Rajni Basumatary

Indian filmmaker and actress

  • Film director
  • film producer
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active2004—presentWebsitewww.rajnibasumatary.com

Rajni Basumatary is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and actor from Assam, India. She debuted as a director in 2014 with the Assamese language drama film Raag. The 2019 Boro language film, Jwlwi: The Seed was written, directed and produced by her. It won several awards including the Assam State Film awards for Best Actor (Female) and Best Film in Other Language category, the Jury’s Special Award at Bengaluru International Film Festival 2020, the Jury’s Special Mention at Guwahati International Film Festival 2019, Prag Cine Awards for Best Film in other than Assamese language and Sailadhar Baruah Film Awards for Best Screenplay. Her third directorial film Gorai Phakhri premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2023. It won Best Film at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival under 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 Feaure Film at the Nepal International Film Festival. She was awarded the Director's Vision Award at the 21st Indian Film Festival Stuttgart.

Basumatary has acted in a few highly successful and acclaimed films, including Mary Kom (2014), The Shaukeens (2014), III Smoking Barrels (2017), Goodbye (2022) and Netflix crime-drama series Rana Naidu (2023).

Early life and education

Basumatary was born in a Boro family and hails from the town of Rangapara, Assam in northeast India.[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 film Jwlwi: The Seed, is loosely inspired by her experiences.[2]

Basumatary received her undergraduate degree in Assamese literature from Handique Girls College, Guwahati University.[3]

Career

In 1995, Basumatary moved to Delhi and began directing corporate films. In 2004, she produced and wrote the screenplay for Anuraag, an Assamese-language romantic drama film. Directed by Bidyut Chakraborty, this film also sees Basumatary in a supporting acting role. Anurag was 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 including Axis Bank[4] and has played minor roles in Bollywood films such as Mary Kom and The Shaukeens as well as in independent films such as Shuttlecock Boys and III 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 boxer Mary Kom's mother in the biopic Mary Kom. Starring Priyanka Chopra in the lead role, the film received critical and commercial acclaim. In the same year, Basumatary released the Assamese feature film Raag, which was her directorial debut. Starring Adil Hussain, Zerifa Wahid and Kenny Basumatary, it was produced by Assam State Film in association with Basumatary's banner Manna Films. It was released all over Assam and in selected cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Raag was nominated for the Prag Cine Awards in 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 film Jwlwi - The Seed, which was co-produced by artist and philanthropist Jani Viswanath[6] and partially crowdfunded through Wishberry.[7] An independent Bodo-language film, Jwlwi was screened in various international film festivals in India in late 2019 and early 2020 including Bengaluru International Film Festival,[8] Chennai International Film Festival, Guwahati International Film Festival, Kolkata International Film Festival and Pune International Film Festival.[9] Basumatary received the Special Jury Award for directing in Guwahati[10] and a Special Jury Mention in Bangalore for the film.[11] She also received the Best Screen Writer award at the 4th Sailadhar Baruah Memorial Film Awards.[12] Jwlwi: The Seed has garnered over a million views on YouTube.

Basumatary has noted Satyajit Ray, David Lean and Vishal Bhardwaj to be her favourite film directors.

Filmography

Year Film Director Actor Screenplay Producer Notes Ref.
2004 Anurag Yes Yes Yes [13]
2011 Shuttlecock Boys Yes [citation needed]
2014 Raag Yes Yes Yes Cameo role
Nominated for Prag Cine Awards 2014 - Best Director
Nominated for Prag Cine Awards 2014 - Best Screenplay 		[13]
2014 Mary Kom Yes [14]
2014 The Shaukeens Yes [15]
2017 III Smoking Barrels Yes [16]
2019 Jwlwi - The Seed Yes Yes Yes Yes Winner of Prag Cine Awards - Best Film (Other Than Assamese)[12] Winner of Sailadhar Baruah Memorial Film Awards - Best Screen Writer[12]
Winner of Guwahati International Film Festival - Special Jury Award[10]
Winner of Bengaluru International Film Festival - Special Jury Mention[11] 		[17]
2022 Goodbye Yes Directed by Vikas Bahl and starring Amitabh Bachchan
2023 Rana Naidu Yes Netflix web series
2023 Gorai Phakhri Yes Yes Yes Yes Winner of Kolkata International Film Festival - Best Film in Indian Language’s Films category[18]
Winner of Sailadhar Baruah Awards - Best Director and Best Art Director[19]Winner of Nepal International Film Festival - Best Film

Winner of North East India Film Festival - Best Sound Winner of Indian Film Festival Stuttgart - Director's Vision Award

[20]

References

  1. ^ a b Das, Gourab (31 May 2019). "Actress to screen conflict tale in rural BTAD". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "A new Bodo film tells the story of Assam's bloody past". The Indian Express. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  3. ^ "A distinctive voice" (PDF). Assam Tribune. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "AxisBank_Dil Se Open_The Chair - Hindi". Axis Bank. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. ^ "North-East actress Rajni Basumatary becomes brand Ambassador of SVEEP". The Economic Times. PTI. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Happy To Tell Stories Depicting Horror Of AFSPA: Assam Filmmaker Rajni Basumatary On Her Film 'Jwlwi - The Seed'". Outlook India. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Jwlwi The Seed". Wishberry. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Jwlwi - The Seed". Bengaluru International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Jwlwi - The Seed". Pune International Film Festival. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Curtains down on Guwahati international film festival". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Panghrun wins Best Film, Special Jury Award for Biriyaani at BIFFES 2020". Cinestaan. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Sailadhar Baruah Memorial Film Awards Announced". Pratidin Time. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Rajni Basumatary – The director of Raag, an exclusive interview". Creativica. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  14. ^ Dasgupta, Piyali (31 May 2014). "Delhi-based filmmaker debuts in Bollywood as Priyanka Chopra's mother". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  15. ^ "North-East actress Rajni Basumatary becomes brand Ambassador of SVEEP". The Economic Times. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  16. ^ "III Smoking Barrels set for premiere in prestigious German Film Festival". South Asia Views. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Actress to screen conflict tale in rural BTAD". Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  18. ^ "KIFF ends with a bang, Israeli film wins best film title". The Statesman. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  19. ^ "SBFA Awards History - Sailadhar Baruah Film Awards". Sbfilmawards.co.in. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  20. ^ Khan, Murtaza Ali (24 September 2023). "An all-female cast makes 'Gorai Phakri' unique: Basumatary". The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  • Official website
  • Rajni Basumatary at IMDb