OTTplay at BIFFes! Making Semkhor was tough, but it was worth the effort: Actress-director Aimee Baruah

Popular Assamese actress Aimee Baruah is in Bengaluru currently, where she presented her directorial debut, Semkhor at the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes). The film explores the practices, customs, and folk notions of the Samsa tribe of Semkhor, who live a life secluded from the outside world. Oppression of women is quite normal among the people of Semkhor, by virtue of their customs, rituals and ancient beliefs, which is another aspect the film takes a closer look at. The film has been made in the Dimasa language, a dialect spoken by the ethno-linguistic community after whom it is named in parts of Assam and Nagaland.

Talking about her experience of making the film, Aimee says, “I came across Semkhor quite by accident, when I read about it on a scrap of paper. At that point of time, I didn’t know anything about Semkhor or Dimasa people or that I would end up doing the first film about the people. Semkhor is a very remote area, where there are no technological advancements whatsoever, no hospitals, schools, mobile phones, etc. When I went there for the first time, I was quite surprised. Getting to Semkhor is a 55-minute uphill trek from the nearest motorable road. Since it is nestled amid nature, this also means that you tend to encounter scorpions, snakes and leeches on this trek. On my first visit, I was not able to speak to anyone because I did not know the language. My next trip to Semkhor was a year later, by which time I had picked up a fair bit of the language.”

Aimee, who plays the protagonist in the film, says that to get into character she began walking barefoot several months before filming began. “I stopped washing my hair for a while and did not get any of my routine beauty parlour services done for a few months. I also wore the traditional attire of the Samsa tribe for the month that we were shooting the film. It was, no doubt, difficult, but looking at the final product is immensely satisfying,” she adds.

Semkhor people, says Aimee, are extremely traditional in their ways. “For instance, they don’t use any oil in their cooking, and use salt water from the wells in the area. They grow their own food and have the most natural existence I have ever seen. In fact, I asked a woman from Semkhor why they are not interested in embracing modernity and mingling with people outside their community, and her response to that was a question as to whether any of that made me truly happy. Her question made me introspect if I was really happy and, truth be told, I am not sure. She, though, said that they are happy with life the way it is,” she signs off.