Partha Sarathi Mahanta, Mina Mahanta, Indrani Baruah felicitated in Assam edition of Filmfare Awards

Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 12 : The Director and Producer of the animated documentary film 'Lachit - The Warrior' were honoured on the platform of the prestigious Filmfare Awards, marking another exceptional achievement.

Partha Sarathi Mahanta, who is currently posted as the IGP of Assam police and director of the animated documentary film and producer Mina Mahanta, Indrani Baruah were felicitated in the Assam edition of the Filmfare award ceremony which was held in Guwahati.

'Lachit-The Warrior' - an animated documentary film on the legendary Ahom Military General, which has bagged 21 awards (best documentary) in various International Film festivals so far. 'Lachit The Warrior' was also selected in the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India 2023 at Goa.

This animated film has been created, curated and directed by Dr Partha Sarathi Mahanta IGP (Admin/CWR/STF/BIEO), Assam.

The film has been produced by Mina Mahanta and Indrani Baruah. Narration is by Dr Amarjyoti Choudhury and Anupam Mahanta is the Creative Editor.

The Great Ahom General Lachit Barphukan - this is a fascinating story dating back to the medieval period. The Mughals in their quest to expand their empire had carried out seventeen savage attacks on Assam with mixed results. The longest military campaign against Assam was in the 1660s during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's reign. In 1662 Aurangzeb had sent Mir Jumla to conquer Assam and Mir Jumla did conquer Assam. The Ahom king became a vassal to the Badshah.

The Mughals set their Fauzdari in Western Assam. In 1663 Chakraddhaj Singha became the King of Assam. As soon as he ascended the throne he embarked on a mission to drive out the Mughals from Assam. That set him on a search for an able military commander. He finally decided on Lachit and made him the commander-in-chief of the army, a decision that would change the course of history. Lachit launched his counteroffensive in 1667 and through exemplary planning and strategy succeeded in defeating the mighty Mughals and drove them out of Assam.

That prompted Aurangzeb to send a much bigger force led by Raja Man Singh with Rashid Khan as his co-commander to reconquer Assam. This was a huge force that vastly outnumbered Lachit's men. The USP of the Mughal army was its cavalry comprising 18000 Turkic horses. Lachit exhibiting tremendous foresight forced the Mughal army into a naval battle which was their Achilles hill. The final battle, the battle of Saraighat was fought in 1671. There was a setback- Lachit fell seriously ill.

But the courageous commander that he was Lachit ignoring his illness threw himself into the battle thus boosting the morale of his men. And a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Mughals. It was a decisive victory for Assam.

"Lachit is an inspiration for us because he has demonstrated that even the mighty powers like Mughals can be stopped and our identity can be preserved and protected. This is a rare exception made by Filmfare. Filmfare does not have a documentary segment. In their glorious history Filmfare has never accorded this honour to any non feature film. But in this case, Filmfare has honoured Lachit The Warrior with a special AV presentation and felicitation to the Director and Producer," said Partha Sarathi Mahanta.

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