Rima Das National Award-winning film Village Rockstars, which was Indias entry to Oscars 2019, has now been included as a chapter in the English textbook of schools in Assam.
‘My dad was a school teacher and my mom ran a printing press. I was preparing to be a teacher. We’ve been a family that placed a lot of emphasis on education. Of all my achievements, my parents are most proud of this one and this has made me very happy. The entire Village Rockstars team is very happy!’ said Das.
The story of the film is now part of the srandard VII English textbook in Assam. The chapter Dhunu’s Guitar talks about the journey of the film and narrates its story.
In April 2019, the SCERT team was developing the new middle school textbooks under the leadership of Dr Mizo Prova Borah. Professor Padmini Baruah, the reviewer, felt that the children in Assam could learn from Rima Das’ journey, and become familiar with the slice of Assam her film had brought home.
They approached Rima and she agreed. Mizo Baidew, with the complete support of the SCERT director Dr Nirada Devi managed to put the official procedure in place, and so history was made.
‘I feel blessed that the children of Assam will be exposed to new ideas and get a glimpse of my filmmaking journey. I hope to see a new generation of filmmakers from Assam. Many thanks to Toronto International Film Festival who premiered Village Rockstars and believed in us’, Das added. Village Rockstars tells the journey of 10-year-old Dhunu, who comes from a humble village background in Assam and dreams of owning a guitar. Das’ films Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing premiered on Netflix earlier this year. (IANS)
