Explore the underlying themes of Rima Das’s heartwarming masterpiece Village Rockstars and live the story of Dhunu along every scene.
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Village Rockstars presents itself as a poetry in motion with the elements of nature, feminism, and coming-of-age drama. It is not a regular motivational movie but a cinematic brilliance that captivates the true essence of rural life with life-like visuals and excellent storytelling.
Rima Das’s creative masterpiece and Assam’s beautiful landscapes give life to this beautiful movie named Village Rockstars. A story about dreams and aspirations blooming amidst the alleys of a remote land, a tale of friendship and resilience. It is a movie that captures the essence of village life, rural poverty, and the creative minds of little dreamers.
Let us analyze the storyline of this movie, how Rima Das brought it to life behind the lenses, the underlying themes, the outstanding cast, and the numerous accomplishments that have placed this masterpiece on a global platform for cinema.
Things that brought together the essence of Village Rockstars
The captivating storyline
The entire movie revolves around its 10-year-old protagonist, “Dhunu,” a little girl from a village who aspires to be a rockstar. It gives us the title of the movie—Village Rockstars. By using little language and letting the camera convey the story, the movie rejects conventional storytelling techniques.
The story of Village Rockstars starts with Dhunu, her widowed mother, and her older brother Manabendra, who reside in a village that is close to Chaygaon in Assam, India. A band playing at a local event captivates her while she assists her mother in selling snacks. Then she observes the boys using Styrofoam musical instruments to perform their hits, and then she goes ahead and carves a guitar in imitation.
Dhunu, who is both impressive and persistent, decides she wants to start a band that plays actual instruments after reading a comic book. She starts setting aside rupees for the guitar. She concludes that having the guitar may be achieved by using positive thinking after reading something in a discarded newspaper. But when the family’s crops are destroyed by floods, Dhunu has to decide what matters most.
Each character tells a story
The 10-year-old Dhunu is the representation of various dreamers that are born into unfortunate circumstances and the societal norms that come along with a particular gender. In the movie, we see her breaking those chains of stereotypes and being unapologetically herself.
She befriends a bunch of boys from her village and hangs out with them. After her tuloni biya (ceremony involving the first period of a girl), she seems to be playing and climbing the trees the same way she did before despite being restricted by the women of the village. It is something that Rima Das is a master in presenting. Her characters are fresh and unapologetic, authentic and full of life, and it is something that comforts the audience.
Dhunu’s mother is the symbol of strength and resilience. She’s a widow who lost her husband during an episode of flood. He was too scared to swim and drowned in the waters. That’s why she decided to teach Dhunu and her sibling how to be brave.
She would not want her daughter to suffer the same fate as her mother. In order to swim across the length of a pond with strong, muddy tides, she holds Dhunu by hand. Even though life presents her with challenges on a daily basis, she is resilient and keeps getting back up after them.
The Beauty of a scenic village
Its setting—a lush, damp village—is a character unto itself. The nature and village in the movie narrate the story through twists and turns. Through a variety of features, such as verdant trees, agricultural fields, muddy walkways, or devastating floods, nature exhibits all of its forms in the village.
We can never attempt to balance the prevailing connection represented by the conflict between man and environment. There are overt references to how the natural disasters have influenced village life. How flood-related death and suffering have come to be seen as inevitable aspects of life.
Director’s vision
Village Rockstars is a one-woman project. It is directed, produced, written, and edited by none other than Rima Das. It’s hard to ignore how observational film shaped Das’s narrative. Rima realized it was better to share stories about her surroundings after watching stories from all around the world.
After carefully analyzing the characters, she decided that her hometown of Chayagaon would be the best place to shoot this film. The village and its people get recognition in the movie. She returned to her village to shoot her first film after a few years of living in Mumbai.
It was during a local gathering that she first noticed some children playing fake instruments. They continued to pursue her after she casually mentioned that she wished to collaborate with them on a film.
Despite the pressure she was under because she had never attended film school, Rima was so moved by their enthusiasm and energy that she began to create her narrative from there. She quotes, “I decided to tell their story, a story which is also my own.”
Also Read: 7 Remarkable Assamese Films That Were Praised Globally
Ratings and reviews
The film has received a positive response from the audience as well as the critics. Jury member Dalton L declared it “a milestone film of sorts. Hannah Lynn of Pittsburgh City Paper compared Village Rockstars to The Florida Project. Premchand called it “a women’s journey into the heart of the matter.” Village Rockstars won the Film Critics Circle of India Award for the Best Indian Film of 2017.
Talking about the audience’s review, its ratings are –
Rotten tomatoes: 95%
IMDb: 7.5/10
Times of India: 4/5
And the overall audience rating is 4.6.
People have left comments like “Tasted like Satyajit Ray’s movie,” “Masterpiece to understand the life in a new way”,” This regional classic by Rima Das puts Bollywood to shame by showing what they are missing in realistic cinema,” and “As a film lover, it was too fantastic.”.
Hidden themes in Village Rockstars
The movie, Village Rockstars, along with drawing attention to village life, also showcases the underlying themes of feminism and the roots of patriarchy. The film challenges gender stereotypes, but in an organic and subtle way.
From the protagonist befriending a group of boys to swimming in the rivers and climbing trees, it signifies how free and liberated Dhunu feels in her own village despite being put into some restrictions by the women of the village.
It is because of her strong mother, who raises her to be herself irrespective of the situations, to be resilient and full of life. The film is also a gentle nudge for women to help and support other women.
Another important aspect of the movie is nature and its different forms. Different elements of nature are used to show different moods and timescales in the lives of the people. Throughout the film, the sounds of nature are used to emphasize various moods.
In several moments, rain has been used to symbolize Dhunu’s psychological state. Thundering rumbles and winds of various types have been utilized to depict a range of emotions.
The outstanding cast
The cast of Village Rockstars includes Bhanita Das as Dhunu, the protagonist. Basanti Das as Dhunu’s mother, Manabendra Das as Dhunu’s elder brother, and other talented actors like Boloram Das, Rinku Das, and Bishnu Kalita.
Bhanita Das, as a child actor, has received a lot of recognition for her role, but it is truly notable that she has never acted before. She is, in fact, the niece of Rima Das, and probably her innocence and natural acting are what made people fall in love with the character. The other actors have also done a phenomenal job in bringing life into this movie, Village Rockstars.
Awards and recognition
| AWARD | CATEGORY | RECIPIENT |
| National Film Awards 2018 | Best Feature Film Best Editing Best Child artist | Rima Das Rima Das Bhanita Das |
| Cairo International Film Festival 2017 | Best artistic contribution from the international critic’s week competition | Village Rockstars |
| Smile international film festival for children and youth 2017 | Best children’s film Best actor | Village Rockstars Bhanita Das |
| Indian film festival of Los Angeles 2018 | Grand jury prize for best feature | Village Rockstars |
| 3rd BRICS film festival 2018 | Best actress Special Jury awards | Bhanita Das Village Rockstars |
Other than these awards, the film has also been officially selected for the Toronto International Film Festival, Guwahati International Film Festival, San Sebastian International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, and so on.
Village Rockstars 2
Village Rockstars 2 revisits the life of Dhunu seven years after the events of its prequel, Village Rockstars ,set in Chayagaon village of Assam. Despite being in her late teens, Dhunu still enjoys swimming, climbing trees, and—most importantly—dreaming of playing guitar in her rock band like she did as a child. But Dhunu’s wishes are not fulfilled in life. She goes on a quest to uncover the deep bond between music and life as she navigates these challenges.
The film debuted at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in India in 2024 and went on to win the Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival. Out of the eight films chosen for the Jiseok Competition segment during the 29th edition of the festival, it was the sole Indian feature.
Where to watch?
This 1 hr 27 min watch is available on Netflix as well as Prime Video.
Bottomline
Village Rockstar breathes fresh air into rural India. It will demonstrate the ability of cinema to transcend regional and linguistic barriers and become captivatingly global if it travels farther from the stunning niche in which it is set.
Assam floods serve as a significant setting for the narrative. Everything in its path, including crops, land, and human life, is destroyed by the flood. But for the rural people, such extreme weather occurs every year, and they prepare appropriately.
Rimjim Bora is a passionate researcher, writer, and storyteller. Being an Assamese, she takes pride in writing the vibrant stories of Assam, sharing its essence beyond the region. Contact Rimjim at rimjim@diversityassam.com.
