The French-UK company, Alief, has secured the global distribution rights for the supernatural folk horror movie “Bokshi,” directed by Indian filmmaker Bhargav Saikia. This deal comes before the film’s debut at the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Harbour section.
The movie narrates the story of Anahita, a teenager grappling with troubles, who finds comfort in Shalini, a puzzling history teacher who leads a hike to an old location known as ‘The Navel.’ During their school trip, things take on a chilling tone as it becomes apparent that this site is linked to a cult that worships Bokshi, a dreaded folklore figure.
In Nepali, “Bokshi” translates to “witch.” This movie breaks away from India’s recent trend of horror-comedies by offering a more somber, eerie perspective on the genre. Essentially, it serves as a warning story that highlights significant and contemporary themes such as women’s empowerment and mankind’s connection with Mother Earth. As Saikia explains to EbMaster, the film seeks to challenge the societal misconception of witches and instead portray them as symbols of female empowerment.
The Nepali movie “Bokshi” (meaning “witch”) differs from recent Indian horror-comedies by presenting a more serious, spooky take on the genre. It’s a cautionary tale that discusses important and current issues like women’s empowerment and humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth. According to Saikia, the movie aims to challenge the common negative view of witches in society and instead depict them as symbols of female strength.
Spanning over 80 days, this film was shot in harsh winter conditions across secluded Himalayan regions, with production confronting numerous logistical hurdles. As Saikia explains, a significant portion of the movie was filmed within the thick forests of the eastern Himalayan state of Sikkim during its coldest season. “We had a team of over one hundred individuals on set,” he says. “I insisted on filming only in genuine locations and employing every technical asset we could afford to ensure the film’s authenticity.
This movie includes conversations in Hindi, English, Nepali, and a unique language called Boksirit, which was created exclusively for the film by linguist Jan van Steenbergen from the Netherlands. The production of this project took place over five years at Saikia’s Lorien Motion Pictures studio in Mumbai. Despite encountering hurdles due to pandemic restrictions and financial difficulties, they successfully carried on with the project.
Saikia shares that ‘Bokshi’ was made entirely without external funding,” he says. “At times, it seemed like the project might never see the light of day. The production of this film put my family through considerable difficulties and required significant sacrifices.
The origin of “Bokshi” can be traced back to Saikia’s days at a boarding school in Assam. He shares, “I spent my formative years in a boarding school where annually we embarked on expeditions to the nearby hill states.” He recalls, “A specific journey to Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh left an indelible impression on me, as during this trip, our campsite was located beside a Hindu cremation ground near a river. Furthermore, a group of students got separated while trekking and returned much later at night, adding to the strange and eerie atmosphere.
The movie comes during a period when Indian horror films are experiencing a resurgence in popularity among viewers. As Saikia points out, there has been a noticeable change in audience preferences since the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, a pure horror film like ‘Shaitaan’ performed well at the box office last year. Moreover, the re-release of ‘Tumbbad’, which was shown at Venice, proved to be a big success among younger audiences, offering hope for independent filmmakers working within this genre.
Miguel Angel Govea, from Alief’s partner, found similarities between ‘Bokshi’ and the wild stories told around campfires during school trips, where our imaginations were finally unleashed. We are thrilled to be part of this project and collaborate with a fantastic group of filmmakers,” says Miguel Angel Govea.
In this movie, Mansi Multani (“A Suitable Boy”) and Prasanna Bisht (“Farrey”) are the main actors. Harsh Vaibhav wrote the script and also acts as an executive producer. Siddharth Sivasankaran and A. Vasanth are responsible for cinematography, while Advait Nemlekar provides the music and Himanshu Chutia Saikia handles the editing.
After Rotterdam, Saikia plans to submit his movie to festivals like Sitges and Fantasia. He’s eager to gauge the response from Nepal and Nepali-speaking people as ‘Boksi’ is a term they readily recognize. He also mentions that the main audience for ‘Bokshi’ are young adults, and he thinks the film could resonate well with audiences in India and other countries.
At the forthcoming European Film Market in Berlin, Alief plans to showcase their film, alongside other titles such as Jerome Yoo’s “Mongrels,” which won the Fipresci award at Tallinn; “Horizonte,” a supernatural road movie directed by Cesar Agusto Acevedo who was honored with Camera D’Or; and “Edge of Summer” by Lucy Cohen, produced by BBC Films.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam runs Jan. 30-Feb. 9.
Watch an exclusive clip from “Bokshi” here:
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2025-01-30 12:23