In 2022, Anubhav Sinha directed Anek, a film that revolutionized and significantly diversified mainstream Hindi cinema. The sight of a Naga model, Andre Kevichusa, in a significant Bollywood production, was an extraordinary moment for Nagas, igniting excitement and pride. Social media networks were abuzz with discussions, status updates, and news coverage celebrating this historic event. I, too, was compelled to understand the potential of Anek to reshape national attitudes towards Nagas and the broader Northeast region. Kevichusa’s participation in this film was a significant catalyst for this excitement and anticipation among Nagas in 2022.
Scenes in the Cinema Theatre
The excitement that Anek causes among the Nagas makes them rush towards the theatres. For most of these Nagas, spending money to purchase movie tickets is not a widespread culture; most will choose more substantial things than a movie ticket. This economic reality contributes to the unstable theatre business in Nagaland.
From April to June 2022, I was in Nagaland for fieldwork, interviewing filmmakers, touring theatres, and discussing the movie business with managers of a few theatres in Dimapur (There are only two popular theatres in Nagaland: Hill Star Cinema and Fun Cinemas, both in Dimapur city). During this time, I observed a recurring trend on my visits to these theatres: only a few people attended movie screenings, and houseful shows, as managers told me, were rare.
However, by May 2022, a significant shift occurred—Anek was playing in packed theatres. People from Dimapur, even Kohima, and other districts flocked to the theatres, drawn by the presence of a Naga actress in the film. The manager of Hill Star Cinema noted that Nagas gravitate toward Cinema and turn up in large numbers when a movie features their people or places.
He cited a similar instance with the Hindi film Little Boy (2019), which starred Naga actress Rose Longchar as the lead. When Little Boy was released, it also sold out at least one show. On one of my visits to these theatres, I also saw many young Nagas in the queue to purchase a movie ticket for Anek; they were spending money on movies like never before. That year, a local newspaper, The Morung Express, also reported about the major response to the film.
Nagas were excited to see one of their own in Anek, overlooking how the film reduced the Northeast to insurgency and violence. The thrill of visibility—rushing to theatres, sharing online—is understandable, but representation is more than presence. It’s about how a story is told.
As Sohini Dey noted in The Voice of Fashion, apart from Danny Denzongpa, Northeastern actors are rare in Hindi films, and outsiders still lead stories about the region. This lack is why Nagas reacted with such immediate interest—they rarely see themselves on screen and didn’t expect the film’s deeper framing to disappoint.
A similar buzz of excitement had been around Paatal Lok 2 because it featured Naga actors and the region in a prominent role. Nagas were keen to see themselves and their region on the screen. But as the series progressed, that enthusiasm turned into frustration.
One may purchase tickets, rejoice on social media, and even be unaware of the stereotyping and think that casting Northeastern actors alone is progress. However, the greater Naga and Northeastern communities are increasingly critical of the representation and calling for stories that show off their rich histories and cultures—not merely their struggles.
Anek and its imageries of Northeast
The result of such stereotyping is that the initial excitement that drew the Nagas and northeast audiences to such films faded into disappointment for many. As Pratik Deka writes in Bongaigaon Times, while Anek focuses on Northeast India, it fails to understand its complexities. It uses “Northeast” as a mere geographical direction rather than recognizing the region’s eight distinct states with diverse histories.
This oversimplification erases the rich diversity of the region’s narratives; “we cannot rely on mainstream Bollywood films to learn about issues like insurgency (in Northeast).” The visuals of Anek were predictable—insurgent groups, bullets, government troops, Kevichusa in a boxing ring (reminiscent of Mary Kom), and Northeast characters speaking Hindi in everyday interactions.
The central intervention came from a non-Naga character. Mainstream Cinema continues to imagine the Northeast through a narrow lens of insurgency, military conflicts, and exoticized landscapes.
Anek began as a crusader’s effort to scheme superior ideas, yet failed to. The film constantly flopped to grasp the diversity of the Northeast, with different states, histories, languages, behaviors, and even cultures.
The Northeast this film appropriates is without any states or names; hence, we see officers landing there, but the audience has no idea where they are going in the Northeast. Replying to one of my posts on the social network, Sophy Lasuh, a Naga filmmaker, commented that the plot lacks geographical and political context or identification of the people and the community they claim to present. Hindi is not a Northeast language.
Yet, in the film, Nagas and Northeast people mostly speak it among themselves—engaging but uneasy. Whose identities are hidden? Which place, whose people, what politics? Anek’s vague setting raises these questions. For the Northeast, identity has long been politically unclear. Unsurprisingly, this film adds to that by omitting the names of groups and regions. One wonders if filmmakers are stuck in Mary Kom’s storyline—proving Indianness through victory. Being seen brings joy, but it’s often blurred by distortion.
Chum Darang in ‘Badhaai Do’ and ‘Big Boss’
Cinema matters to people from Nagaland and Northeast because these are rare opportunities to see ourselves on mainstream celluloid. It’s a medium through which the Northeast’s history, culture, and identity are circulated among masses within and beyond the borders. So, when such cinemas focus on one aspect that is highly misconceived, it allows a widespread imagination of the region associated with everything military, guns, violence, political unrest, and social biases.
Chum Darang, an actress from Arunachal Pradesh, recently came to the limelight for participating in the TV reality show Big Boss.
For Darang, this participation was an opportunity to introduce her region and town, Pasighat and Northeast, to India. She tried to wear the traditional attire of all the regions in the Northeast as one way to tell the national audience about Northeast India. Given the 24/7 presence of cameras, it was one of the influential ways to educate Indians about this region.
So, cameras within the diverse agencies of Cinema, TV shows, and OTT matter to people from the Northeast. From the support of the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, public rallies in Arunachal Pradesh, hyper-active campaigning on social networks, and local YouTubers coming out with videos in support of Chum Darang—the whole of NE collective came together to make her take the 5th spot among the finalists.
The entire NE region was experiencing the same sentiment and desired her to win because NE had never seen its people win a TV show of such repute. As Chum stated numerous times, this was to make the existence of the Northeast felt in the country.
Before this, she played a lead role in Badhaai Do (2022), earning widespread praise in Arunachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Pema Khandu met her and the film’s team, tweeting his appreciation. Such support reflects a deep belief that Cinema is a vital way to register the region’s identity in the national consciousness. In a Hindustan Times interview, Chum Darang shared her fear of being typecast—a common concern for Northeastern actors.
She recalled being called ‘corona’ on her way to an audition. Still, Chum Drang remains hopeful that greater diversity on screen will lead to broader acceptance. For Darang, landing a role in a movie isn’t enough; she refused to be typecast, as Northeast communities have long been treated in Cinema and everyday life. Badhaai Do, unlike Anek, Paatal Lok 2, and other movies, allowed a Northeast actor to play the part without being stereotyped.
She narrated how Arunachal Pradesh lacks theatres, but her exceptional presence in a film drives them to travel to theatres far from their state, “We don’t have theatres in my hometown, so my friends and family are planning to go to Assam and will be travelling for three hours to see me on the big screen.” (The Times of India)
Cinema and Northeast India
For the Northeast region, seeing their people on celluloid is an achievement, a sign of cultural assimilation, and a movement towards a certain sense of recognition in the mainstream culture, evoking tremendous pride. Therefore, their presence in Cinema must help break any stereotypes, not reinforce them, because what truly matters is authentic portrayal, free from the colonial lens that has long shaped the narrative about the region and its people.
Chum Darang with Badhaai Do, Big Boss, and Andrea Kevichusa with Anek succeeded in evoking that pride, but the desire for unbiased representation remains unfulfilled. Kevichusa also became the first from the entire NE to win the Filmfare award for Best Debut. Hyundai Motors India gifted her a car in Kohima as an appreciation.
Such gestures of celebrating and gifting for participating in movies reflect the profound significance of Cinema for Northeast India as a medium for visibility, breaking stereotypes, and challenging narratives that have historically marginalized the region. When a Northeast actor succeeds in the Hindi cinema or the entertainment industry, it sends an influential message—that their stories, cultures, and identities are valid and deserve space in India’s mainstream imagination.
The impact of these moments extends beyond cinema halls, fostering aspirations among young artists, altering public perceptions, and slowly transforming the narrative of Northeast India in the country’s collective consciousness. Therefore, accurate representation goes beyond just casting actors from the region; it lies in how their stories and region are portrayed. Cinema is a statement of existence and belonging for the Northeast.
Views expressed are personal. The author is a student at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
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