Aājoor : First Bajjika language feature film | A Truly Community Film.

 

Synopsis  

"Aājoor" follows Saloni, a resilient 10-year-old in North Bihar, as she defies societal norms to pursue her education. Despite her mother's early demise Saloni manages household chores and assists her father but faces societal scorn. Her father, a vocalist in the Launda Dance team supports her against all odds. The film interweaves her story with that of a group of boys being fascinated by social networking sites, offering a glimpse into the modern world's influence on rural life.

Interesting Facts about Aājoor 

• Completely Featuring Rural Community: Aājoor is a unique portrayal of life in rural India, capturing the essence and authenticity of Childhood.

• Non-Professional Actors: The film stars non-professional actors, all of whom faced the camera for the first time, bringing a raw and genuine performance to the screen.

• Kids-Driven Production: Assisted and production managed by children below the age of 18, showcasing the incredible talents and capabilities of young minds.

• Five Years in the Making: The journey of Aājoor spans over five years, reflecting the dedication and perseverance of everyone involved in the project.

• First Bajjika Language Feature Film: Aājoor is the pioneering feature film in the Bajjika language, spoken by nearly 25 million people in India and Nepal. This makes it a significant milestone.

• Shot in Rural Bihar: The film was entirely shot in rural Bihar, near the Indo-Nepal border.

• Film Duration: The movie runs for 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 15 seconds.

• Low Budget, High Impact: Despite being made on a very low budget, Aājoor received support from over 1,000 people across the world, making it a truly collaborative and global effort.

• Skill Development for Kids: All the children associated with the film were trained in acting and other aspects of production management. More than 50 kids directly benefited from this skill development program, experiencing the magic of cinema firsthand.

• Community Support and Involvement: The film received immense support from the local community, highlighting the collective spirit and passion for storytelling.

• Authenticity: By being the first feature film in Bajjika, Aājoor plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting the language and authenticity of the region.

• Educational Impact: The project served as an educational platform, imparting valuable skills in filmmaking and teamwork to the young participants.

Director Note 

"Aājoor" is the first feature film in the Bajjika language, transcending beyond just a cinematic endeavor. It serves as a testament to the creativity of rural Indian children, and their connection with nature, and challenges the societal conservatism towards girls. Born out of a deep desire to portray the authenticity of my own village, where I found my identity and the inspiration for countless stories.

My vision for this film was to empower my community and unite people from different Casts, inspiring them to become the driving force behind this cinematic endeavor. I trained non-actors, including children, to share their authentic stories, weaving a narrative that reflects our village's collective emotions and truths. It took more than five years of continuous effort to bring this film to fruition.

'Aājoor' functions as a mirror, showcasing the resilience of a girl constantly fighting against the values of a stagnant life, her childhood curiosity, and the tradition's continuous resistance. I hope our film resonates with audiences at international film festivals, fostering meaningful conversations and deepening understanding of the diverse tapestry of human experience.

Stills from the film, Aājoor

Director Biography 

Aaryan, born and raised in rural Bihar, India, found his passion for storytelling at a young age. Influenced by his upbringing and early exposure to cinema during festivals, he pursued studies in cinema and theatre in Delhi. Inspired by Indian regional films, he embarked on a journey across India to explore diverse communities.

Returning to Bihar in 2018, Aaryan aimed to empower his community through film. After a year with the local Community, he realized the challenges they faced. Spending two transformative years crafting the script for 'Aājoor,' he trained non-professional actors from the village, creating a remarkable community film. His commitment to bridging cultural divides through cinema is evident in his unique approach to filmmaking.

Watch a Short Preview of Aājoor below  

Personal Letter from Aaryan 

Dear Friend,

My name is Aaryan Chandra Prakash. I am writing to express my deep appreciation for the opportunity to share our community's First Bajjika language feature film project, Aājoor, with you. (Also my debut film)

This film is not merely a cinematic endeavor; it's a journey that began in the heart of rural Bihar, India. Bihar, historically rich and culturally diverse, has faced significant challenges, particularly in recent times with widespread migration. The northern part of Bihar, where our story unfolds, speaks a distinct language called Bajjika. 

Bajjika, once Vaishali (Bajji) Kingdom's state language, holds historical significance tied to early democratic principles. Despite being spoken by more than 25 million people, Bajjika had never been the focus of a feature film until Aājoor.

My childhood was infused with the magic of cinema, especially during festivals like Teej. Teej is a popular festival celebrated by North Indian women, involving fasting and praying the whole night before the god for better health and the long life of husbands and sons. In such festivals, my father used to rent a TV, battery, and DVDs to play films overnight, where we would gather to watch.

This early exposure ignited a passion that eventually led me to pursue studies in cinema and theatre in Delhi. In Delhi, I had the opportunity to witness many film festivals, and what caught my attention was Indian regional films. I was truly inspired by watching many Indian regional films, giving me perspective for my community's story. Filmmakers like Shyam Benegal, Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, John Abraham, and Bimal Roy were my inspirations for rural stories.

Upon returning to my village in 2018, I was driven not only to create a film but also to empower the community. Having witnessed significant migration from my community since childhood, the impact is felt in every household, affecting every sector of society. This might be a reason for the not-so-positive rise of Art & Culture and Cinema in Bihar, despite Bihar having theatrical gems like Bikhari Thakur in its history.

I thought children could impact society in the long term, so I decided to start with them. For the next one year, I spent time mostly among kids to understand their childhood. While observing our community and kids' lives with a fresh perspective, I realized their traditional way of learning, and celebrating, and how traditions hinder society from appreciating girl child education and their active participation.

Launda dance was also a way of entertaining for the rural community. However, this activity was always performed by untouchable people from society, who would leave the village after receiving some grains or money.

In Launda dance, some people play instruments, and one male person completely dresses up in female attire and performs dances before people. This was something I wanted to make part of my film, but I was aware our community would not easily accept coming together for a film due to caste hierarchy, still a significant challenge in our country.

Over two years, after scripting, I spent time earning the kids' and community's trust and making them comfortable with the fact that the prominent role of a father in our film would be played by Sajiwan Paswan, considered untouchable by society. The girl whose father role he was supposed to play comes from a different background. Including Sajiwan Paswan, we have cast two more actors from the untouchable community.

Slowly we started to gather selected cast from the community who all were non-professional actors and experienced cameras for the very first time. and we started organizing workshops and training for them in various aspects of filmmaking. The workshops and training happened for the next one and a half years. and the result of this collective effort was the completion of Aājoor in Nov 2023.

"Aājoor" follows Saloni, a resilient 10-year-old in North Bihar, as she defies societal norms to pursue her education. Despite her mother's early demise, Saloni manages household chores, assists her father, and faces societal scorn. Her father, a singer-instrument player of the Launda Dance team, supports her against all odds. The film interweaves her story with boys fascinated by social networking, offering a glimpse into the modern world's influence on rural life.

Now, as we prepare to present Aājoor to a global audience, we find ourselves facing many challenges. I wanted to make Aājoor a community-driven project, so we tried crowdfunding for our project. Over four years, we received financial support from more than 1000 people worldwide. Still, it was not enough to complete the project. Our shoots were interrupted many times due to the lack of funds, and we were always trying hard to make it happen because the kid actors were growing much faster, and their voices were changing.

Somehow, in the end, we managed to complete this project in three years of shoots. Currently, we do not have a sales agent, and we are not associated with any traditional production houses. Also, we are not supported by any prominent Indian film promotional society or people. We are hoping very best for our festival journey. and I am glad to share our Story with you. 

Thank you for spending time to read us, I am grateful to you.

Warm regards,

Aaryan Chandra Prakash

Director/Writer of Aājoor

If you have any suggestions or help you want to do for us, please reach out to me at  helloaaryanprakash@gmail.com (or) +919971258830

Crew Details

Lead Cast - Sajiwan Paswan, Stuti Chandra Prakash, Dhirendra Kumar, Manish Kumar, Shivshankar Kumar, Lalit Kumar, Monika Kumari. 

Producer - Shrirampur Samvad Foundation

Co-Producer - Prithipal Singh Matharu,  Nutan Kumari,  Arpit Chhikara

Written and Directed by - Aaryan Chandra Prakash 

Cinematography - Aftab Akram 

Editor - Ankur Das

Colour Grading - Bobby 

Sound Design - Abhishek Patil 

Music - Sajiwan Paswan

Screenplay & Executive Producer - Aaryan Chandra Prakash

Assistant Team - Avinash Chandra Prakash, Harishankar Kumar, Chandrakant Kumar, Prince Kumar, Stuti Kumari

Aājoor BTS 

 Thank you