‘Shadow Assassins’: Assam’s ‘secret killings’ have come back to haunt

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 10 (ANI/ATK): ‘Secret Killings’ or ‘Gupta Hotya’ – the darkest phase of Assam, a cruel reminder of what people in Assam have once witnessed and have learnt to live with, without closure. Two-time National Award winner, Nilaanjan Reeta Datta’s debut Hindi film ‘Shadow Assassins’ puts the spotlight on the ‘secret killings’ of Assam, which marked the darkest period in the history of the North-Eastern state.
The dreaded night-time knock on the door ended up unleashing a blood bath, with more than 1,100 innocent civilians reported to have been killed between 1998-2001. Over two decades after the ‘secret killings’ ended, the chilling carnage continues to cast long shadows on the survivors and their families. The film ‘Shadow Assassins’ is based on facts according to the Retd. Justice KN Saikia’s Commission’s report into the brutalities. But, in 2018, based on a writ petition the Guwahati High Court declared the constitution of the commission invalid. As the director mentioned, the film also ultimately keeps the identity of the assailant in Shadow as no valid justice was finally delivered and the identity of the assailants remains a mystery till date. ‘Shadow Assassins’ turns back the pages on a dark chapter of history that has for long remained in the backdrop of our collective conscience.
The story of ‘Shadow Assassins’ narrates about a fictitious character named Nirbhay Kalita. Nirbhay leaves his home in Guwahati, Assam, with dreams of starting a new chapter in life on a college campus over 2,000 km away in Pune, Maharashtra. But the political turmoil in his home state soon engulfs him and his family, triggering a chain of events that will radically alter the course of his life.
The film, comprising an ensemble cast and crew drawn from the Hindi, Bengali and Assamese film industries with Anurag Sinha and Mishti Chakravarty in the lead; Rakesh Chaturvedi Om, Hemant Kher, KP Sandhu, Monuj Borkotoky, Akash Sinha in pivotal roles, releases in cinemas on December 9, nationwide.
Actors from Assam like Ranjeev Lal Baruah, Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika, Violet Nazir Tiwari, Stuti Choudhury, Mrigendra Narayan Konwar, Ranjita Boruah, etc. played important roles in this film. The costumes were designed by renowned Assamese costume designer Garima Saikia Garg and the makeup was done by Biswa Kalita. Moreover, this film has two songs by Javed Ali and Zubeen Garg under the music direction of Ashu Chakraborty.
As the director of the film said, this is probably one of the few Bollywood films that has been made on an original plot from Assam.
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