How a Bodo actress has become the face of 'women empowerment' in Assam's Baksa

TAMULPUR: At a time when the movie bizz is seeing a downturn owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, a local cinema icon has found herself thrust into the spotlight in Assam ahead of the Assembly elections in the state which will see the ruling BJP coalition government pitted against the Congress-AIUDF combine and new regional parties.

 

A music video and poster for voter awareness, basically to attract young voters, was released today at a ceremony that was attended by Deputy Commissioner of Baksa Ranjan Sharma and Helena Daimary -- the tribal actress who has become the talk of the town for her role in the elections. Today's meet was held in the Deputy Commissioner's office conference hall.

 

Addressing the gathering here today, Ranjan Sharma said that Helena has been chosen as the brand ambassador for the purpose of empowering women while also generating awareness among the masses to cast their franchise.

 

For the uninitiated, Daimary has a strong presence on Instagram -- where she has over 90,000 followers -- and was last seen in the music video of a song, 'Khwmsi Jiu.'

 

The Baksa administration's declaration that this young rising star would be the election ambassador certainly seems to have piqued curiosity, and her presence in an election marked by bitter political rivalry seems to have ushered in good vibes, at least in her home district.

 

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He also appealed media to spread the message amongst the young voters so that they come out in larger to participate in the process.

 

In 2016, the turn out of the voters in the district -- which has 4 Constituencies -- was 82 percent. "This time it must be up to 85 to 90 percent," the deputy commissioner said.

 

Helena Doimary and crooner Nabin Boro also spoke on the occasion and expressed their gratitude and happiness to be a part of this venture of the Baksa district administration.

 

Films centered around women are not all that uncommon in the Bodo belt of Assam. For instance, the 2019 Bodo film Jwlwi: The Seed, directed by Rajni Basumatary, who also played Priyanka Chopra's mother in Mary Kom, depicted the struggles of a woman caught in the crossfire between the state and rebelling outfits in the insurgency-riddled Assam of the 1990s.