Kothanodi is based on characters and events described in Burhi Aair Sadhu, a popular compendium of folk stories compiled by Assamese literary giant Lakshminath Bezbaroa. The four fables referenced in the film are Tejimola, Champawati, Ou Kuwori and Tawoir Xadhu. Once upon a time, Senehi, a schizophrenic woman who loathes her stepdaughter, plots her murder when her husband is called away on a distant trip on business. Her husband, Devinath, encounters a woman called Keteki who has given birth to an outenga, which rolls around after her. Devinath resolves to unearth the mystery of the outenga. Meanwhile, in another village, a rich woman named Dhoneshwari is getting her daughter married to a python - a wedding that has dire consequences for the girl. As these three stories unfold, another mother, Malati, resolves to save her newest born from the clutches of her husband Poonai and his uncle, who have sacrificed all three of her previous babies. In doing so, she unearths a shocking truth.
Cast
Seema Biswas as Dhoneshwari
Adil Hussain as Devinath
Zerifa Wahid as Senehi
Urmila Mahanta as Keteki
Kopil Bora as Poonai
Asha Bordoloi as Malati
Kasvi Sharma as Tejimola
Monisha Bhuyan as Bonlotika
Dr Jayanta Das as Jagannath
Pradhan Deori as The Jackal
Production
In an interview, writer-director Bhaskar Hazarika described the film as "a dark and moody narrative offering alternate interpretations of characters in these well known traditional indigenous folk tales, especially the female characters." Kothanodi was filmed in two locations in Assam, the largest river island in the world, Majuli and the riverbanks along Dergaon, over two schedules in 2014. In between, funds for the film were raised through a successful crowdfunding campaign through the crowdfunding platform Wishberry. The Kothanodi campaign has been one of the most successful campaigns in Wishberry's history. Kothanodi won the Asian Cinema Fund's Post Production Fund Award for 2015, and DI and colouring of the film was done in the Korean Film Council laboratory in Seoul, South Korea as part of the grant.
Release
Kothanodi had its world premiere at the 20th Busan International Film Festival held from 1 to 10 October 2015. The film subsequently screened in several film festivals including 59th BFI London Film Festival, 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, and the 4th Dharamshala International Film Festival. In January 2016, the film received its Nordic Premiere at the 39th Goteborg International Film Festival, where the film was screened as The River of Fables.Kothanodi and Chauranga were the only Indian films screened in that edition of the festival. The film received its US premiere as an official selection at the 14th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in April 2016. The movie was showcased in Stockholm as a part of Cinema Indien during April 2016. Since then it has been screened at film festivals in Calgary, Austin TX, New York City, Stuttgart, New Delhi, Paris, The Hague, and Melbourne. The film received a theatrical release in its home province of Assam on September 16, 2016. Kothanodi was premiered in Assam in the river island of Majuli, where most of its principal photography was completed. This marked the first time a film had been premiered in Majuli, a UN Heritage site. Subsequently, the film received a statewide release and had a successful four week run. Kothanodi was also the first ever Assamese film to be picked up for worldwide digital distribution by streaming service Netflix.
