Mur Xekh Gaan: A story filled with love, forgiveness, and mysteries

'Mur Xekh Gaan' is a film by renowned Assamese filmmaker Prabal Baruah who juggles inert human emotions, defining love, and forgiveness in its purest form while unraveling some long-hidden veracity thus giving a touch of mystery in the storyline. 

The plot revolves around a man yearning for his homeland, which he left behind twenty-five years ago. Is his longing leading him back to his hometown? Or does his story take an unexpected turn? How does his son, who grew up in Mumbai, cope with such a situation? Is he able to discover why his father never returned to Assam?

There are also moments of trust, distrust, and reconciliation. You will witness numerous aspects of people's personalities. Also, there is societal unrest. Or, more precisely, the negative consequences of social strife. The film concludes with a plea for forgiveness and peaceful coexistence for all.

Actor Arghadeep Baruah and Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta, director Prabal Baruah, and producer Bijoy Dowarah have shared their journey with IndiaTodayNE. 

“The character of Pritom completely matched with Arghadeep’s personality”

Speaking exclusively to IndiaTodayNE, filmmaker Prabal Baruah said, “it is a fictional story and not based on anyone’s life. Since I’m from Assam, I have always wanted to make a film about my hometown to contribute to its land and culture. I’m always in Bombay, so I didn’t know anyone from the Assamese industry. I started work on the script during the pandemic as that was a very good time to develop the story. Then I met Bijay Dowarah, the producer of my film and who’s also Bombay-based, and took a chance to introduce my film”. 

“There was no specific reason for taking Arghadeep as my film's lead role as it was very incidental and accidental. I have never worked in the Assamese film industry. I only know people like Nipon Goswami, Mridula Bora, and a few people from their generation. I haven’t watched Assamese movies as it was not available online. I might have watched Assamese movies in 1992”. 

“Priyanka Baruah who is also the casting director of our film was very informative. I briefed her about the lead character and that I want someone who is not overexposed and I was ready for a new face also. I auditioned many people and Argha was one of them. His personality, look, and age was very much fit for my character. Before I met him, I didn’t know his history or acting, but Priyanka told me to watch his previous movie ‘Aamis’. When I met him over a cup of coffee I realized that the character I have written for ‘Mur Hekh Gaan’, Arghadeep was a total fit and his personality completely matched the character (Pritom)”. 

Pritom’s character has similarities with Arghadeep Baruah’s thoughts on life

“It is the script and the story that connected us to the very fact of what it was trying to say. So it motivated me and is also something that I personally also feel very attached to. The whole idea of love, forgiveness, and also getting back to your routes is something I also feel strongly connected to. Pritom as a character has many similarities with my thought on life like how he also get back to his land in search of something”. 

Actor Srijani Mahanta talks about learning skills like scooty riding and recreating scenes

“They gave me scenes from already existing movies to enact. So I recreate Aliaa Bhatt’s role in Gully Boy to Assamese. The pre-production part, the discussion, and the meetings happened online as it was the pandemic time. My character in the film, Nandita is from a small town but the small town doesn’t make her worldview small. She is someone who looks at the world differently from the people surrounding her even her family. She doesn’t quite get along with her father also as he is a very conservative person with an orthodox belief about people and life. She drives around in a scooty which symbolizes her assertion of independence in that small town. Being from that small town, she has learned to question things and think critically. So in that part of my personality, I see myself and connected with the character. I had to learn new skills to play Nandita, I do not know how to ride a scooty. Acting is no fun game and it is something as serious as any other job. I learned how to ride a scooty and did quite well”.

Prabal Baruah’s Mur Xekh Gaan has come on a platter, says Producer Bijoy Dowarah

“I met Prabal Baruah at a private dinner party four, five years back. After that in September 2021 and he told me about the project. I’m not the kind of producer who hunts for stories or scripts. The whole project of Prabal Baruah has come on a platter, everything was ready. What I like was the story and I got tempted as it look like a readymade project that I just need to agree to. Prabal Baruah is a fantastic person to work with and he is extremely honest. He asked me to be his dialogue writer which initially I had some issues with as I had never done that before. We knew nothing about the Assamese industry but Priyanka, the casting director was the key person to direct us throughout the journey”. 

Prabal Baruah, a Mumbai-based filmmaker, wrote the story. Bijoy Dowerah, the producer, is essentially an advertisement film producer who crafts the dialogue and melodies.

Ajay Singha wrote the title song and is also working on the background soundtrack. Debajit Changmai and Amrit Pritam are in charge of sound design and mixing.

The camera is in the hands of ace cinematographer Arun Varma, who is capturing the beauty of Assam like never before. Sankalp Meshram, a well-known director and editor, is editing the movie. Malay Ray, another veteran man, is handling DI. They all studied filmmaking at the reputed FTII in Pune.

It will not be wrong to say it is a star-studded project with Arun Nath and Mridula Baruah in pivotal roles. Kamal Lochan plays an endearing character. Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika and Pratibha Choudhury will also be popular with viewers.

Arghadeep Baruah and Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta have stolen the show. Their chemistry elevates the film to new heights.

On the musical front, Assam's heartthrob Zubeen Garg has performed the title track. Ayaan Ali Bangash, the grandson of the first Assamese cinema actor Phunu Baruah of Joymoti fame, performs a solo musical rendition of the title track on Sarod. In addition, two Jyoti Sangeets have been recreated for the film and are sung by two more renowned vocalists, Deeplina Deka and Ritrisha Sarmah.

The film will be released on October 14 in theatres across Assam.