Assamese director Biswajit Bora didn’t think his latest movie would resonate beyond India. God on the Balcony explores an all-too-common I...
Assamese director Biswajit Bora didn’t think his latest movie would resonate beyond India. God on the Balcony explores an all-too-common Indian reality – poor infrastructure in rural areas that limits access to healthcare, steady incomes and quality education.
Yet, the film has travelled quite far. In the coming months, God on the Balcony is set to be shown at a few international festivals. Over the last year, it has been screened at the Kolkata International Film Festival – where Bora won the Best Director Award in the Indian Language Films category – and the International Film Festival of Kerala.
Perhaps the film’s wider acceptance has something to do with the cataclysmic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has exposed the gaps in health care in wealthy countries as well as less fortunate ones. In India, which is being hit by a catastrophic second wave of infections, leading to massive oxygen shortages, an unimaginable strain on hospitals and countless deaths, the image of Khagen, who carries his wife’s corpse for several kilometres, is particularly poignant.
Khagen is from Assam’s Majuli district. There are barely any roads to speak of and no bridge across the river that winds through Khagen’s village. And then there are the frequent encounters between humans and elephants.
Khagen’s wife Numali (Pranami Bora) is grievously injured in one...
