Bhoga Khirikee (Broken Window) director Jahnu Barua is more interested in “telling stories of Assam” through his films.

Addressing a press conference at the 2nd Guwahati International Film Festival on Friday, Barua said he was also proud of the smell of his land’s soil.

Bhoga Khirikee was the inaugural film to be screened at the festival on Thursday evening. The much-awaited Assamese film was directed by Barua after four-and-a-half years.

This is the first Assamese film co-produced by Priyanka Chopra and her mother Madhu Chopra’s production house Purple Pebble Pictures along with Shahnaab Alam’s Easterly Entertainment.

The film revolves around Togor, a young woman married secretly to a militant Konseng who breaks her window to enter her room at night without her parents being aware of it. That is the Bhoga Khirikee or broken window in her life.

“Bhoga Khirikee is a metaphor. It is a reflection of the society of greater Assam that I have seen. Togor

represents this society. Assamese society has experienced a lot in the last

decade. A lot of issues have been raised in the film,” said Barua.

“We have a lot of stories and we should tell them to the world. We should find a source of pride in them. We should be reminded of our strong traditions and the film tries to do that,” Barua added.

Zerifa Wahid has done a commendable job as Togor while Joy Kashyap plays the role of Konseng with elan.

The film also stars Seema Biswas, Sanjay Khargharia, Kasvi Sharma, Mohommed Ali Shah and Bishnu Khargharia

Tracing the story of how the film was made, Barua said Wahid approached him and wanted to know whether a film would be made from a story idea they had discussed earlier. Later, Shahnaab stepped in and offered to produce the film. It was Shahnaab who got Priyanka Chopra on board as the presenter and co-producer.

Barua said the film was largely shot in locations in and around Kaziranga National Park. It took 30 days to shoot the film, 26 in Kaziranga and nearby Bokakhat and four in Guwahati.

Most of the forest scenes in the film were shot in Kaziranga while the main house shown in the film is a set.