How Tangkhul Nagas sustain a movie industry with no outside support

Ukhrul: What comes to mind when you think of cinema and Manipur? Imphal Valley-based cinema, of course, and rightly so. Manipur may have been marred by ethnic violence since last year, however, people familiar with the state also know that the Imphal Valley has a well-established cinema culture and releases many popular movies.

In comparison, the Tangkhul cinema, which also calls Manipur home, is much smaller, produces fewer movies, and profit, if any, is hard to come by.

But that has done little to dampen the spirits of the Tangkhul Nagas, who currently number around 2 lakh in Manipur, with much smaller populations in Nagaland and Myanmar. With such a small population, cinema production is not only difficult to execute, but even more difficult to market and distribute. 

Born in the 80s

The first Tangkhul movie–Huinaya Phaningkakhui (Too Late to Realise)–was released only in 1986. The film was directed by AS Somingam from Hunphun village under Rosowor Production. The same year, another Tangkhul film titled Hanungfalo Aphinao (Come Back Aphinao) was released by Lions Club from Tashar village.

Interestingly, even the first audio cassette in Tangkhul came out only in 1985, released by actor-musician Assurance Raikhan, who continues to produce Tangkhul music. 

Slowly, the actors, directors and the rest of the nascent industry came together to form the Tangkhul Naga Film Association in 1991. The TNFA was conceived by 24 filmmakers, directors and producers to promote their identity and unique history and culture through the medium of films. 

The platform also aimed to encourage and mould the local talents in arts and provide space to artists and people involved in filmmaking. But while regional associations consolidated this film industry, it was not until 2018 that a Tangkhul movie, Wonnam (Scent of a Flower), became the first Tangkhul feature film certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). 

Produced by YL Amos of Hungpung village, the feature film is also one of the first Manipur-based films certified by the CBFC, a statutory film-certification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

A small, self-sufficient industry

While Tangkhul cinema barely hits 10 releases a year, the community has shown keen interest in cinema. Today, there are around 33 film production houses based in these Naga hill districts–Ukhrul and Kamjong–and about 112 Tangkhul films have been produced to date. And since the beginning, the industry has been almost completely self-sufficient. 

YL Ravins, president of the Tangkhul Naga Film Association, said around eight to nine films are released in a year on average. Talking about self-sufficiency, Ravens said, “Even during the initial years, directors and producers were from the Tangkhul community. However, we took help in specialised services like cinematography, editing and photography.”

But in recent times, Ravins said many production houses in Ukhrul now have their dedicated cinematographer, photographers and editors. 

That said, films continue to be made with donations from people interested in movies and well-wishers.

“It is difficult to hire professional filmmakers since there is no market or profit from the films that we produce. And most of the production houses invested around Rs 6 to Rs 7 lakh per film and from this, they try to make the film best out of it,” said Ravins.

He further informed that some production houses promote their films in other cities and states where people from the community reside. However, due to a lack of wider audiences, they struggled to even receive the minimum amount they spent in the making of the films.

Despite all these challenges, Ravins informed that the Association focused on providing quality films and standard equipment to meet the demands.

“When it comes to the Tangkhul films, the quality has immensely improved over the years. Moreover, it is quite commendable that despite no formal training, many of our youngsters have shown keen interest in acting and filmmaking as a career,” added Ravins.

The hype of the 90s, the lull of 2000s

MK Wungkathing, 63, a producer and director, recollects how the Tangkhul films were highly in demand, especially in the Ukhrul district and could promote the films at various video halls in the town during the 1990s and early 2000s.

“I used to make films with Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 but could recover the capital after the films were shown at three dedicated video halls for Tangkhul films for several days in Ukhrul town. That’s how we promoted our Tangkhul films in those days,” said Wungkathing.

Wungkathing comes from Ringui village, a village known to have produced the maximum number of Tangkhul films and artists over three decades.

Wungkathing penned his first film Kali Vahao (Where Have You Gone) which was directed by his brother MK Wungchan under M Series Production in 1990. After he directed his first film Tipkhawon in 1991, Wungkathing, a full-time school teacher and later retired as a principal, went on to make more than 15 classic Tangkhul films. He is one of the filmmakers from Manipur who has produced the maximum number of films and has composed over 70 songs.

Some of his popular films include Kongphei Chili, Leishat Ari, Penpal, Machaplu Jen, Thingthingwui Lungli, Ngathum Kahai Dairy, Imphal Turel Mapanda, Iwui Khayon Sahaoga and Black Rose.

The veteran filmmaker informed that both young and old alike were in a craze for Tangkhul films which were normally shown at video halls in Ukhrul town during the 1990s and early 2000s. 

However, concerned over the well-being of the youths, especially during the evening shows, various civil society organisations in Ukhrul urged the Association not to run the shows in the evening, he said.

However, following the restriction, the popularity of the Tangkhul films slowly went down and video halls in the district were also shut down owing to various reasons.

Ringmi Raleng, 72, another self-taught filmmaker cum producer from Hunphun village, was the first person to set up a video hall in the Ukhrul district. 

He was also the first person to bring a video film projector in the state after taking a loan from a bank, and he claimed that even people from Imphal often hire his projector to release Manipuri films.

Under the RR Film Production Center, Raleng made as many as 21 Tangkhul films, including his first film Chikat Kahai Mirin (Dedicated Life). However, before setting up his own production house, Raleng was known to have extended financial assistance to many filmmakers of the Tangkhul community and recorded many video songs.

“I gave Rs 10,000 as financial assistance to Lions Club to make the second Tangkhul film Hanungfalo Aphinao (Come Back Aphinao),” said Raleng.

Under his production house, Raleng also established a complete set of studios for sound recording, editing and other equipment required for filmmaking as well as a video hall for the smooth functioning of the industry. Unfortunately, all his investments were lost after a massive fire broke out in 2009.

“I spent over Rs 20 lakh for setting up a video hall, studio, video projector, cameras and other equipment before the fire incident. However, I lost everything in the fire and got Rs 20,000 as compensation from the government. Since then, I have stopped making films,” said Raleng.

Revival of the Tangkhul film industry

Many say that the inception of Meiphung Productions in 2014, a Christian-based production house located in Ukhrul district headquarters, revamped the Tangkhul Film industry. 

Since its establishment, Meiphung Production House has already released seven Tangkhul films, including its latest film Zingthanwo (The Morning Star), which won the best film at the recent Tangkhul Naga Film Festival 2023.

COO of Meiphung Productions Seema KS Awungshi shared that the production house was established with some young-minded people and aimed to provide our way of thinking and societal change through visuals as films can easily influence our life.

“Our society seems to have reservations about people involved in the film industry, especially underrated acting. So, we want to change such mindset and make them aware that one can build a career through acting because acting is also a God-gifted talent,” said Awungshi, who was working in the corporate sector before joining the film industry.

Talking about the reactions from the public towards the Tangkhul films, Awungshi shared that people have now responded more positively and encouraged the local filmmakers and artists by coming forward and watching the films.

However, echoing the other fellow filmmakers concerned over the absence of a proper market for film promotion, Awungshi said, “Since there are no cinema halls or theatres in the district, we visit different villages and other cities to release our films. That is how we promote our films.”

Awungshi won her first Best Art Director award for her debut directorial film I Hangunghaoga, a film based on a true story, in the Manipur State Award 2023.

Talking about movie budgets, Awungshi said they normally allocate up to Rs 10 lakh per movie and actors get paid between Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 depending on their performance and experiences. 

According to Kuku Shimray, CEO, Angshonyu Production House, despite their efforts to provide meaningful films, most locals continue to compare the Tangkhul films to other industries like Korean films, Bollywood or Hollywood movies in terms of presentation, storyline and overall filmmaking.

“The larger populace of the Tangkhuls prefer other movies rather than the Tangkhul films despite making them available on YouTube to garner viewers and to promote further into the society,” said Shimray.

Angshonyu Production House has so far released two Tangkhul feature films namely Leishichingra (Forever Love) and Atazan (Destination).

Pamshing Rungsung, a self-taught cinematographer from Seikhor village observed that the Tangkhul film industry has improved in many ways, including quality and even the artists, technicians and crew members are striving towards achieving greater heights. Rungsung added that he charged around Rs 1.5 lakh per movie since he has to do both cinematography and editing. Mind you, he has been an active member of the Tangkhul movie community for the last 15 years and has worked on at least eight Tangkhul films.

Leiyaring Humao, a 24-year-old actor from Kachai village, feels optimistic that the older movie lovers of the community and the millennials have adapted to the changing trend with this new generation of entertainment systems and methods. Her debut film Atazan has received a positive response from the wider population of the society.

With a changing trend, the community’s view on entertainment has shifted from older trends of preferring romantic and tragedy genres to a variety of genres, especially action movies and drama, added Wungramshang Chiphang, a Wushu instructor cum action director.

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