Water Burial has won the best film award on environment conservation at the 67th National Films Awards 2021. Inspired by the popular Assamese novel Saba Kota Manuh, which is written by Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi Ji, Water Burial is in Monpa dialect and has an intriguing storyline around a dark ritual of a local tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.
The film, which is directed by independent filmmaker Shantanu Sen, has garnered positive reviews for its uniqueness in portraying the rituals of the tribals of the Northeast and bringing the attention of the mainstream media towards it. Water Burial is presented by Sanjive Narain, Chief Managing Director of Prag News, produced by AM Television and co-produced by Faruque Iftikar.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated regional film producer Sanjive Narain after his film received the national award, Rajat Kamal, for Water Burial, on the occasion of World Environment Day. He said, “The film was extensively shot in Arunachal Pradesh and Karbi Anglong district of Assam. This is a huge honour for the people of Assam and the Northeast. I like to congratulate the producer Sanjive Narain and director Shantanu Sen for this great achievement.”
Assam Chief Minister tweeted, “Today on environment day , I would like to congratulate @Sanjive Narain , CMD of AM televisión for getting the National award # Swarn Kamal #‘ for the movie Water Burial , ‘Best film on Environment conservation in feature film category in india.”
Cultural and Sports Minister of Assam, Bimal Bora said, “Water Burial deserves Swarn Kamal for its portrayal of relationships between human being and the nation. Assam has always been rich in national resources with potential of becoming of the key global players on climate change issues. Sanjive Narain and Shantanu Sen and the team have explored the cultural practices of Northeast by bringing one such ritual into focus. Besides lot of courage is required to portray a dark ritual of one of the tribes. Hats off to the team for the extensive research work.”