Director Nicholas Kharkongor’s movie xone will be screened at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival and the 21st Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
The film deals with racism in a comic way. Set in Delhi over the course of one day, Axone revolves around two girls from the Northeast who set out to cook a pungent dish called Axone, to celebrate the wedding of another friend. Neighbours hate the smell of the dish, and soon the girls have to face outright racism and upheavals of interpersonal relationships.
Excited about the screenings, the filmmaker said: “This is a very personal story. I have lived outside the Northeast for over 20 years. For a long time, I have wanted to make a film about the Northeastern experience of living in the city – about a tiny community of (mostly) young people who, in the way that they look, eat, dress and speak – sets them apart from the rest.
“But I didn’t want to make a bleak film. Because the truth is also that we find a lot of acceptance and love in the city; and for many of us, the city is home. So the result is this funny and bittersweet film that gives you a peek into the lives of an oft-maligned community living on the fringes of society, celebrating their difference.”
Axone, produced by Yoodlee Films, stars actors Vinay Pathak and Sayani Gupta. The London Film Festival will go on from October 2 to 13, while Mami takes place from October 17 to 24. (IANS)
