Semkhor Explained

Semkhor
Director:	Aimee Baruah
Producer:	Aimee Baruah, Mala Baruah
Screenplay:	Jintumoni Kalita, Sasanka Samir, Uday Bhaskar Patar, Aimee Baruah
Starring:	Aimee Baruah
Music:	Amrit Pritam
Cinematography:	Pradip Daimary
Editing:	Rantu Chetia
Studio:	Aimee Baruah Production Society
Distributor:	Rajat Goswami
Runtime:	93 min
Language:	Dimasa

Semkhor is a 2021 Indian Dimasa-language film directed by Aimee Baruah. This was the first-ever film in the Dimasa language screened as the opening feature film of the Indian Panorama in 2021. The film depicts the life of a village lady, a mother of 14 children.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Synopsis

A Samsa man named Diro participates in the hangseu bisu in a nearby hamlet, which results in his confinement and eventual death. As a result, Diro's wife is left in charge of raising his three kids alone. She has a variety of events while working as an assistant midwife that she loathes. If a woman dies while she is pregnant, Semkhor tradition dictates that the newborn be buried with the mother alive. At the age of just 11, Diro's widow married Dinar to her one and only daughter, Muri. Sadly, Muri passes away right after giving birth to a girl. How Diro's wife gives Muri's child fresh life in a culture where women aren't even allowed to make decisions is like a sign of a new dawn in Semkhor.^[4]

Cast

• Prateek Hagjer
• Aimee Baruah

Awards

!Year!Award!Category!Result

2022	68th National Film Awards	Special Jury Mention	^[5]
		Best Feature Film in Dimasa
2022	20th Dhaka International Film Festival Award	Special Audience Award	^[6]
2021	Kautik International Film Festival	Best Feature Film
2021	Toronto International Women Film Festival	Best Actress

Reception

• The heroine and her various misfortunes serve as the vehicle via which Aimee Baruah deftly explores a wide range of social and cultural concerns and evils. The visual depiction of the town where the story takes place away from the bustle of city life.^[7]

Controversy

• The Dimasa people said in a letter to the president that the movie had given a distorted account of their rituals, traditions, and way of life. Additionally, the Dimasa organizations pleaded with the president to stop any press coverage of the movie's director, Aimee Baruah.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}
• Aimee Baruah, the film's director, is the subject of a FIR for allegedly "misrepresenting" Dimasa culture and feeding prejudices against the group.^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}
• At least five Dimasa organizations claim that an infant who was 84 days old died while Aimee Baruah's Semkhor, which has been the subject of intense controversy, was being filmed.^{[16] [17]}

Notes and References

1. News: TodayNE . India . 'Semkhor', Dimasa language film by Aimee Baruah, to be screened at Berlin International Film Festival . 23 July 2022 . India Today NE . . 12 February 2022 . en.
2. News: Mallick . Sharmili . 7 November 2020 . A youth from Odisha will be seen in a lead role in an international movie 'Semkhor'- based on the life of the indigenous Dimasa tribe of Assam, a north-eastern state of India. . en . . . 23 July 2022.
3. News: Dash . Devleena . Assam's Aimee Baruah Marks An Impressive Debut At The Cannes . 23 July 2022 . . 1 June 2022 . en.
4. Web site: Pune International Film Festival . 2022-10-25 . www.piffindia.com.
5. News: Bureau . The Hindu . 68th National Film Awards Updates . 23 July 2022 . The Hindu . 22 July 2022 . en-IN.
6. Web site: Award 2022 DHAKA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL . DHAKA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL . 23 July 2022 . 23 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220723052834/http://www.dhakafilmfestival.org/award-2022/ . dead .
7. Web site: Chatterjee . Ambar . 2022-09-25 . Poignant & heart-wrenching, Aimee Baruah's 'Semkhor' is bound to stir up a storm . 2022-10-25 . EastMojo . en-US.
8. Web site: Press Trust of India . 2022-09-30 . Dimasas request President Murmu to stop screening of national award-winning film 'Semkhor' . 2022-10-25 . EastMojo . en-US.
9. News: PTI . 2022-09-30 . Dimasas request President Murmu to stop screening of National Award-winning film 'Semkhor' . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-10-25 . 0971-751X.
10. Web site: 2022-09-29 . Infant cast in 'Semkhor' died due to filmmaker Aimee's negligence: Dimasa outfits . 2022-10-25 . Deccan Herald . en.
11. Web site: Khan . Fatima . 2022-10-25 . Assaulted By Classmate: How Dental Student Vania Sheikh Was Driven To Her Death . 2022-10-25 . TheQuint . en.
12. News: Kumar . Abhijeet . 2022-09-26 . National Award winning film 'Semkhor' in legal soup for alleged misrepresentation of Dimasa culture . en-IN . The Hindu . 2022-10-25 . 0971-751X.
13. Web site: 2022-09-30 . Stop screening of 'Semkhor' film, Dimasa groups ask President Murmu . 2022-10-25 . Hindustan Times . en.
14. Web site: EastMojo . Team . 2022-09-29 . 'Semkhor': Nagaland Dimasa body condemns wrong depiction of community in film . 2022-10-25 . EastMojo . en-US.
15. Web site: Scroll Staff . Assam: Dimasa community demands ban on movie 'Semkhor' alleging false portrayal of their customs . 2022-10-25 . Scroll.in . en-US.
16. Web site: NEWS . NE NOW . 2022-09-30 . Assam: Dimasa bodies allege death of 3-month-old baby during shooting of Aimee Baruah's Semkhor . 2022-10-25 . NORTHEAST NOW . en-US.
17. Web site: 2022-09-30 . Dimasa bodies allege 3-month-old baby died during shooting of Semkhor . 2022-10-25 . The Meghalayan . en-US.