Yumnam Ongbi Shanti ( Thokchom Ningol)
- Film Producer -

By Thingnam Anjulika Samom *

Perhaps one of the most flourishing industries today in the industry-starved State of Manipur is the "digital" film industry giving a whole new range of career options for the people.

Not only a new breed of actors, directors, writers and producers are benefiting from the industry but also technicians, computer editors, choreographers, make-up artists and dress designers, not to speak of the many employees in the movie halls who were at risk of being laid off after audience turnout at the cinema halls started falling drastically after the ban on Hindi films.

One of the faces to enter this arena is Shanti Thokchom who has produced many popular films like

• Cheina,
• Thajabagi Wangmada,
• Nangtana Helli and
• Tellanga Mamei.

Shanti was born at Singjamei Chongtham Leikai as the third child among seven siblings – four sons and three daughters. Her father Thokchom Lukhoi is a retired teacher while mother Rajkumari Lembisana is a housewife.

One of her brother Ibohanbi teaches at DM College while another brother is the late Iboyaima after whom the now famous Iboyaima Sumang Leela Shanglen is named. Shanti completed her initial education at Pettigrew School and Singjamei Girls School, before shifting to Tamphasana Girls Higher Secondary School from where she gave her high school exams. However she couldn’t complete her higher secondary as she got married at an early age. It was a love marriage. Her husband Sarat is a Government employee. They have five children, a son and four daughters.

For a long time the responsibilities of running a household and caring for her children took centrestage in Shanti’s life. But a few years back, life had another role for her.

"My husband write songs and poems as a hobby. When the album rage was at its peak in Manipur and everyone was turning songs into video albums, people suggested why we don’t make some of these into albums.

We also liked the idea and so we made a few albums. After that the transition from albums to films started happening everywhere and we too thought of making films. We then consulted Oken Amakcham and he also readily agreed to make a film for us. This was the birth of Dashu Films," she narrates.

"Dashu is the name of my mother-in-law. We shared a very close bonding," she adds.

The first film made under the "Dashu Films" banner was a celluloid film entitled Cheina starring Lingjelthoibi, Pritam, Somraj and Kalpana and scripted by Yumnam Rajen. It was released on 18th January, 2003.

Cheina won the awards for best film, best direction and best script in the Manipur Film Development Corporation (MFDC) film festival held in 2006. It is the only celluloid film made by Dashu Films so far.

Since then Dashu Films have made numerous films in the now popular digital film format, the latest of which is Telanga Mamei starring Sonia, Medha, Dinesh and Olen.

Talking about the transition from celluloid to digital, Shanti explains, "Making a celluloid film costs around 10 lakh rupess; while you can make a digital film for about half the cost. Then there is more profit from the digital films. But more than the amount incurred or the profit, the guiding factor for the transition is the new popularity of digital films in Manipur."

Popularity nonetheless, digital films have to deal with the shadow of piracy in the CD format. So much so that film makers in Manipur are now trying to penalize those involved. "We try to keep the CD from the market," she adds.

Once we get hold of a script or someone brings one to us, we – myself, my husband, Oken Amakcham and others involved in Dashu Films – read it. After we are all satisfied, then only we will take the mutual decision to film it," she says.

"For many of the artistes, it is love of the art that makes them work for the films. Whatever we give they will happily accept. Some even do it for free, for the love of art," she confides.

Shanti who is about fifty years old now have had no professional experience with films or acting. According to her, it is just the love of it that keeps her going from one film to another. "My favourite film is Meichak," she says.

Shanti claims to be the first successful lady film producer of Manipur. Apparently an earlier initiative by another lady, Binapani, to produce a film a few years back proved fruitless as the film hasn’t been completed.

"Compared to other parts of India, women in Manipur have a relatively higher status. There aren’t many things that women today cannot do. But this doesn’t mean that all women are able to exercise their rights and realize their full potentials. Some of us are still tied up by the patriarchal society as the supporters of women are rare," she says.

"However now this trend is changing and there is good times ahead for womenkind," she adds on an optimistic note.

Friends Talkies, in Imphal’s Paona Bazar screened the first "digital" film Lanmei in 2002, and soon followed it up with another chartbuster, Lallasi Pal.

---

* Thingnam Anjulika Samom wrote this article for The Sangai Express . You can contact the writer at thingnam(at)yahoo(dot)com . This article was webcasted on June 20th, 2008

---