● Director: Kenny Basumatary
● Cast: Kenny Basumatary, Poonam Gurung, Tony Deori Basumatary, Bonny Deori, Johnny Deori, Bibhash Singha, Sarmistha Chakravorty, Yatharth Agnihotri,
● Genre: Comedy action
● Language: Assamese
Kenny Deori Basumatary is a reputed icon in Assamese indie cinema. The filmmaker-actor is known for cult classics like Local Kung Fu 1 and 2, Suspected Inspector Boro, and now, Local Utpaat. ‘Utpaat’ is the Assamese word for riot. And the film Local Utpaat is a slapstick comedy about a group of young men who happen to create chaos wherever they go, some characters more than others.
This gang of likeable fools live together at a house owned by landlord Deben Da (Bibhash Singha). These guys lack common sense and often make mistakes, and that results in hilarious situations. When a character unknowingly applies Odomos cream to this toothbrush in place of toothpaste, his housemate cheerfully comforts him: “at least the mosquitoes won’t bite your teeth!”
The screenplay is packed with eccentric characters like this. There’s a sleepwalking landlord, a “break up” guru, a severely drunk surgeon showing up at the operating table, and a “local Al Pacino” figure among others.
It is a riot to watch the scenes where Deben Da speaks Assamese in an American accent for reasons never mentioned. Or the fact that Kenny’s character has the misfortune of encountering accidents wherever he goes. There are many more crazy and unrealistic (but exciting) situations that one can’t mention here as that will be a spoiler.
A significant number of scenes are devoted to showcasing the cast’s gym routines and fighting. The camera adores the human physique, especially the masculine physique, as it lovingly gazes at the actors’ muscles and moves. One can even argue that there’s a homoerotic context here, given that many of these jocks live together, nurture each other and fight it out. And there’s barely a female character in sight.
There is one heroine though. The primary love interest and fiance of the protagonist is Maya (played exceptionally by Poonam Gurung). She works at the local gym and is a strong fighter; we are treated with shots of her working out and displaying her kicks and punches.
Local Utpaat is in proper Kenny Basumatary fashion in that it incorporates martial arts comedy and slapstick humour with homegrown talent and a shoestring budget.
Some scenes attempt to push the audience’s limits on how much they can handle visually, especially concerning scenes with characters throwing up (offscreen) and spitting out liquor or spitting on the road. And more than a few times, the dubbing is poorly matched.
Basumatary once again goes bonkers with the script, unafraid to display the silliness of it all. And the goofball gang at the centre of the plot are portrayed wonderfully by the talented young cast. We are hooked to them from the very first scene. The scenes before Kenny Basumatary’s character enters the story are just as entertaining as after he appears. Maybe the climactic fight scene is too long, but most action lovers will enjoy it. It must be kept in mind that much of the action choreography is unrealistic and more reliant on humour than reality.
It’s a bummer when the movie ends because we want to see more of these boys (and girl)! Maybe there’s a sequel soon?
Local Utpaat is now streaming on MovieSaints.
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