"Midnight Song is a new kind of story with a fresh look. Whatever I have seen or worked so far, I feel this is going to be a fresh look as far as Assamese cinema is concerned"
Assamese film Midnight Song, directed by Arunjit Borah and starring Kalpana Kalita, Monuj Borkotoky and Rupam Chetia, will hit the theatres in Assam on January 29, 2021.
Midnight Song will be the first Assamese film which will have a theatrical release in the new year.
"Midnight Song is an interesting film. It has only three characters," said Monuj Borkotoky during an exclusive interview with The Story Mug.
"I have never seen an Assamese film before which was shot with just three characters in it," he added.
"The entire film was shot in 10 days and in one location, primarily in one bungalow," he further said.
"It is a thriller and a story of one night," Monuj added.
"The director, Arunjt Bora, is a friend of mine and we live nearby in Mumbai. One day he narrated me the story and I instantly said yes to the project."
"Even though this is his debut movie, however, he was always ready with everything. He was very meticulous about the planning," Monuj added.
"He planned it accurately to shoot the movie in 10 days as we did not have much budget as well. Gradually, my costars joined and we shoot it very smoothly."
Speaking more about the film he said, "Midnight Song is a new kind of story with a fresh look. Whatever I have seen or worked so far, I feel this is going to give a fresh look as far as Assamese cinema is concerned."
Speaking about his working experience with the co-actors he said, "Both are brilliant actors and are well established in Assam."
"I had worked with Rupam in a serial in 2010, but it was for the first time that I was working with Kalpana."
"Midnight Song is a character-driven film. It was essential that the characters had bonding and an understanding in between them," he further said.
"We spent some time together before the shooting commenced and this helped us to gel together and form a warm bond. Even the director wanted the same from us," he added.
"Whatever we did, the off-screen bonding helped us to build the bonding of the characters. Both are brilliant performers. I loved working with them," he further said.
Urging the audience to visit theatres to watch the movie, Monuj said, "The entire team of Midnight Song has given their heart and soul into it."
"At a time when normalcy is gradually returning, we are taking a risk to release the movie in theatres. Please visit the theatres and watch the movie with your friends and family," he further appealed.
Midnight Song was shot in October 2018 and since then it has travelled to several film festivals, earning warm accolades from audience and critics both.
The movie was planned for a theatrical release in May this year, however, the COVID-19 pandemic played spoilsport.
Not just Monuj, the entire team of Midnight Songs hopes that the movie will help the people to forget their COVID-19 blues.
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Partha Prawal (Goswami) is a Guwahati-based journalist who loves to write about entertainment, sports, and social and civic issues among others. He is also the author of the book 'Autobiography Of A Paedophile'.