- Arup Jyoti Das
Local Utpaat (Written and Directed by Kenny Basumatary) comes from the franchisee of Local Kung Fu (2013), a martial art-based sit-com, which introduced a new genre to the Assamese cinema by attracting young audiences to the film and was a much-needed boost for Assamese commercial movies. This franchisee, along with Bornodi Bhotiyai (2019), was not only loved by young audiences but was also successful in shaping an identity for Assamese commercial cinema; which was missing for quite some time. Kenny’s confidence in making a very ‘indigenous’ action movie without having any influence from mainstream (Hindi or South) commercial Indian cinema is commendable. He is very successful in understanding the vibes of the new generation of filmgoers who are exposed to ideas like ‘marvel cinematic universe’ and Korean movies. He is also successful in tapping the sentiments of the kids from the 80-90s who grew up in an environment of martial arts and street fight culture in Assam. Local Utpaat, is the 4th film from this franchisee (all made by Kenny), for which a loyal audience has been waiting since the release of Suspended Inspector Bodo (2018).
The film kicks off with a simple sequence where we see three friends, Amit (Bonny Deori), Johny (Johnny Deori), and Montu (Montu Deuri) trying a ride on the newly bought 2nd hand car of their landowner, Deben (Bibhash Singha) and end up in a comic situation where they ran out of petrol and had no money to fill it up. At the very beginning, audiences get an idea of what the rest of the film has in store for them.
The storyline of the film is very simple and deals with identical issues of the present time. Amit who lives with two other friends in a rented house is an ordinary young boy of the present time who is in search of employment. His girlfriend Maya (Poonam Gurung) who is an MMA (mixed martial arts) enthusiast belongs to a rich family. Amit who wants to marry Maya needs a job so that he can win over her father and family. Amit got selected for a govt. job, but was asked to bribe a hefty sum by a middle man. Amit’s elder brother, Robin (Kenny Basumatary) tries to manage the money with a failed attempt to trade his kidney. Maya’s ex-boyfriend, a rich guy, wants her back in his life with the help of a Break Up Guru, B.U.G (Tony Basumatary ), and his assistant (Himangsu Gogoi).
Conflicts have been built around this backdrop and have been cleverly used to create both comedy and pure action. This simple story has been narrated flawlessly with realistic dialogue, plot, and action.
Kenny has put a lot of hard work into building each and every character in the movie, and that is where he emerged as a craft man. Every single character is crafted with uniqueness whether it’s the Kidney stealing Doctor, the Middle man (Daalaal), or the Landowner, Deben. The character of the Landowner, who has the habit of walking while sleeping and has a unique way of speaking, could have contributed more to the story in terms of both humour and Action. The loyal audience of the franchisee will surely miss Bibhash Singha’s kicks and punches in Local Utppat, who has played the role of the Landowner.
Local Utpaat is not an easy film to make even if we keep the funding factor aside. To write such a compact screenplay and blend it with the right amount of pure action and comedy needs mastery. Despite having some loose moments, the film will not disappoint its audience in general and particularly those who have been following Local Kung fu and Utpaat genre in Assam. It should be mentioned here that the film has delivered some strong messages without being loud and imposing. For example, Maya asking Amit to get her sanitary pads is a strong and progressive statement.
A trademark of Local Utpaat and its franchisee is that almost every character in these films knows Martial Arts. This is where Kenny’s film has a resemblance with films like Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow. However, contrary to Chow’s unrealistic action, Kenny’s presentation of martial art in his films is realistic, believable, and local in nature. Local Utpaat is local (core to the soil) because of such an indigenous style. The term ‘Local’ when used in Assamese in socio-political and cultural context, it mostly means indigenous to the land of Assam. It is used for vegetables, communities and many more. Kenny smartly incorporated the term local in his movies to maintain a safe distance from Bollywood action movies, which is also copied by Assamese filmmakers sometimes.
(The writer can be reached at orupkoch@gmail.com)
