Civil society groups in Haflong town of Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Thursday held a protest rally and submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking ban on movie Semkhor for allegedly representing custom, tradition and livelihood of indigenous community Dimasa in a “very wrong way”.

The groups have demanded an apology from actor and filmmaker Aimee Baruah, who directed the 2021 film. Baruah is married to Assam minister Pijush Hazarika.

The movie won two prizes at the 68th National Film Awards – special jury mention and best feature film in Dimasa language.

The plot of the movie is based on traditions and practices of Samsa, a Dimasa community which lives in a village named Semkhor, according to a Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting press note released in November.

The films showcases the practices, customs, and folk notions of the residents of Semkhor who “want to stay untouched from the outside world”, the release said.

“Neither they have, nor do they want access to any of the worldly needs and luxuries,” the press noted quoted Aimee Baruah as saying. “They are content to be on their own. The people of Semkhor – they are original, hence they are what they are.”

The film’s synopsis states: “ As per the custom of Semkhor, if a woman dies during child birth, the infant is buried alive along with the mother.”

However, in its memorandum to the president, the civil society groups claimed that not only the film misrepresents the Dimasa customs, but it has also hurt the sentiment of the members of the community.

“The film portrays the Dimasa people [are] against any kind of modern developments, like road infrastructure, schools and medical facilities in the particular village Semkhor,” the memorandum stated. “The film portrays the extensive practice and belief on superstition and child marriage in the village.”

It said that the the film wrongly portrayed female infanticide as a custom in the Dimasa society, adding that the claims are false.

“Such practices are never known to the Dimasa Society since time immemorial,” the memorandum added.

Dimasa community members take part in a rally against the movie 'Semkhor' in Assam's Haflong town on Thursday. (Photo through special arrangement)

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Baruah apologised for hurting sentiments

“Although the plotline of my film “Semkhor” was created on the basis of information that we collected from newspapers, books, magazines and a few individuals, the fact remains that the story is completely fictional,” Baruah said.

She added: “I simply attempted to draw the attention of our society to the beauty of the location, the local language, the attire and so on.”

On September 22, All Dimasa Students’ Union former president Mohendra Kemprai had filed a police complaint for allegedly misrepresenting Dimasa culture and for showcasing a false story.

Dima Hasao Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar told Scroll.in that a first information report has not been registered yet and they are still investigating whether it is a cognisable offence.

On September 23, Dimasa Mothers’ Association had cricitised the depiction of female infanticide in the movie, saying it was a wrongful projection.

“Fictional stories scripted for any movie should not be propagated as factual practices of the Dimasa community or any other tribal communities,” the group had said. “Such propaganda is disgraceful and may diminish the honour of the indigenous tribe of the state of Assam.”