Oinam Doren

Shillong, May 11: From the small town of Bishenpur, about 27 km from Imphal, to Shillong and later New Delhi, it has been a long, uphill climb for Manipuri filmmaker Oinam Doren.

A product of the mass communication and video production department of St Anthony’s College, Doren, 25, announced his arrival last year by winning the national “digital talkies award” for his video film Perfect Guy, which takes a look at the apathy of the average male towards the opposite sex.

The lanky filmmaker with tresses that would do a woman proud has now set his sights on making a name in Bollywood. His next major project is, however, a Manipuri feature film titled Koken, which he has dedicated to Meitei women. He is simultaneously working on a music video for Shillong band Snowhite.

Doren gained respect within Delhi film circles, especially the DV Filmmakers and Theatre Group, after Perfect Guy made a splash. Shot in Shillong, the film is an excellent combination of real-life anecdotes and a bit of fantasy. “I am sending the film to international film festivals and I hope it will be appreciated by both filmmakers and critics,” he said.

Doren wanted to become a rock star or a chartered accountant during his pre-graduation days in Imphal, but found his calling in filmmaking after shifting to Shillong. The journey from the laid-back Meghalaya capital to competition-driven Delhi was one of struggle. Though he has already won a major filmmaking award, Doren has a hard time convincing producers that he has it in him.

“My life in Delhi has been a struggle for identity. My eyes and flat nose make people think I am a pirated Chinese from Palika Bazar or a Korean tourist. Some call me Bahadur or Northeast ka ladka. I remember a filmmaker once told me that nobody would give me work because I was from the Northeast. Another called me a fraud,” he said.

During the first 26 months he spent in Delhi after graduating from Shillong, Doren worked in assorted television production houses. He does not have fond memories of any of these stints.

On whether he idolised anybody, Doren said he was grateful to the likes of theatre icon Ratan Thiyam for “creating some space” for the Northeast outside the region. Maybe somebody will say the same about him a few years from now.