Axone - More than just a film

Finally the film is releasing! I have been getting queries from my friends and friends' friends asking about “ How and Where to see this film” since last one year. Why me? Because I am “related” to someone very closely associated with the film. But hang on everyone, this is not a good / bad / paid review. I am writing how I felt watching AXONE . That’s it.

For those who don’t know, Axone or Akhuni is a dish from the North Eastern part of India. Various states among the 8 sisters use Axone in their cuisine in different forms and of course different names.

The official poster

Axone is fermented soya beans and because of the high protein content in these beans, in their
fermented stage, they smell like putrefaction. Well to many! The “stench” is such that when Delhi Police had a directive - “ Security tips for North east students / visitors in Delhi” in 2007- it mentioned Axone alongside bamboo shoots as a food item to be AVOIDED.

That “Directive” had many do’s and don’ts for people from North east in Delhi. After spending a couple of years in Delhi from 2004-2006, I was already back in Assam in 2007. If you ask me, if I had faced any issues because of the way I look or what I cook; no I didn’t. But while house hunting, I have seen people looking more curiously towards my younger sister whose Mongoloid features were more prominent than me. We managed to find a place / one room with an attached bathroom in Safdarjung Enclave, South Delhi. When we were leaving that place, me to move back to Assam and sister to a shared apartment with other girls, our landlady said “ How do we find people like you now!”

Sayani Gupta and Tenzin Dalha in a scene from Axone

Axone  is a small quirky lighthearted take on some bigger issues. A group of friends
want to cook Axone pork for their friend who is getting married that day. How they manage to do that, hiding its overpowering smell and hiding / facing / moving on with the stench of soft racial discrimination all around. The place where this story is based, is not very far from where we used to live. Of course in 2004, the place was “little” different than what it has evolved to be now.

Written and directed by Nicholas Kharkongor and Produced by Yoodlee Films, Axone offers many moments which anyone from North East staying outside the 8 sisters can identify with. That is why when the trailer was released a year ago, people lapped it up. You go to the Axone trailer on Youtube and read the comments and you will understand what I am talking about. This has become an emotion for many from North East India, staying in various parts of India and the World.

Lanuakam Ao / Bendang in Axone

It  is very human to be doubtful / wary of things unknown or something you are not familiar with. Don't we all have our doubts when stepping out of our comfort zones? Likewise in the film, people from the “mainland” are wary of these bunch who look different, speak alien languages and eat very very different stuff. For Example; in one scene a “local” guy casually passes an offensive remark to Chaanbi or when another character states “ How can I tell you apart, you all look the same!”. All these because the so called “ others” look different. That has led to some walls. It is not one sided though. In the film , when Bendang tries, fails and says “ I don’t sing Hindi songs” , he builds up a wall too. We from Northeast are as much a part of this country as anyone from any other part. What is the harm in learning and singing a Hindi or even a Punjabi song? The walls need to be broken from both sides. I firmly believe that. His story has hints of a rather infamous incident of violent racial attack on someone from North East. Sadly the person lost his life. Bendang here gets a second chance.

The film has some characters which are very stereotypical. I felt all the characters from the landlady's family were such. But they exist and Shiv aka Hyper steals the show with his "over enthusiasm". For every slur you receive, you wish you have a friend like Hyper who sticks with you without judging you.

Racial discrimination is an issue the world is battling with. As someone from Northeast India, I am not being biased to people from our part of the country. But in my 2 years in Delhi, I never disliked it. I still love visiting Delhi. Now living in Mumbai I have turned into a true blue Mumbaikar running in and out of local trains 5 days a week. ( That’s a validation my Bambaiyya dost log have given). Why Axone worked for me is because it tries to show both sides; though subtly, but it does and that’s the reason I root for this film.

Axone is releasing on Netflix on 12th June 2020. Go watch it and share your thoughts. I bet you have never seen this part of Delhi in any other Hindi film :)


Poster credits : Yoodlee films and Parasher Baruah.

A night in Delhi in 2050

14 AUG'16

Time - around 9.30pm on 16th December 2050. They came out from the cinema hall and walked towards the bus stop. 

It's a cold winter evening in Delhi. There are vehicles on road. They waited for the bus to come. He asked " How did you like the movie?" She said " It was nice but a bit too long". 
He : " Are we meeting tomorrow?"
She :"  I have my physiotherapy practical sessions tomorrow. I will be very busy. Why don't you come home in the weekend?"
He : " That sounds like a plan. I will come on weekend."

There came a bus. Though it didn't look like a regular city bus, they got into the bus as the boy inside the bus said that they were going to take the same route they needed to go. There were no passenger in the bus except for them. The bus started to move. They looked out through the tinted glass of the bus. It started to get foggy outside. They could not make out much.

The bus moved. There was music inside the bus. It didn't stop anywhere else. Nor did it pick up anyone else. 

Time - around 11pm on 16th December 2050. Mrs. Singh heard the front door open. Nirbhaya, her daughter, was home.  She went back to sleep. 

‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’

A Delhi Day

                                   

“What you had never been to Karim’s ?” was the surprised reaction when I sheepishly admitted that I hadn’t been to THE famous Karim’s. Neither to the one in Old Delhi nor in Nizamuddin. Not even once in those 3 years I spent in Delhi and after that in all those countless visits. So it was decided that we would go and have lunch at Karim’s and then go to Kunzum Café. Of course Kunzum Café is yet to achieve the cult status of Karim’s but it is definitely one of the interesting places in Delhi which have recently come up.

Thus begun an interesting day in Delhi, a city I thought I knew pretty well.

Among all those numerous travel shows on TV or the travel guides highly recommend; a visit to Old Delhi is definitely high on the list. It is different from the swanky New Delhi which is full of Malls, Super Markets and Multiplexes. The crowd, the narrow lanes and the madness can actually drive one insane. But behind the Jumma Masjid, hidden amongst the lanes, old buildings and rickshaws is a place which over the years has achieved the status of an institution. A wrong turn and you will miss this. That’s where Karim’s is located. This is the restaurant which finds place in almost all the travel guides, shows, recommendations about India. But beware; reaching Karim’s, braving the maddening Old Delhi traffic and crowd can be quite intimidating.

The place is always packed to capacity. My friends who accompanied me used to be regulars 10 years back as students of Delhi University. After a decade, they swore that it was the same. The menu hasn’t changed that much. The prices also hadn’t changed drastically. Most importantly the taste; it was as delectable as 10 years ago. Of all the items on the menu, Burrah Kabab is definitely recommended. The juiciest, most delicious kabab I had till date. Though some dishes are rather too spicy and full of oil, it’s the naans and rotis which are too good to be missed.

The origin of this iconic restaurant dates back to the Mughal Era. The owners are the descendants of the Royal Chefs of the mughal monarchs. After the British dethroned the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the royal chefs left Delhi. But the art of cooking royal mughlai food was passed on from generation to next generation without fail. Thus in 1913, one of the members of the royal chefs family; Mr. Haji Karimuddin started Karim Hotel behind Jumma Masjid in the small lane in Old Delhi with the motto “of  earning money and fame by serving the royal food to the common man”. After so many decades, numerous awards and recognitions Karim’s is a place where one should eat atleast once. Sorry vegetarians; this is hardly the place for you.

From Old Delhi we came back to South Delhi specifically to Hauz Khas village, a “designer village” in the midst of the hustle of New Delhi. This place is very interesting with many cafes, show rooms and boutiques around, besides the ruins of the Mughal era. Actually the ruins by a tank are of the madrassa founded by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq in the 14^th century. The tank turned into a lake still remains beautiful. There, hidden in a small corner, is Kunzum café. Kunzum travel café to be precise. The café is named after a high altitude pass in the Lahaul Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. And they themselves say “the inspiration behind the brand that is all about memorable travel experiences.”

Kunzum café is a place to hangout with likeminded friends, meet fellow travelers or just laze around using the FREE wifi and occasionally sipping a cup of coffee or tea. The damage for all those..” Pay what you want”! Yes, Kunzum is not any ordinary café. It is the brainchild of Ajay Jain, a photographer and a travel writer. Kunzum was started in 2007 as a travel blog by Mr. Jain and in 2010 the café came up. The place is small but cozy. The walls adorn some fantastic images captured by Mr. Jain during his numerous journeys across the abroad. My personal favorite is the photograph of a female monk in some Himalayan Monastery. Even with her clean shaven head and the maroon attire of a monk, there is something in her eyes which speaks a thousand words. There are travel books all around. You can sit back and spend the whole day reading as many books as you want. too. In their own words : “This is what the Kunzum Travel Café is all about. A place for travellers to meet, exchange travel stories, make friends, even connect with future travel partners –while spending the day bumming around over coffee and free Wi-Fi. Also on offer are opportunities to attend interactive talks and workshops by travellers, photographers, writers and other relevant personalities. Or they can simply sit back and enjoy as musicians jam around.”

The best part: you are not obliged to buy anything. And when you have coffee, you may choose to pay what you like. Beat that.

There is a box near the door where one pay what he/she wants. There are many who DONOT want to pay anything. Still  Kunzum café welcomes all with the motto “ We Travel.So should you”

Delhi continues to hold a special place in my heart. Yes, even with that rather infamous tag of being unsafe for women. But I love the roadside chole – kulche, momos, paratha, the Delhi winter, India Gate, Ice cream in winter, Dilli Haat and now Kunzum and Karim. Oh Delhi you never cease to surprise me.