Need to counter NE misrepresentation, says filmmaker Sanjoy Hazarika at JMI seminar

New Delhi, Nov 27 Speaking at a seminar on films from the North East at Jamia Millia Islamia, filmmaker Sanjoy Hazarika highlighted the responsibility of media and filmmakers in countering misrepresentation, an official said on Thursday.

Speaking at JMI’s Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (CNESPR), during a two-day national seminar, Hazarika said that cinema, literature and theatre together serve as enduring repositories of memory, resistance, and imagination.

Delivering the keynote address at the seminar titled ‘Locating Marginalities within Margins: Films from North East India’ that concluded on Thursday, Hazarika noted that the location of films in the region, including OTT platforms, underlined the move away from conflict and violence towards rural and urban communities, businesses and film communities.

The seminar was sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education, Government of India, New Delhi, said a statement issued by Saima Saeed, Chief Public Relations Officer, JMI.

The inaugural session was held at the Conference Room of CNESPR and attended by participants from various parts of the country.

Prof. Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Registrar, JMI, presided over the inaugural session, with Prof. Mohd Muslim Khan, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, JMI, as a special guest.

The inaugural session began with a welcome address from Prof. M Amarjeet Singh, Director of the CNESPR. Dr Debajit Bora, Assistant Professor, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus and co-convener of the seminar, introduced the theme and set the context for the deliberations ahead.

Prof. Mohd. Muslim Khan recalled the early years of Indian cinema, where visibility of the North East was limited, referring to well-known artists like Danny Denzongpa.

He noted that the cinematic representation of the region has evolved significantly, gaining national recognition through multiple award-winning films such as Crossing Bridges, Headhunter, Axone and others that reflect displacement, cultural transformation and everyday socio-political realities of northeastern communities.

In his presidential remarks, Prof. Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Registrar, JMI, highlighted the need for mainstream Indian cinema to consciously incorporate local languages, indigenous narratives and regional voices, recommending the inclusion of linguistic representation in films shot in the northeast as a meaningful move towards cultural inclusivity and equity.

--IANS

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