Rima Das

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rima Das

• She always wanted to become an actor. In an interview, she told that she was just six years old when she first acted on the stage.

• After the completion of her masters, she even cleared the National Eligibility Test examination, but it was for her passion for acting and filmmaking that took her to Mumbai.

• She moved to Mumbai as an acting aspirant and did some plays in her early days. One such play was an adaption of Premchand’s Godaan; staged at the Prithvi Theatre. But soon, she realized that there were fewer work opportunities in the acting field; as she was not getting any work for long. The circumstances pushed her into depression, and gradually, her interest grew in the filmmaking.

• She exposed herself to filmmaking by reading articles and watching videos online. By watching and observing the films of renowned directors, she got a good idea about directing films.

• Her first short film was ‘Pratha’ which was released in 2009.

  

• She made her directorial debutant film, “Man with the Binoculars: Antardrishti” (2016), which was screened at Cannes Film Festival and also premiered at Mumbai Film Festival in 2017.

• During the shoot of her first film, she decided to cast her cousin Bhanita Das as a 10-year old protagonist “Dhunu” in her next film “Village Rockstars.”

  

• While Bhanita was the protagonist of her movie, the local boys of the Chhaygaon village became her co-actors. In an interview, she revealed that the little boys did assist her in the making of the film. They were the only crew members-cum-actors she had as a team.

  

• It took her over three-and-a-half-years to script down her second feature film (Village Rockstars), while the shooting took 130 days. The movie was about a girl who aspired to be a rockstar and wanted to own an electric guitar.

• In 2017, her movie was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The natural elements in her movie like unseen locations, an authentic cast, and organic story-telling, helped her to win critical appreciation nationally and internationally.

  

• She has directed, produced, written, edited, and shot the movie all by herself. It might take a few by surprise that neither she has been to a film school nor has she assisted anyone.

• Rima Das’ film “Village Rockstars” became the second Assamese film to win the National Award for Best Feature Film (after 29 years) at the 65th National Film Awards, first being the “Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai” by Jahnu Barua. Her movie won three more accolades best location sound recordist,  best child artist, and best editing. “I am speechless. I have no words to express my joy. It’s a huge recognition for us! My sincere gratitude to the National Awards team for awarding the film, to my parents and my family who stood with me all this time and the almighty for giving me the strength to make Village Rockstars,” Rima quoted in a statement.

  

• In 2018, she was nominated in the Best Director category for The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne whereas her cousin Bhanita Das was also nominated in the Best Actress category.

• In 2018, her film, “Village Rockstar,” became India’s official entry to the Oscars.