Eastern Tales

National Award- winning director Tathagata Singha on his upcoming project — a documentary on Nagaland.

Unlike most others from his fraternity, National Award-winning director Tathagata Singha does not believe in taking long breaks between his projects. While on one hand Singha is perked up about the rave reviews the recently-released film The Last Act has received, he is already moving on from one story to another without pausing. In Anurag Kashyap's murder mystery The Last Act, Singha was one of the 12 co-directors working on the project. In fact, when the film was a week away from its release, he was busy shooting the Hornbill festival in Nagaland for a documentary. The documentary not only chronicles the festival but also explores the state of Nagaland," he says.

Singha's fascination with Nagaland began in 2009, when he had visited the place for the screening of his film Ekti Kaktaliyo Galpo (A Coincidental Tale). "I just fell in love with the state. Most people in mainland India, including me, don't know much about the state. But there is a lot of cultural heritage there that needs to be brought out," says Singha, adding that though he wanted to make a film on the state since then, its only in October this year that he found his producers — Akash Agarwal and Shalini Potdar's company, Pipe Organ Films. While the documentary that he is shooting still remains unnamed, Singha is looking for a release early next year.

From December 1 to December 8, he shot the festival which is the meeting point for all the tribes that constitute Nagaland. Some of the highlights include the night bazaar and the rock festival. "People there are up to date and well-versed with things happening in the mainland. I observed at the rock festival that some of the bands really know their music and are very serious about it," he adds.

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