When Naga delicacy ‘Axone’ smells different in cities

[caption id="attachment_281026" align="alignright" width="300"] Nicholas Lemtur Kharkongor[/caption] Reyivolü Rhakho Kohima, Nov. 2 (EMN): The story of “Axone”, a film about people from Northeast cooking the Naga household delicacy in a city, is not only packed with humour and emotions, but also projects prejudices against north-eastern people in their own country. In an exclusive interview with Eastern Mirror, Nicholas Lemtur Kharkongor, director of the movie, shared his insights on the making of his film “Axone”, including his inspirations, the issues he wished to portray, and the roadblocks along the way. The director, who was born and brought up in Mokokchung town and has worked in theatre and film for over 20 years. Through the film, he said, he wanted to tell a very strong story about racism. However, his story of racism does not limit to the Northeast people alone but is a commentary on the prejudices of North easterners against each other within the communities. “I was very clear that I didn’t want to make a very biased film where we only see North easterners being the victims, because the truth is that there is so much prejudice directed against the non-north easterners. I have seen non-north easterners being at the receiving end of prejudice and racism,” he said, adding that “prejudice is everywhere”. He said he wished to project racism against north easterners staying in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Bengaluru as well as highlight the prejudices within the north-eastern community, and against the non-tribals, through the movie. “We are not free from prejudices and that we also have to fight these concerns,” he said, throwing the point that the film is “very balanced”. Apart from bringing to light the issue of racism in his film, the director also tried to break barriers involving NE features. “The idea of acceptance of faces is also very fickle and it’s really in the mind,” he said. He gave the example of Indian film actor Danny Denzongpa, who is a native of Gangtok, Sikkim and acted in Bollywood films. “That’s because he was able to break that barrier and the people accepted him as an actor which went beyond the face,” he said. Interestingly, his inspiration for the film came from a very regular yet essential Naga food product, the fermented soybean paste. The simple act of cooking axone in Delhi or in any other city was what enthused him, he said. The starting point of looking at differences when living in the city is when one starts cooking something like axone and fermented dry fish, which tend to offer a pungent smell. “All of a sudden the neighbours get in and create havoc,” he said adding that it was around these incidents that he started building his characters and the relationships. Although there were a lot of challenges in the making of the film, he said, casting was a big problem. He wanted 80% of actors from the North-east but there weren’t many in the field. “It took a long time just finding the actors, work shopping with them, and getting them to perform,” he said. Working with a small budget and making it look good was another issue. The film was shot in the heat of Delhi summer and trying to sustain a 30-day shot under such weather condition was stressful, he recalled. The film industry in Nagaland, he said, was growing and getting better. He lauded a locally produced film “Nana: A tale of us” and added that “because of ‘Dreamz Unlimited’ and its director Tiakumzuk Aier, you also have actors and that’s wonderful”. He felt that more filmmakers are required to tell stories. Kharkongor’s message to the upcoming filmmakers was to work hard as there are many stories to tell, which ‘only we can tell ourselves’. “To surmount the obstacles and deficiencies in you, groom yourself, hone your skills, and make yourself a better filmmaker,” he encouraged. “I’ve worked very hard, I am very disciplined. I am at work at 8’oclock in the morning and this is in Mumbai, not in the Northeast. Realising that you know very little and that there is so much you have to pick up, (it) involves a lot of hard work,” he said. The director also revealed that his upcoming project is about ‘history of Nagaland,’ a film that is “very close” to his heart. “Nagaland has a chequered history and how it evolved as a state is quite fascinating. It’s a lot more interesting than the other states,” Kharkongor said. “It’s a story of 40 years of a woman’s life with the backdrop of Nagaland; how it (Nagaland) changed from initially being opposed to be a part of India to the whole cessations’ movement that had happened, to the formation of NSCN later, the underground, and the conflicts with the army, devastation that came about, which is being borne by the people,” he informed. He said that he is currently working on the script of this big budget film and has a couple of other smaller films on hand. But at the moment, all eyes are on “Axone” which is expected to hit the theatres soon. He said the one-hour-thirty-seven-minute film will be released “in a month if we are lucky”. The film director said that he did not have any specific target but was happy at the well-received trailer of the movie. Produced by Yoodlee films, “Axone” was premiered at the London Film Festival and debuted in India at the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI), both in the month of October 2019.