaonkar and Zoya Hussain in important roles.

The multilingual film is a tribute of sorts to the late legendary actor Rajesh Khanna, but will have an entirely fresh storyline.

The story lines of all the films have been inspired by the unfortunate event of humans encroaching upon the elephant corridors in Kaziranga, Assam. The films trace the narrative of a man, the role essayed by Rana Daggubati, who dedicated most of his life living in the jungle with the sole purpose of protecting the animals inhabiting it and how he becomes a pivotal part of the conflict.

renowned producer pranjal bharali passes away

The well-known producer of several Assamese films like 'Suren Suror Putek', 'Junda Eman Gunda', 'Ontohin Jatra' and 'Ma Tumi Ananya', Pranjal Bharali, passed away recently.

"He was suffering from a prolonged illness and had to take dialysis regularly," said Hitesh Baruah, Managing Director of the Nemcare Hospital and a music director of several Assamese films. "He had come out to produce Assamese films at a time when the film industry was going through a bad time. Besides films, he had also made a number of documentaries," said Baruah, associated with the cultural world.

A resident of Nirupam Apartment at Tarun Nagar, Bharali was also into the construction business. "During the 90s when Assam had seen lots of militant activities, not many had come forward to produce Assamese films. Amidst these, Bharali had produced movies one after another. He was very professional and never let his crew members be in financial problems," said Arun Lochan Das, noted cine-journalist.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condoled Bharali's demise and said his death was an irreparable loss for society and the cultural world of Assam. Pranjal Bharali was 60 and is survived by his wife and daughter.

Prantik Deka

https://www.sentinelassam.com/saturday-fare/sight-sound-38/