Private Project

An Evening Ballad

Mwnabili is a widow living in a village in the Indian state of Assam. She has a son named Orkhi; Very naughty in nature. Mwnabili gets worried a lot about the boy along with lack of money. The film also shows Orkhi's childhood where their mischief, the growing distance between her and the other children and some mishaps break their bond. Age is irrelevant to love. Any race or creed can inspire love in anyone. The atmospheric light of dusk and dawn depicts the life of a widow on the threshold of adulthood. The poetic eroticism contrasts with the authentic scenes of daily life in their Indian villages, where carefree young men and women face a ruthless reality. The experience of aging love puts people under pressure of high expectations and strict moral principles. Bidang is a married man. Who is singing and living in their dreams. Bidang loves Mwnabili and wants to take her to an unknown place, mwnabili has a fear, if society says anything?

  • Bishal Swargiary
    Director
  • Bishal Swargiary
    Writer
  • Bishal Swargiary
    Producer
  • Renu Basumatary
    Key Cast
    "Mwnabili"
  • Abhijit Gayari
    Key Cast
    "Orkhi"
  • Onjali Bodosa
    Key Cast
    "Ruphathi"
  • Horen Baro
    Key Cast
    "Bidang"
  • Avinash Goyari
    Key Cast
    "Obla"
  • Sharat Gayari
    Key Cast
    "School Teacher"
  • Jyoti Prakash Rabha
    Location Sound
  • Bishal Swargiary
    Cinematographer
  • Gautam Sutradhar
    Cinematographer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Mwnabili (मोनाबिलि)
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    2 hours 11 minutes 2 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Bodo (India)
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Bishal Swargiary

Bishal Swargiary (b. 1998) is a self-taught writer, producer and young independent filmmaker grew up in a small village in Assam, northeast India.
He serves as the managing director of Duphang Pictures, which promotes regionally-based independent filmmaking. His films have been resonating with audiences not just in India but all over the world. He is best known for making indie and realistic films with non-professional actors.
He fervently thinks that art and culture may lead to social change in localities!
He studied Tourism & Travel Management at the Bajali College, Pathsala Asaam. His First short documentary "The Story of Budheswar" industry screened at National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Film Baazar, the largest South Asian Film Market 2021. "Gosain: The colours of spring" short documentary world premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, 2022.
"MWNABILI" is his debut feature film.

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Director Statement

I was raised in the far-off village of Paschim Rehabari in the Indian state of Assam's Baksa district. The language of the movie is Boro, also called Bodo, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken primarily by the Boro people of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is an official language of the Indian state of Assam, predominantly spoken in the Bodoland Territorial Region.

When I first attended the International Film Festival in 2019, I didn't understand what cinema was. I changed by watching the movies screened there, then slowly started watching masterpiece films (world cinema) of like Wong Kar-wai, Abbas Kiarostami, Akira Kurosawa, Majid Majidi, Satyajit Ray.
When I was 12 years old, the village sent me to a hostel in the city. As a result of the slightly different sports performed by city kids, it was a new world for me, and I found myself missing my hometown and the way we played there. As i graduate tourism, I gained knowledge of the environment and over time, i maintained regular contact with the kids in my village.

Grandpa passed away three years ago. My grandmother felt abandoned after my grandfather passed away. Age is irrelevant to love. Any race or creed can inspire love in anyone. However, a local community wants to label it as a crime if a widow falls in love with another man once more. And i made the decision to use them to tell the tale of my incomplete childhood as well as the loneliness and love of a widow.
First of all, Capturing the entire year's seasons. During the shooting, weather played a significant but time-consuming impact. As you can see, rainstorms and floods—which are out of my control—play a significant role in the setting and story of MWNABILI. So, waiting for these natural occurrences takes time. This prolonged the process of creating and researching this film at the beginning. Everything is filmed in actual circumstances such as rain, floods, firefly, children's everyday activities, and widow's daily activities. He chats with them and their naughtiness. I didn't have a camera, was pressed for time, and had a limited budget, I also shot a few scenes with an iPhone 13 Pro Max. The children were taken for the childhood character so that i can capture these on camera. If i had waited for the funding and done the shoot a year later, the kids would have changed in age as well as body shapes and voices that i couldn’t recreate. I utilised the iPhone belonging to my cousin's brother for that. I assembled a crew and finished filming this film when the money arrived.

My love and respect for humanity are shown through MWNABILI (An Evening Ballad), which also serves as a silent protest against traditional irrationality.