Nagamese movie, Nana- A tale of Us, stirs a campaign for change in Nagaland

Even before its release, the trailer of the movie Nana- A tale of Us crossed more than 50,000 views on YouTube and was much circulated on other mediums among the Nagas and in the circles of Nagaland. This anticipation much satisfied after its release on July 18 has not only generated positive reviews but also boosted up the efforts of the Dreamz Unlimited team whose satirical videos make solid connection with the people where impending political/ social issues are transpired. Some said the plot of the village life brought succinct memories back. Everyone approves of the realities of electioneering turpitudes the movie projects and this is what the election season would suggest and yes, we all painfully broke down on Nana’s passing in the end. Nagamese Creole language is not just confined to the commercial needs. It has proven its hallmark too. “Today at least we have built a strong identity from our own dialect that connects Nagas,” Khrieno, a lady commented on the movie.

The film has been produced by Aoyimti Youth Ministry in collaboration with the Dreamz Unlimited and Rain Drops Entertainment and directed by Dreamz Unlimited’s own director, Tiazumzuk Aier. Nana- A tale of Us is the third production, the other two movies previously produced in Ao dialect. The trailer has caught the eyes of the public and this is how the promotion went along. 52,000 copies of DVDs were neither the easiest to grab. Pre-booking and pre-orders also reflected the huge popularity.

Dreamz Unlimited as it is popularly known is in existence since 2008 as a theatre and drama production but started sharing videos on YouTube last year touching local and social issues with ironical twists, the director recalls. This viral attention has not collected huge fans across but such take at impacting changes has highly been appreciated. A recent video on YouTube this month after the release of the movie also gathered more than 10,000 views on YouTube in a single day and enormous shares on other social media sites. This is what the folks anticipate!

The movie sets to speak a multi-faceted tales- politics, society, family and friendship. Sensitivity, strengths, forgiveness, comprehensions defines the movie. Shot in a beautiful scenic setting of a typical Naga village life, the full fledged feature film depicts the shortage of amenities the villagers laments in hope of a bandwagon after another a round of election. The evils election pools in violence or money leading someone into nothingness. There is the role of family to friends, the consequence of negligence and incidence.

The Dreamz unlimited is around a ten member team including the technical persons. And yet through collaboration the movie became an assemblage of artists. “Since it’s a movie, we also have to rope in people with the talent and capability from outside and in upcoming major projects, we will do the same,” says the Director. When asked how Watipongla Jamir, the “Nana” in the movie was approached, he said knew about her ingeniousness from the church where he taught the children in the Sunday school. Although the cast for the role “Nana” was set to be a boy, it was Watipongla who became the fit for the same. Mengu Soukhrie, a singer and songwriter herself, shares that working with the team was indeed extremely testifying and humbling.

Limatula Nungshi, the movie’s script writer and the captionist says the take on Naga dialog runs in with a tinge of drama and enthuse. Clean election has emerged as a need for change in Nagaland and a chapter on clean election in a village setting is more sensitive and connects the people, she concluded. The movie was shot in three villages of Mokokchung district- Sungratsu, Impur and Mopungchuket village. Although the shooting didn’t take long, the movie took almost 11 months for its completion.

The movie has added a momentum to Dreamz Unlimited’s theme “Bringing a Change” that has become viral.

Ketholeno Neihu

( Ketholeno Neihu is a student of M.A. ( Third Semester) at the Centre for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication, Dibrugarh University. )

Photos courtesy: m.facebook.com/pg/DreamzUnlimitedNagaland, m.facebook.com/pg/mengusoukhrie