Ajeyo

Plot

The story of Ajeyo takes place in a village of Assam in 1946, just some time before India’s independence and partition. Gojen Keot (Rupam Chetia), an honest yet short-tempered young man, lives alone with his grandmother. By doing some odd jobs here and there, he struggles to earn proper livelihood. He supports Gandhi and believes that once India becomes independent, social injustice will end. Though he dropped out of school, he tutors the no-caste Muslim girl Hasina (Jupitora Bhuyan). Once as a rookie participant in the freedom struggle he failed to deliver a note to a team of marching protesters against the British that caused the lives of two freedom fighters. He regularly battles ghosts of his past related to this incident.

Most of the film involves Gojen’s defiant rebellion of the richest man in town, who sees India's partition as an opportunity for land grabbing. Gojen also fights against caste restrictions and child marriage. He helps Joba (Munmi Kalita), a Brahmin girl widowed at age 18, to elope with freedom fighter Madan Sharma (Kopil Bora) against the wishes of her father. Later he marries Hasina and leaves the village.

The story then flashforwards to contemporary Assam, as Gojen’s granddaughter (Rimpi Das), a high-ranking policewoman, is continuing her grandfather's fight against the social evils.

Cast

Production

The muhurat of the film was held on 30 November 2012 in Guwahati. The primary shooting of the film took place from 4 January 2013 near Dhola in Sadiya and later in Tinsukia. Rupam Chetia went through training for four months before filming. In the original novel by Arun Sharma, there was a grandson instead of a granddaughter of Gojen. According to director Jahnu Barua, "the male character, Keot, sees the past while the girl is progressive through whom Keot sees a ray of hope, again." Barua also mentioned that it was inspired from his mother who studied only till class two but managed 11 children and the household.

Release

The film was released in Assam on 3 January 2014. Before the release, Ajeyo was screened at two film festivals. The film was first screened at 15th Mumbai Film Festival, which was held from 17 to 24 October 2013. Later it was screened at 6th Bengaluru International Film Festival, which was held from 26 December 2013 to 2 January 2014. Ajeyo was also screened at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014 held from 1 to 9 February 2014.

Critical response

Ajeyo has received positive reviews. The performances of Rupam Chetia and Jupitora Bhuyan were highly praised.

Accolades

Ajeyo received eleven Prag Cine Awards nominations and won in two categories including Best Film. It was also awarded as Best Feature Film in Assamese in 61st National Film Awards. Preceding Baandhon, it was the second consecutive win for director Jahnu Barua in this category. It was also the 12th National Award for Barua.

Ajeyo was also included in the "Special 10 of the Year (2014)" list published annually by Jeevan Initiative, a voluntary association. The film made to the list due to its reflection of social situations around the independence era and people’s survival struggle to face the situation in an artistically–unique style and down to earth film-making.