Actress Dipannita Sharma, most remembered for her roles in Ladies Vs RickyBehl, My Brother Nikhil, 16 December is back in the news for her role in the Assamese film Xhoixobote Dehmalite (Rainbow Fields). The film won the Best Foreign Film Award at the Hollywood International Cinefest in 2017 and was one of the selected feature films to be screened at the Indian Panorama section at IFFI 2017. What makes this film special for Dipannita, is the fact that it's her debut Assamese film.
"I am an Assamese and I have finally made my debut in Assamese cinema. It's my first film in my mother tongue and the subject it deals with is an important one," enthuses the actress. The film, which releases this weekend in India, is set in the 1980's when there was a rise in insurgency and the ULFA was getting more powerful. "It's the story about parenting but parenting that's seen through the eyes of children. I play one of the parents. It explores the idea of what it means for children to grow up in violence. How does one go through life when such grave things are happening around," explains Dipannita. After her last commercial Bollywood film, Coffee with D for which she won 'Best Actress in the New Age Cinema' award at the 10th Global Global Film Festival, the actress has had a slow run in mainstream films.
But it doesn't mean Dipannita has been out of work. She is among the actors whose web series are most popular online. Her last web series titled Untag tops the list of the most watched shows on Voot. "Online content gets more interesting where we can push our creativity a little more. We aren't restricted like we are in films when we cater to a particular audience. Also, some of the web series are directed by good film directors so it really doesn't feel like we are working in a different medium," says Dipannita who has just finished shooting for an Indie film, an untitled thriller. But it's the release of Xhoixobote Dehmalite that she is looking forward to.
A completely unglamorous role unlike her earlier films, Dipannita hopes to impress audience with her new avatar. "I feel as an actor I should be able to do all kinds of films - be it commercial or films with a social message. This film is important to me because of the subject. I have gone completely unglamorous with no makeup. In fact, when some people came to visit me on sets, they couldn't recognise me because I looked different, more like the character and that made me really happy," she signs off.
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
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