Synopsis of the Three Stories

SYNOPSIS:

STORY ONE:

ACTOR: Children of Heaven

DURATION: 45 MINUTES

It is a story of Anhat-toli, a rural village in Assam, tends to be a new sub-urb. Ratan, a little boy is used to come across insulting behaviors from all the villagers for his ignorant nature. People mostly make him do their personal works in the everyday lives without acknowledging his ever-helping nature. However, Ratan’s good singing is appreciated. The film starts with the villagers insulting and taunting Ratan here and there.

The village celebrates a yearly festival with a theatrical performance Bhaona, with a story of young Krishna going out for a picnic with the Gopa-valakas, the village boys. Anybody from the village takes part in the performance but traditionally a young boy only from the Gosain (religiously higher class) family can play the role of the lord Krishna himself. This time the young boy from Gosain family falls ill to perform the role of lord Krishna. The family plans to bring some other boy from another place that belongs to the Gosain cast and class. At that matter the villagers split into two parts. One is offensive: “so many young talented boys are here, why should we ‘hire’ somebody from other place!” the other is agreed to the fact that, since nobody other than the Gossain family could become the lord Krishna, there is no harm in bringing a Gossain boy from other place. Finally the villagers take a chance of making a local boy from an ordinary caste the actor of lord Krishna. Eventually Ratan, the boy for no good, is selected for the role.

Ratan’s father is a man for no good as well, who fails again and again in his business projects. Once he leaves for Ahmedabad for some business purpose. In Ahmadabad also Ratan’s father fails to work properly and comes back to his village. While coming back to his village, in train, he gets the news of Ratan becoming the Krishna this time.

The story is ended with a funny but touching moment of Ratan, being seated in the form of lord Krishna and all the villagers praying on his feet.

SYNOPSIS

STORY TWO:

AGONY: The Persistence of Becoming

DURATION: 30 MINUTES

Champa, a little girl mostly spends her times staring at the roadside hording and a larger-than-life image of a smiling girl with her wavy hairs. It is an advertisement for a shampoo company. A low-budget shooting unit for a TVC of the same Shampoo Company moves to an outskirt of the city. On the way, the vehicle of the technical unit gets mechanical defect and holds on the same roadside location for a couple of hours. As a result, the scheduled time has passed away and schedule is to be postponed. The little girl who was supposed to be the central character of the TVC gets some problem and under circumstance the little actor is to be rejected by the unit.

In a roadside Dhaba the director, the production manager and a still photographer are in a conversation over managing a new little girl overnight. Concurrently the still photographer shows photographs of a little ordinary girl named Champa from the roadside and they find her photogenic enough. They come back to that particular location and approach the poor slam dweller family.

The family agrees to their proposal. Champa spends an exciting night with all her fascinations since she was told that she was going to be a celebrity ‘heroin’ like Kareena Kapoor. She keeps imagining the scopophilic image of a smiling little girl with wavy hairs on the roadside larger than life hoarding. She and her mother, all are fascinated with the fact that they would be able to use shampoo now onwards. She will be shown as a beautiful smiling girl with sophisticated costumes, and with silky wavy hairs instead of her ever-dirty and curly hairs. In the morning her mother bathes her with a detergent and puts mustard oil to her hair, making her prepared for the shooting. When she comes to the shooting spot she is put to the temporary make-up room. The make-up artist unties her hair, makes her cloths dirty and then only she realizes that her role that she is going to portray is of a roadside beggar girl only.

SYNOPSIS

STORY THREE:

ECSTASY: The Pursuit of Performance

DURATION: 25 MINUTES

1990, Biswanath Chariali

Nayani, a little enthusiastic girl, who knows that she dances well, was willing to participate in a cultural procession during a function of the Sahitya Sabha (a literature organization). But her parents were not allowing her. Kaju, her best friend and who used to share all her imaginations convinces her with a ‘master-plan’ that, he’ll prepare her for the occasion without telling her parents.

On the day of the cultural function, they come to an abandoned room and starts practice. He borrows Muga-mekhela (costumes for dance) and cosmetics from the neighboring elder sisters. Nayani is about to ready. She is looking cute, but she needs false hair, since she has short hair. She is hungry also. Kaju consoles her that he would manage everything in no time, and warns her not to go out of the house. Otherwise parents might see her making their entire secret attempt destroyed. Kaju moves several places to manage a lock of false hair.

On the way, when he was in hurry, he witnesses another roadside event. He by circumstance spends some time there and forgets about Nayani. After a while he remembers, he had locked the door of the abandoned house from outside where Nayani was preparing for the cultural event. He feels guilty though he was helpless. He rushes back to the place. While running throughout the street, he comes across to the cultural procession, groups of artist moving ahead, dancing and singing. He rushes to the abandoned house. Kaju opens the door and finds Nayani in gorgeous costume and make up lying on the floor in hunger. He wakes up Nayani. Both of them witness the cultural procession passing by, through a small window.