Assamese feature film Hridoy Bhuchitra: A Map of Heart, directed by Dr Mukul Kumar Sharma, has been selected for the Jaipur International Film Festival, adding to its growing presence on the international film festival circuit.
The film has already won a Gold Award at the prestigious International Independent Film Awards in the United States. It was also selected for the New Filmmakers New York International Film Festival in July and is currently premiering online at the festival, which runs from October 1 to 30.
Mridumoloy Sharma is associated with the project as website and post-production manager. Nandan has handled cinematography, while Sanjib Gogoi and Gunjan Sharma have served as assistant directors. Rukmajit Barua and Jyotirmoy Das are credited with sound recording, while Debajit Gayan has handled sound design and mixing. Mrinmoy Bora edited the film.
Produced under the banner of Pitambar Productions, the film is based on the central love story of Hridoy Bhuchitra, a popular novel-like biographical book published by Purbayan Prakashan in Guwahati. The screenplay has been jointly written by Bhaskarjyoti Das and Dr Sharma.
The book manuscript was serialised in 2023 in Satsori, an Assam-based UGC CARE-listed journal. The book has also been included in the gender and sexuality studies curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate English courses at Sibsagar University.
Dr Sharma is an author, poet, resource person, and advocate for gender education and equal rights for sexual and gender minorities. He serves as an Associate Professor of English at Bapuji College in Sarthebari, under the Sualkuchi-Sarukhetri region.
Expressing happiness over the film’s selection at multiple international festivals, Dr Sharma said the recognition was a matter of pride for the queer community in Assam and India.
He said the film explores different aspects of secret romantic relationships among young people from sexual and gender minority communities who face social prejudice and discrimination.
According to reports, the characters in the film are inspired by real people. The story features a gender-non-binary transgender student, portrayed by Swagata Bharali, a former student of the National School of Drama. Dr Sharma said he met the person who inspired the character in Golaghat in 2023, when the individual attended his talks on transgender rights at events organised at DR College and elsewhere in the town.
The film also features Bhaskar Barua, another former National School of Drama student, in a role inspired by a talented queer youth from Guwahati who faces intense family and societal pressure to marry a woman. Actor Nishiranjan K Mallika portrays a closeted transgender woman who struggles to reveal her identity to her family and society.
Dr Sharma expressed hope that parents, newly married couples and teachers would read the book and watch the film to better understand the challenges faced by young people from sexual and gender minority communities. He said greater awareness and acceptance could help them lead fulfilling lives and contribute to the development of their families, society, state and country.
The director added that the film combines a tightly woven narrative with performances, songs and dance to present the concerns of these communities in an engaging cinematic format.
The supporting cast includes Mukul, Ankita Barua, Pratibha Choudhury, Akshay Kaushik Barua, Aparna Dutta Choudhury, Prashanta Das, Anupam Dutta, Himangshu Bharati, Rituraj Gogoi, Raktim Nath, Naba Mahanta and Geetanjali Bhuyan, among others.
The Assamese film Hridoy Bhuchitra – A Map of Heart, directed by Dr. Mukul Kumar Sarma, is slated for a theatrical release next year (2027), specifically targeting a release around Rabindra Jayanti (May 2027). However, the film itself has already been completed and has enjoyed critical success on the film festival circuit throughout 2026.