Manipuri film ‘Sunita’ won the Best Manipuri Feature Film award at the 72nd National Film Awards, while filmmakers James Khangenbam and Thokchom Jimmy served on national film juries.
Imphal, Sept. 22: Manipuri cinema received recognition at the 72nd National Film Awards 2024, with Sunita winning the Best Manipuri Feature Film award. Director Ajit Yumnam and Yumnam Brojen Singh received the award from President Droupadi Murmu at the ceremony in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
Actress Naramada Sougaijam and supporting actress Binitia Yumnam were also present at the ceremony held at the Statue of Unity Bus Bay Area in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia.
Manipur’s representation extended beyond the winning film. Documentary filmmaker James Khangenbam served as a Central Jury Member in the Non-Feature Film Category, while filmmaker Thokchom Jimmy was part of the Eastern Panel in the Feature Film Category.
James Khangenbam, a documentary filmmaker, was part of the central jury that assessed entries in the Non-Feature Film Category. He is known for Meiram – The Fireline, which opened the 17th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival.
Khangenbam has also served as General Secretary of the Television and Cine Foundation, Manipur, and writes on cinema and filmmaking for local, regional and national media.
Thokchom Jimmy, an award-winning filmmaker from Manipur, served on the Eastern Panel for the Feature Film Category. He has worked as an Assistant Director with filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar and has directed short films, documentaries and music videos.
His work has also included collaborations with Al Jazeera and international production houses. He has completed courses in Film Direction and Film Appreciation at the Film and Television Institute of India, along with studies in Journalism and Mass Communication and Visual Communication. He is currently working in image management in Rohtak.
Directed by Ajit Yumnam, Sunita follows a visually impaired woman confronting social, physical and economic barriers while pursuing education and an independent life.
Unable to attend a school for visually impaired students, Sunita studies alongside sighted students. She relies on friends to read textbooks, listens to recorded lessons and takes examinations with the help of scribes. Despite these difficulties, she completes her post-graduation.
The film also portrays her interests outside academics. Sunita takes up Taekwondo, Thang-Ta and tabla. An accident that fractures her right hand eventually forces her to stop playing the tabla.
Her personal circumstances become more difficult when her sighted husband, Api, leaves her while she is pregnant with their second child and questions the paternity of the unborn baby.
She subsequently faces depression and serious health problems, including tuberculosis, diabetes and gallstones. The film follows how she continues to deal with these challenges while trying to establish an independent life and raise her two children.
Through Sunita’s experiences, the film explores education, disability, family relationships, social barriers and the pursuit of dignity and self-reliance.
The National Film Award adds another recognition to Manipuri cinema, while the participation of filmmakers James Khangenbam and Thokchom Jimmy in the national jury process also gives Manipur representation in the wider assessment of Indian films.
