Ishita Bora, Guwahati News Desk: Who doesn’t know Dr. Lima Das, it’s a household name for all the movie lovers now. Critically acclaimed actor Dr. Lima Das with her beautiful acting in the movie ‘Aamis’ left the audience spellbound.
She is also a Dental surgeon and a traditional Sattriya dancer.
In a conversation with her, the Hello Guwahati team came to know many untold things about her upcoming movie “Arranged,” which is going to be released on October 16.
So, let’s begin the interview:
With “Aamis” you debuted in the industry, which was a super duper hit. How did your interest in art turn up?
First of all, I am involved in art since I was 8 years old. At first, I learned Odissi dance form and then Sattriya. So, I have interest in art since my childhood days.
As you are involved in the cultural line since childhood, how did you enter into the film industry?
I always wanted to do a good film, actually. You can say ‘art film’ just like the movies Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi used to do with heavy and realistic subjects unlike commercial films.
After I got a job as a Dental Surgeon, it was just that if someday I get a chance, I would do a film because I have so much interest in it. But not like I would go, search, and give auditions.
How did Aamis happen to you? Your journey.
When I saw Director Bhaskar Hazarika’s first film “Kothanodi,” it immediately came to my mind that I should do a movie like this. As I know him personally and once, met him and said that I want to do something related to Sattriya dance, like a documentary film. I asked him to kindly guide me if he get a chance. Two years later, he came up with a script and asked me to read it once. I was so happy and after reading it I thought that it was a different kind of character. I also asked my husband to read it as he loves watching movies, he too loved the concept and asked me to try my luck. The most important thing is when I got support from my family and secondly, the Director worked so well in his debut film (Kothanodi), I gained enough confidence in myself.
Audience loved your acting in Aamis and your name “Lima Das” came into the limelight. What was your feeling? Please share your experience with us?
I couldn’t believe that it was all real, as my Facebook account was flocked with friend requests and during promotions people come towards me and appreciated my work. It’s a very good feeling because I got so much love and appreciations for my first ever film.
Your upcoming movie “Arranged” is going to release on October 16 on YouTube. Tell us something about the movie.
As Aamis has a very unique storyline, exceptional script, and a strong character, we completed our shoot in February 2018. After that, I haven’t worked the whole two years. Just I worked in a music video. Then I thought that it’s a high-time and I should do something ‘simple’ as in simple character. My new project ‘Arranged’ is written by Harsh Siddhanta, who is an actor and a writer too. When he approached me for the movie, he told me that he has something ‘new’ on his mind. So, after reading the script, I saw that the character, matched my real me.
In the short film, Ranjeev Lal Barua will be my co-star, in fact, he’s my brother-in-law. The film is directed by Samujjal Kashyap and I have seen his work before. So, after realizing that everybody is already known to me, let’s give a try! And I believe that people will love our film.
During this pandemic, shooting and releasing a film can be a very difficult task. How did you manage everything?
“Arranged” is a 22 minutes short film and during this pandemic, it’s really very difficult to release a film. Also, nowadays, people don’t have enough time to watch and complete a long movie at a go. So, I think people can manage time for this short film.
Tell us something about the cast, music and production?
Yes, definitely! I believe that credit should go to the whole team, who made their efforts and worked so hard. In the movie, music is composed by Rupam Bhuyan and Rakesh Baro; editing by Gautam Mazumdar; sound designing by Rukmajit Baruah; produced by Kadambari Creations; and production manager is Rupam Riyan Deka.
People these days tend to love commercial movies instead of art films. What is your opinion about this?
Actually, people love entertainment and according to them, a film should entertain with dance numbers, songs, etc. which lessen their stress, you know!
They don’t think deeply and just want to relax and enjoy their movie time. But I want to say that when Aamis was released, although it was not a commercial film it attracted audience. So, we can’t say that people don’t like featured films. I just believe that a good film should get focused by people.
Do online platforms help a film to grow?
Yes, online platforms help us to grow. Even now, we get good feedbacks for Aamis through online platforms as well as social media. There is a site called ‘moviesaints.com’ where you can pay Rs.99 to watch your favourite movie. The happiest thing is that we have received lots of messages from people of South India who watched Aamis and loved it. They even mentioned that it was their first experience of watching an Assamese film and loved it so much. All this happened only because of online platforms. This is a proud moment for us.
Also, I want to mention that Aamis is the second Indian movie, which has been selected at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York. People from all over the world come to watch movies and we got nominated in 8 categories.
Film maker Anurag Kashyap promoted your film Aamis. What was the reason behind this?
Anurag Kashyap heard somewhere that this is a different kind of film and he must watch it. After watching the film, he loved it so much that he told, “I am going to present this film. I want to give my name to this film.” He didn’t produce the film but he presented it. And when he gave his name, we received the money to release the film in the theatres. Because for a regional movie with different language (for the people of Mumbai) it’s a difficult task to release in a different city. With the help of Anurag Kashyap, it made things easier. It’s a very big thing for us because he helped us without taking anything from us. He just gave his time to make a video. He helped us so much and we will never forget this.
As you are a doctor cum actor, which is your favourite profession?
My father was a doctor and my mother is a retired Chemistry professor as well as the vocalist of All India Radio and she managed two professions together easily.
So, I became a doctor to stable my life, along with that dance is always there with me. I want to follow my passion. I want to work towards my passion. For me, one should just go with the flow, work hard, and should work for whatever they love to do.
As we (Hello Guwahati) are new media house, we basically want to focus on local entertainments. Any suggestions?
The biggest thing is that you are in the media industry and have the social responsibility of showing people the right path for a better society. From my side, I want you to bring back all the Assamese traditions because we are very rich. Just imagine, a 600 years old tradition Sattriya dance is still alive. We should keep our traditional assets alive and you can do this through your platform. Assam has everything in cultural and entertainment line. There are so many talented young people who don’t get much platform to showcase their talents. So, I suggest you to bring and show their talents into your platform, so that they get recognized by everyone. And I must say that you all are strong influencer in the society.
We thank Lima Das for her valuable time spent with us and we wish a great success to the team of “Arranged”.
