Gulai Soor characters represent those left behind: Raktim Kamal Baruah

While not as successful as Suvrat Kakoti’s Bidurbhai (2024), Gulai Soor, the first Assamese release of 2025, is surely winning the hearts of audiences across Assam. Appreciated for its storyline, humour, production design and focus on Assamese culture, Gulai Soor has reached its third week in cinema halls. Featuring the stories of thieves being trained in a school of thievery run by the legendary Diga Soor (played by Tony Deori Basumatary), the film is a humour-filled ride that focuses on themes of deception and heists. If read between the lines, it also has a subtle take on corruption, deprivation and dishonesty in our society as it explores the blurry line between the right and the wrong.

Diga is a man of focus and principle who steals from the rich but doesn’t share his wealth with the poor. He single-handedly takes on the British administration by robbing the royal treasure from right under their noses. After he is caught, he is publicly humiliated which instigates him to bring together some big and small crooks from around Assam and then train them for a mission. Thus, the film features all the who’s who of the burgeoning new comedy scene of Assam in roles that range from thieves to havildars and police inspectors. The ensemble includes Kenny Basumatary, Tony Deori Basumatary, Bonny Deori, Bedabrat Borah, Nabajyoti Nath, Saptrashi Gogoi, Bolin Bora, Himanshu Gogoi, Himanshu Prasad Das along with veterans like Pratibha Chaudhary, Jayanta Bhagawati and Jayanta Das.

When asked about choosing such a plot for the film, writer-director Raktim Kamal Baruah shared, “We wanted to reflect on the societal divides of a post-independence India. Back then, when India was a newly independent nation, the marginalised couldn’t reap the benefits of independence. This led to severe class disparities and as a result of that, in rural areas, particularly during the mentioned period, poverty and thievery became very rampant”. 

“So, the characters in the film represent those people who were left behind as society climbed the ladder of progress. Their actions were not just about stealing but also statements of rebellion against the system”, he added.

In online discussions about film, many people were scratching their heads over the meaning of ‘Gulai’. “Gulai is essentially a word that is used colloquially to refer to ‘tamam’ or ‘birat borhiya’ (awesome) in Assamese. But the word also reminds me of the story of a real person named Gulai from Jorhat who was also a thief. While growing up, I heard tales about how he stole from the British and trained other thieves under him. But as to the origin of the word, I am unsure if it is derived from the name of this infamous figure or the Assamese word ‘Guli’. But the character of Diga Soor and all other thieves in the film are inspired by Gulai Soor”, said the filmmaker.

Set in three different periods – the 1940s, 1970s, and 1980s, the film has little visual and production-related difference to distinguish between the three decades. But it has nevertheless achieved a significant milestone in terms of production design in Assamese cinema. The art and production design of the film are credited to Arnab Swargiary, Jyotirmoy Das and Uddipan Dutta respectively, and with costumes by Prem Kanta Rabha.

“Our vision was very much guided by the period of the story and we had to search for appropriate props accordingly. For example, during the 1940s, the cycle was relatively new to our society. It was also a symbol of status and privilege. And there was a company named Raleigh which manufactured cycles, so we had to create those old banners for that. We also used a left-hand-driven Jeep left behind by the British. The other challenging tasks included designing a light-weight Bor pera (big storage trunk used in earlier times) and we re-created a tiniali (a juncture of three roads) with shops made from bamboo and dry hay.”, shared Baruah.

“There was also a marriage scene in the film which we had designed in consultation with the old villagers who shared many insights about the cultural practices of their time. It was entirely made of traditional materials like bamboo for the structure and banana leaves for the roof. We also recreated the Bhaona (traditional dance-drama from Assam) and Raas performances as it was done in earlier times – the use of costumes, makeup gas lanterns and menthol light. So, it was a challenging task overall”, he added.

In a previous interview with the cast and crew on The Pulse with Garima, director Raktim Kamal Baruah also shared stories about shooting the film in interior regions of Majuli and how they faced challenges in searching for an old namghar (prayer hall) with wooden pillars and non-pucca floor and wooden bridges to be used in the film. It was also revealed in the interview that Majuli was chosen as the filming location because its development is comparatively less advanced than in other parts of Assam. Nonetheless, Baruah is indebted to the insights and help of the local people which made the film possible.

Made with a budget of one crore (including marketing and promotions), Gulai Soor (2025) also faced many hurdles during its course of production. Although conceived in 2020, the film took its time to release because of multiple delays during its production. The original budget intended for the film had been exhausted way before its post-production. So, the filmmakers had to pitch the project to several interested co-producers to complete the sound, colour and editing work of the film. The Assam State Film (Finance and Development) Corporation saw prospects in the project and decided to come on board as the co-producer and thus, the film finally saw the light of day on 17th January 2025.

Another highlight of Gulai Soor (2025) is Himanshu Gogoi’s performance as Gulapi, a queer character in the film. Actor Himanshu Gogoi who has mostly done comedy in various roles, gives an award-worthy performance with his delicate and gently effeminate portrayal of Gulapi. Born as a boy in a poor household, the character of Gulapi was socially conditioned to be a girl from an early age because his father wanted a daughter. Later, she joins Diga Soor’s force with the ambition to achieve something greater.

Discussing the character, writer-director Baruah shared, “The original inspiration for the character of Gulapi lies in the people that we often meet in our villages. They have always been an integral part of our society. They might face light-hearted teasing from similar-aged people, but they were never marginalized or excluded and were always treated as rightful members of society. Most of them also played active roles in cultural and art forms such as bhaonas. Today we know about gender diversity, but back then there was no such awareness about it. So, we have treated the character of Gulapi in the same spirit – an equally capable and no less member of the society”.

“But, as one of our protagonists, Gulapi also has a flaw. The character has no physical strength like that of other thieves training under Diga but is smart beyond everyone else. So, Gulapi’s stealing methods are different. In this case, the film is about how Gulapi uses that strength and achieves the final goal. Yes, Gulapi starts as an underdog but later outshines everyone”, he added.

About the casting of Himanshu Gogoi in the role of Gulapi, Baruah said, “Himanshu is a close friend of ours. And since the process of scripting, he was interested in playing the character. But we weren’t very sure if he would be able to pull off that character. So, we also considered casting real-life queer individuals but eventually realized that what a trained and experienced actor brings to the table, a non-actor cannot. And it was also because we were very sure about the demands of the script and it was a priority for us always”.

“So, finally Himanshu was finalized and since then he has worked a lot on his character to give us the Gulapi that we see in the film today. He has given a great performance in the bhaona sequences as well. He also has a beautiful chemistry with Padum (played by co-writer Mrinmoy Saikia). But sadly, we also had to omit a few scenes between them to reduce the runtime of the film”, he added.

Along with this, Gulai Soor (2025) was also appreciated for the use of the local and traditional culture of Assam. From the song Jinchili Minchili Pinchili, which uses words and tunes of traditional Deori folk music, to Bhaona and Raas, the film also mentions Ghorapak (a ghost in Assamese folklore). There is also the multiple use of fokora jujonas and jotua thas (traditional Assamese sayings) modified as one-liners, which according to the director is a take on how learned folks of traditional Assamese society conversed then.

After the end of its theatrical run, Gulai Soor will soon be released on OTT platforms.