Semkhor

Semkhor is a 2021 Indian Dimasa-language film directed by Aimee Baruah. This was the first-ever film in the Dimasa language screened as the opening feature film of the Indian Panorama in 2021. The film depicts the life of a village lady, a mother of 14 children.^[1][2][3]

Semkhor
Directed by	Aimee Baruah
Written by	Sasanka Samir
Screenplay by	Jintumoni Kalita, Sasanka Samir, Uday Bhaskar Patar, Aimee Baruah
Produced by	Aimee Baruah, Mala Baruah
Starring	Aimee Baruah
Cinematography	Pradip Daimary
Edited by	Rantu Chetia
Music by	Amrit Pritam
Production company	Aimee Baruah Production Society
Distributed by	Rajat Goswami
Release date	2021 (2021)
Running time	93 min
Language	Dimasa

Synopsis

A Samsa man named Diro participates in the hangseu bisu in a nearby hamlet, which results in his confinement and eventual death. As a result, Diro's wife is left in charge of raising his three kids alone. She has a variety of events while working as an assistant midwife that she loathes. If a woman dies while she is pregnant, Semkhor tradition dictates that the newborn be buried with the mother alive. At the age of just 11, Diro's widow married Dinar to her one and only daughter, Muri. Sadly, Muri passes away right after giving birth to a girl. How Diro's wife gives Muri's child fresh life in a culture where women aren't even allowed to make decisions is like a sign of a new dawn in Semkhor.^[4]

Cast

• Prateek Hagjer
• Aimee Baruah

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result
2022	68th National Film Awards	Special Jury Mention	Won[5]
		Best Feature Film in Dimasa	Won
2022	20th Dhaka International Film Festival Award	Special Audience Award	Won[6]
2021	Kautik International Film Festival	Best Feature Film	Won
2021	Toronto International Women Film Festival	Best Actress	Won

Reception

• The heroine and her various misfortunes serve as the vehicle via which Aimee Baruah deftly explores a wide range of social and cultural concerns and evils. The visual depiction of the town where the story takes place away from the bustle of city life.^[7]

Controversy

• The Dimasa people said in a letter to the president that the movie had given a distorted account of their rituals, traditions, and way of life. Additionally, the Dimasa organizations pleaded with the president to stop any press coverage of the movie's director, Aimee Baruah.^{[8][9][10][11]}
• Aimee Baruah, the film's director, is the subject of a FIR for allegedly "misrepresenting" Dimasa culture and feeding prejudices against the group.^{[12][13][14][15]}
• At least five Dimasa organizations claim that an infant who was 84 days old died while Aimee Baruah's Semkhor, which has been the subject of intense controversy, was being filmed.^[16][10][17]