Aamis is one of the most unique, out-of-the-box, and beautifully written psychological Assamese dramas of modern times. The way Bhaskar Hazarika (director) shows the bond between Nirmali and Sumon in the movie and how it goes through the twists and turns will just blow your mind. 

Through this movie, the Assamese director has introduced the world of cinema to a new kind of genre that no one has ever been introduced to. Even though the length of the film is 1 hour and 47 minutes, you won’t feel it as the story puts your attention in contact.

Let’s explore the plot of this masterpiece, the visionary director’s motto, its excellent cast, and the many achievements through which this movie has introduced the world to what the Assamese film industry is all about.

The storyline of the “Aamis” movie

The story of Aamis is about a lonely, married pediatrician named Nirmali, who is in her late 30s, and a young PhD student named Sumon, who is involved in researching food habits in North-East India. Nirmali’s husband is a senior doctor who hardly spends his time at home with his wife and son. As a result, many times she finds herself alone. 

The story begins with how Nirmali and Sumon meet each other and, within a short period, how their interest in food, specifically meat, brings them closer to each other. They even started meeting each other and bonding over meals comprised of unusual non-vegetarian meats like pigeon, duck, deer, etc. that Sumon brought to serve her.

Even though both of them started falling in love with each other and even long for physical contact, the social taboos don’t let them proceed further. As such, the movie shows how this bond grows more adventurous, and this restriction on account of social taboos ends up causing them to commit some dark and bizarre crimes.

Director’s vision

In an interview, when asked how Bhaskar got the idea of making such a unique and brave film, he responded by observing people. Bhaskar wanted to create a cross-genre film where the story would start with a love story and a story about repression, addiction, and the consequences of committing crimes.

He wanted to explore the obsessive quality that love sometimes brings along with it. He believes art is not the product that needs to be consumed; it’s all about making the audience’s mind engaged in every scene. 

He even states that Aamis is an observational and fictional film. The idea is to create multiple layers, viz., the question of punishment in taboo and what is permissible or what is not, to get to the end of the story.

Even when you watch the movie, at some scenes, your inner hunger may rise because of the way human flesh is shown in the movie. You may start questioning yourself about why you started to think like that. 

Bhaskar even cited that the idea of making such a film came when he saw some people sharing a meal of non-vegetarian food and the way they were interacting with the food and with each other. 

The director believes that the film is not a dark love story but a sad one. His only motto for creating this film is that he wanted to create a Romeo and Juliet kind of love story.

Aamis Cast

Behind a brilliant movie, there’s always an excellent cast. The movie Aamis also includes many talented actors, which together impacted our minds.

Firstly, the debutant lead actress of the movie, Dr. Lima Das, who wonderfully played the character of Nirmali, After watching the movie, the audience will struggle to digest that this is her first movie. The way she portrays the urge and thirstiness for meat just with her eyes will blow your mind.

The lead actor, Arghadeep Barua, who played Sumon, beautifully presented the character of a boy with an innocent face. The way he does the most abhorring scenes with a guiltless face is the “it” factor, which will make you stick to his character. The scenes didn’t let us feel that this was his first movie.

The other cast members of the movie, Neetali Das (Jumi), Sagar Saurabh (Elias), Manash Das (Dilip), Chandan Bhuyan (Bora Da), Momee Borah (Mina), Jishnu Kashyap (Piku), and Samar Jyoti Sarkar (Rickshaw Puller), also contributed equally with their crafted acting skills. 

Achievements

Aamis was successful in bringing home many awards in different categories. The movie got widely recognized when it won the Best Actor (female) and Best Director awards at the Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (Sg.SAIFF).

At the fourth edition of the Sailadhar Baruah Memorial Film Awards, it won three awards in three categories, namely, best actor (female) for Lima Das, best music for Quan Bay, and best sound design for Gautam Nair.

It also bagged five awards at the Assam State Fim Awards 2019. The awards are for the best direction, best music, best audiography, best screenplay, and best actress. 

Lima Das, the female lead of the movie, even got nominated for the best actress award at Imagine India. Moreover, the movie got highly recognized when India’s renowned filmmaker and actor Anurag Kashyap took on the responsibility of becoming the chief presenter of Aamis.

Review about the film

The reviews of the movie will definitely pique your interest in watching it. It has a rating of 7.9 out of 10 at IMDB. Some of the reviews given by various platforms are as follows:

“One of the craziest films you will ever see” ~POPBREAK.COM

“Generates real psychological chills” ~The Hollywood Reporter

“Bursts into surrealist mania” ~Film threat

“delightfully deranged” ~Firstpost

“leaves you gasping for breath” ~The Indian Express

“the most haunting love story of the year” ~Film companion

Where to watch Aamis movie ?

Tune into SonyLiv, Movie Saints, and Airtel XStream to embark on a bone-chilling journey filled with a lot of mystery. If you want to watch in Assamese with English subtitles, you can also opt for that on the aforesaid platforms.

The entire plot of the movie is all about indulging you in the psychologically dramatic story of Nirmali and Sumon. The story will keep you at the edge of your seat and will compel you to instill in the depths of the characters. 

Endnotes

When it comes to dark, out-of-the-box genre Assamese films, no picture other than Bhaskar Hazarika’s pops up in our minds. After Kotha-Nodi, this is the second time through Aamis he has proven why he is the King of creation from Assam, who always surprises and gives the audience a bone-chilling experience with his creative thinking. 

Disclaimer: Aamis movie is not for a soft-hearted person who can’t tolerate blood and violence.