Languages are man-made. If a certain group of people have an idea about certain sounds and associate it with some meaning, a language is invented. The invention of a language may be due to practical reasons for communication, but once it comes in contact with people and culture, it transcends beyond just communication. As humans, we have a habit of giving meaning to everything around us and hence language is no different. But what happens when a culture begins to forget the value of its language? That’s exactly what the short film Byaase Sunucha tries to capture.
Byaase Sunucha: A Closer Look
Written and directed by Sidharth Goutam, the setting of the film Byaase Sunucha is pretty simple. In fact, the entire film starts and ends on the pavement next to a painting of the pioneer of Odia literature Byaasakabi Fakir Mohan Senapati. In the film Byaase Sunucha, an anonymous artist played by well-known Odia actor Dipanwit Dashmohapatra creates the picture of Fakir Mohan Senapati on a wall next to the pavement and begins his lament about the loss of identity of Odia language.
Starting off, Byaase Sunucha may seem like a regular film where an artist is lamenting the death of a language and culture. But it’s only when you pay close attention to the words and the argument that you realise that this lament goes beyond an artist’s aspiration to be recognised. It captures the anxiety that any modern Odia person may grapple with over the loss of their language and cultural identity. It’s the anxiety that every Odia faces about their culture, especially when they are exposed to another culture and forced to assimilate into the other culture to blend in. The film delves much deeper than the worries of a hungry artist.
What stands out the most about the film is the way the dialogues are delivered with such emphasis by Dipanwit Dashmohapatra that they are bound to ring in your ears hours after the film has ended. Also, the way the actor makes use of the location and the movements of passersby adds to the gravity of the situation. It highlights the director’s and actor’s brilliance in managing to make an unscripted moment look like a scripted one. The climax of the film is bound to hit home.
Afterword
Dealing with the anxiety over losing their Odia culture and language, Byaase Sunucha brings the pioneer of the Odia language to the debate table to defend his own language. But alas! Having left the language at the hands of his Odia descendants, the pedestal that Fakir Mohan Senapati had once created for his language, Odia is no longer in the same shiny, prestigious condition. The very fact that, as an Odia, I have to write about my beautiful language in English is a testament to the condition of the pedestal today that Fakir Mohan Senapati once created for his language. It’s a must-watch if you wish to learn about the rich history and current condition of the Odia language, which is deeply rooted in the Odia culture.
