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AXONE - A Sensitive Film on Food Politics and Diversity

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AXONE, streaming on Netflix, is a lovely, well-made film on food and the politics surrounding it. The beautiful, thought-provoking film hasn’t got its due acclaim or the popularity it deserves.

The film is about a bunch of youngsters from various North-East Indian states, trying to cook a local favourite, Axone- a highly pungent-smelling fermented dish, on the occasion of a friend’s wedding.

What’s the Hungama? 

A group of North-East students living in rented flats in Delhi want to prepare Axone (pronounced Akhuni) in honour of their friend on her wedding day. The dish, made with smoked pork and fermented soya bean paste, has a strong putrid smell that is sure to alert their neighbours. They fear they will be hounded out of their hard-earned accommodations because of their food habits. 

Knowing their neighbours' and landlords' strong prejudice against the "Chinkies" (as all North Easterners are casually referred to), the group of young Nagas, Mizos, Khasis, Bodo, Manipuri and Nepali youngsters try to cook as discreetly as possible. 

However, things start going wrong - their individual insecurities and squabbles threaten to overshadow the event, the landlady finds out, neighbours start shaming them, and it almost ends up in chaos.

How the group of friends resolves several contentious issues, deal with their own demons, and finally manage to cook the stuff is what the film portrays.

The topic is highly relevant in today's increasingly intolerant atmosphere that prevails in India. Food politics is rampant, and people have been heckled, harassed and even lynched on their food choices. Eating beef or pork has suddenly assumed monstrous negative implications, and you can lose your job/home/standing in society because of this.

The Fight Within

The group of North-East Indian youngsters is supposed to be tight-knit and unified. They share good bonhomie within themselves, yet they are not without bias against each other. 

The Nepali girl, Upasana Rai, finds herself pushed to a corner for taking up the challenge of cooking a typical North-Eastern dish that is not indigenious to her community. Her hyper Mizo friend, Chanbi, has her own survival issues, and almost drives her traumatized, jittery boyfriend to disaster for not defending her in public against typical roadside romeos. 

The voice of sanity belongs to the cool-headed Zorem, who represents the middle path of compromise with the local populace. The youngsters also find support in their Punjabi landlord's grandson, who goes out of the way to help them.

Still, he too can't help wisecracking "Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai”! (As per popular conception, North-East = Chinese??)

Direction and Performances

The film, directed superbly by Nicholas Kharkongor, is sprinkled with irony, humour and sarcasm, and there's never a dull moment.

Sparring, fighting, hugging, cajoling, the chemistry between the group of youngsters is electric. The lead players – Sayani Gupta, Lin Laishram, Tenzing Dalha, Rohan Joshi, have done a remarkable job portraying flesh and blood characters. The supporting players, Dolly Ahluwahlia and Vinay Pathak, are expectedly competent.

The ending is heart-warming. Everything can be worked out with a spirit of love, understanding, and cooperation. Unity in diversity is what our great country stands for! And a bit of compromise on everyone’s part is not such a bad idea, after all.

Special mention about the music of this film - beautiful, evocative and lilting. Music plays the role of commentator and unifier.

The film forces us to introspect and confront our deeply set prejudices. Who has the right to force restrictions on what we eat? Does the majority populace dictate everything, to the extent how people from minority communities should live their lives and celebrate?

It is a sensitively made film that trains the spotlight on the discrimination and jeers people from North-East India face on a regular basis. A must-watch for every discerning viewer!

 

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