American Academy print key to Sikkim release

The government may have lifted the ban on Satyajit Ray’s controversial documentary Sikkim, made 39 years ago, but it would have to buy a copy of the film’s print from the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences of the US to make it available to the Indian audience.

“If the Indian government wants to make Sikkim available for screening, it will probably have to purchase a copy of the restored print from the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences,” said Satyajit’s filmmaker son Sandip.

Commissioned by the Chogyal (ruler) of Sikkim in the late 1960s, the 52-minute documentary made in 1971 was banned by the government when the Himalayan kingdom merged with India in 1975.

The copyright of the film was later transferred to the Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim.

Taking Ray by surprise, Sikkim came under double censorship — first from the Chogyal and then from the India government.

“The king and the queen of Sikkim had objected to a very interesting scene showing a royal feast. The queen Hope Cooke said it was ‘wicked’. So Baba had to cut a few shots but he was not happy with it at all. He had never faced such a situation before,” recalled Sandip.

“Baba was also taken aback when the India government decided to ban Sikkim because it highlighted the monarchy. Baba had always maintained that what the documentary showed was part of history.”

Locating a “workable” print of Sikkim for restoration turned out to be an arduous task.

A print that the Satyajit Ray Society retrieved from the Chogyal’s family was damaged beyond repair. Finally, a print that had made its way to London was traced and restored by the Academy of Motion Picture.

Sandip saw the restored copy a few years back at the Nantes Three Continents Film Festival in France.

“Sikkim was part of a Satyajit Ray retrospective at the festival that year. It was very nostalgic for me,” said Sandip.

“Baba had been to this festival before, and shooting the documentary had been very difficult for him. We had gone to places like Lachen where it was very difficult to travel at that time. There was no electricity and we would work at night in candlelight. But despite the cuts, I think Sikkim would still be a very interesting documentary to see.”

Khoto Sikko - A hit Marwari Movie

Gangtok, Sept. 14: After a successful week in Siliguri, Khoto Sikko, the first film in a language spoken by migrant Marwaris, is all set to be screened in Gangtok on September 21 and 23.
The Rs 22-lakh movie has been directed by Rakesh Somani and produced by his brother Rajesh Somani.
“This is the first film in the newly evolved Marwari language spoken by people who have migrated from Rajasthan over the years to all over the country and abroad. The language spoken by Marwaris living outside their traditional strongholds of Marwar in Rajasthan is totally different,” said Rakesh Somani.
Describing the the newly evolved dialect “migrated Marwari” or “common Marwari language”, the director said: “With the influence of different cultures and languages, particularly Hindi, a new face of Marwari language has emerged. The vocabulary and prosody is different when compared to the classical variants of the language spoken across Rajasthan. The differences are so marked that at times it becomes difficult for the migrated Marwaris to understand or relate to films made and released in Rajasthan. This is probably the reason why Marwari films do not do well outside the state. Khoto Sikko seeks to promote the versatile Marwari language and culture and prevent its gradual disappearance from the community.”
According him, the 2 hour 15 minute film is a family drama that revolves around the protagonist played by Rounak Somani. The movie has six songs.
Shooting for the film started in August last year.

“We completed the movie in January but we could not release it straightway as the distributors were unwilling to take risks on a film based on the new Marwari language for the first time,” said Rakesh.

In July, the film was screened for a week at a theatre in Siliguri. “We got good response during the 21 shows. Around 6,000 people watched and appreciated the movie,” he said.
After the screening in Gangtok on September 21 and 23, the film is scheduled to hit the theatres in Guwahati around mid-October.

“After Diwali we will screen the film in Jaipur and in Calcutta. Later we plan to show the movie in Delhi, Jodhpur and Ahmedabad as well,” Rajesh added.

The movie has been shot extensively in Sikkim. Editing was done in Gangtok while the final mixing was done in Mumbai.

“The main plot of the film is based on a popular Marwari proverb: Khoto sikko aur kapoot adi mahi kaam aawe (a useless coin and a spoilt brat are both useful in times of adversity),” said B.P. Bajgai, the assistant director.

“It is the first movie that has the potential of being a truly Marwari film in the present Indian context. We have already got good response from the community,” said Rakesh