By Rajoshree Das
A rock singer takes up the cause of farmers and sends out a warning to the blinkered populace on the gradual degeneration of the socio-economic fabric. It is not an easy task, especially for someone who is accustomed to the glitzy city life. But that is Sanat Basaiawmoit — singer, lyricist, critic, actor, scriptwriter and filmmaker.
Talking about his latest project, Jingmaham (‘warning’ in English), which will be released soon, Basaiawmoit says this film is “important to him and close to his heart”.
In every village and even inside a town, there is a system of putting up a signboard Jingmaham that talks about the dos and the don’ts. The title of the new film is inspired by this system and it signifies a warning to those who exploits poor farmers, says the 48-year-old artiste.
“Deep inside me the passion was hidden all these years and now that I have the chance I will continue working,” says Basaiawmoit while talking about the new venture. He is playing the lead character of a farmer, besides being the lyricist, co-scriptwriter and assistant director.
The film is directed by Munich N, who has co-authored the script.
Asked how difficult it is to play the role of a member of the down-trodden class when his life has always revolved around the city, Basaiawmoit says Shillong “is not too far from farmers”.
“Maybe it’s the only city where we see farmers in our day to day life. For instance, Iewduh is in the heart of the city but if you go there at 6 am you will see many farmers from villages around the city,” the actor explains.
The crew members took three years to finish the movie as they would often travel to the rural pockets and study the life and behaviour of the village folks. They improved and improvised on the acting skills at regular workshops.
But why a proletariat topic, one might wonder. Basaiawmoit has his argument ready. He says farmers are being exploited by middlemen who control the market.
“They do all the hard work like sowing and ploughing. They carry their produce to Iewduh only to be exploited. We have to eat food to live, we cannot eat money. So we have to respect and return the rights of the farmers,” Basaiawmoit explains earnestly.
“Jingmaham is an awareness. A time will come when farmers will stop working in the primary sector and look for other jobs for better profits. Ultimately there will be more congestion in the town resulting in unhealthy living,” he adds.
The film also talks about organic farming.
Basaiawmoit says the film was more than a project. “It was a learning experience. We came to know about the real problems of the poverty-stricken farmers of Khasi Hills. A message should be spread for their betterment and uplift.”
Music antra
Basaiawmoit’s creative journey started as a rock singer and lyricist. He had also acted in theatres.
Born and brought up in Shillong, his love for music was there in him since early age.
“Back from my college days, I always had passion for singing.” he says and goes on to talk about the difficulties back then as there were hardly any music school and one had to learn singing by listening to music and songs on tape recorder. Forming a music band was also a difficult task. But Basaiawmoit was determined to pursue his passion.
“Every time I would see some band performing I would have the urge to be on stage. It felt like the stage was pulling me,” he recollects.
“I have connection with the stage in different ways and it saddens me to get out of the stage as it’s like my second home,” he says referring to his current career in films.
As a rock singer he always tried to put effort to hold up to the originality by focusing on building own rhythm and music that would stand out but to his disappointment he couldn’t always find such enthusiastic and dedicated people. To find a like-minded creative partner was not easy for Basaiawmoit but he never lost his optimism and focus.
Eventually the struggling musician got his big break when he formed ‘Arkaitor’ (ar means two and kaitor is artiste), a rock band, with Samuel Lyngdoh. His debut self-titled album was an experimental fusion of power metal based on a metaphorical concept from the Khasi mythology and social evils, mainly female infanticide. The album was well received by audience and was also played in All India Radio.
Just before the launch of his debut album he was an important part of Shillong Chamber Choir. He was associated with them for quite some time and performed around the country as well. He left the choir because of personal differences with them and chose to take a different path that led to the formation of the band.
Basaiawmoit was associated with many talent shows as a judge soon after his debut album. He was a judge in ‘Meghalaya’s Superstar’ and ‘Meghalaya’s Got Talent’, and for its second season he was an advisor.
He even judged many Catholic Church Choirs. He was also in the panel of Casio The Pianist.
“They approached me to judge their show but I didn’t have much knowledge about it. They told me they needed me as a critic as I have so much knowledge as a musician,” he says, adding, “I really appreciated their noble cause for this show and agreed to be a part of it.”
Basaiawmoit was also a part of the 1st International Theatre Festival in Dhaka. This was the beginning of another creative journey. He performed in one of the stage shows which was well received by audience and since then he has developed his passion for acting. In fact, he has played his part in a few Khasi films. “Acting excites my nerves and the creativity in me takes shape to help me nail my performance,” he asserts.
“When you believe in yourself no matter what hurdles are there in life you somehow make things work,” says Basaiawmoit when asked what gets him going in the competitive creative world.
