Based on a story of gender crime, love and retribution, Garhwali language feature film Badang will be released soon in January, 2017, said the film’s director KP Dhaundiyal and producer TP Bhatt.
Addressing the media, Dhaundiyal said that the movie tells the story of two young village women Kiran and Cheena who visit the city during their college vacation. In the city, three men with a criminal bent of mind habituated to targeting young females and then killing them, sexually assault the two village lasses and then ‘dispose off’ the duo. While Cheena dies, Kiran –the lead character of the movie-- somehow manages to survive the ordeal. She then learns martial arts and kills the three villains in revenge but is unable to escape the police who arrest her. After serving her sentence, when she is released from the jail, her lover and her parents honour her in a public function where she recalls the ordeal she had gone through, said Dhaundiyal. Since this Garhwali feature film has been shot entirely in Uttarakhand, it will be tax-free according to the government order issued by the state government. The lead role is being played out by an actor from Mumbai while the other characters in the movie are played by regional actors, he added.
Responding to a media query regarding the film production scenario in the state, Dhaundiyal said that though the drafting of a film making policy in the state is a welcome step, much more needs to be done. He said, “The absence of cinema halls is a major problem faced by regional movie makers.
Even the large Uttarkashi district has only one cinema hall and that too at the district headquarters where the residents of remote rural areas. Introducing the state’s film policy is a welcome step but the involvement of those who have genuinely worked in this field is lacking in such developments. This is one of the reason why the regional film industry of Uttarakhand has not been able to progress as in the case of the Bhojpuri film industry which rolls out 40 to 50 feature films a year,” he added.Speaking on the occasion, the movie producer, TP Bhatt of Chinkara Films Production said, “Our aim through films and documentaries is to publicise the culture, tourism and pilgrimage aspects of Uttarakhand across the world while at the same time encouraging the local talent by providing a break to regional actors in our movies,” he said.