Nabon Sawian was the first Khasi woman to embrace Christianity in the late 19th century. But in doing so, she had to accept humiliation, torture and ostracism. The new film, Nabon: A Journey of Faith, tells the story of this gritty young woman who, despite her untimely death at 25, became a part of the tribe’s colonial history.
Directed by KK Kharlukhi, Nabon is the first period drama in Khasi. The film, produced by the KJP Synod Sepngi to commemorate 175 years of the coming of the Gospel to Khasi Hills, was recently screened at Dorbar Hall, Mission Compound, in Mawkhar for two weeks and drew huge crowds across age groups.
The film begins with the narration of Nabon about the arrival of Welsh missionary Thomas Jones and his wife Anne Jones to Khasi Hills and the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this northeastern tribe. A young Nabon first encounters the “white man” during a visit to Nongsawlia with her father and siblings. It is there that she sees a quill pen for the first time and hears the words ‘alphabet’ and ‘education’. While her father, a far-sighted man, sees the importance of education and insists on making his children, especially a bright Nabon, literate, elders in the tribe predict the pernicious effects of education.
Despite such objections, Nabon’s mother sends her to the mission school in Nongsawlia to keep the promise she made to her dying husband.
The mission school, run by Welsh missionaries, not only gives her the opportunity to study but enlightens her spiritually. Her quest for knowledge and to know the mysteries of nature is finally satiated when she reads the verses in the Bible. She decides to dedicate her life to the service of Jesus, the son of God, and follow his teachings.
However, neither her mother nor the clan approves of her decision and castigates her for bringing doom to the tribe. They banish her in the name of tradition.
But Nabon’s determination to follow her heart and mind remains unaltered.
Lasubon Lyngkhoi, who played the protagonist, is a newcomer. Despite this, the maturity that the 21-year-old woman, who was selected during an audition, has shown on screen is laudable. A complete transformation from an effervescent young woman to a quiet and composed Nabon is no mean feat for someone who had never faced the camera before.
Lyngkhoi said she got the film offer just before her higher secondary examination and “it was a challenge to juggle studies and acting”.
“But given a choice between acting and studies, the former is easier to do,” she said coyly outside the Dorbar Hall as some visitors waited at a distance for a photo opportunity with the young and talented actress.
Lyngkoi, who is a student at an industrial training institute, is happy with the film’s success and appreciation that she received so far from the audience. The film has already travelled to several festivals in the country, including the Kolkata International Film Festival 2018.
The actress had to take a break from the interview as an elderly woman came out of the hall crying and wanted to meet the “beautiful actress”. As Lyngkhoi approached the woman, she embraced the actress and blessed her for playing the critical role. She also insisted on taking a photograph with Lyngkhoi.
“The biggest compliment has come from my parents who have liked my role in the movie. But I come from a conservative family and would not mind me acting in the future provided the films have a religious subject as Nabon,” said Lyngkhoi as she settled on the chair. She added that her father had come to watch the film a few days back.
Nabon is more a historical movie than religious as Lyngkhoi said. The story and the script have been prepared after a thorough research by HB Kharlukhi, who was a member of the KJP Synod. He started his research in 1971 and left no stone unturned to segregate facts from fiction. “The research part was difficult as Nabon died at an early age and we are not sure whether she had children. So finding her descendants was difficult. Of course, there are some documents at the Nongsawlia Presbyterian church,” said Rev TT Diengdoh, the chairman of Christian Multimedia Industry.
In terms of documentation, the film is a novel initiative. Director Kharlukhi said it was not easy to recreate 1841, especially when the budget, which was a little over Rs 25 lakh, was limited. “We had to hunt for the right location, props and costumes. It was providence that we found the correct location without a modern structure or blacktopped road to create hindrance,” said Kharlukhi.
Nabon, which is Kharlukhi’s second feature film, was shot in Sohra, Nongsawlia and Mawphlang.
The props, the director informed, were provided by villagers. “Even the guns used by the British soldiers in the movie were provided by them. This too is providence,” he added.
The film shows the picturesque beauty of Khasi Hills and the opening top shot gives a glimpse of that beauty.
Kharlukhi, who is a documentary and short filmmaker, admitted that the biggest challenge was training the actors as most of them were facing the camera for the first time. “On the other hand they were easier to mould as none of them was influenced by any style of acting,” he added.
Also, logistical problem like arranging transport for the 200-odd actors, who came from different parts of Khasi Hills, was difficult, said the director. “But they were all punctual and were always present on the set before the crew members reached.”
Talking about the response to the film outside the state, Kharlukhi said audience in all the states were appreciative as the film depicts “a relatively unknown culture that piqued their interest”.
Kharlukhi, who is also a writer and has authored several books, is already working on his next project and is also planning to adopt his popular stories as screenplay.
Nabon has not been released in theaters in the state. Diengdoh said the KJP Synod is open to public viewing in localities if requests come from the respective Presbyterian churches. It is also trying to tie up for online platform like Netflix.
Nabon is quintessentially a Khasi movie and an attempt to document and depict history.
Kharlukhi, while talking about the problems faced by the local film industry, says language is always a constraint as Khasi films have limited viewership. “Also, film culture is yet to develop among people here,” he observed.
The senior filmmaker feels the movie industry needs more patronage for better infrastructure. “For instance, there are not many cinemas here and this is an impediment to the growth of Khasi films,” he said.
~ NM