BVFF 2023 | ‘Sangi-Gai’ movie review: A superb, arresting Arunachali fantasy drama

The first 15 minutes or so of this Nyishi-language fantasy drama is an enthralling piece of cinema unlike anything I have seen in recent times; it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to call it an Arunachali Apocalypse Now-meets-Churuli. The morose tone of the beginning of the film only ensures that the scenes spun around this situation don’t come at the comedic expense of either Tamar or modern humans. Sangi-Gai Director: Nyago Ete Cast: Tarh Tama, Tai Tugung, Kendy Zirdo, Chomina Beyong Runtime: 133 minutes Storyline: When a tribesman from the village of Sangi-Gai comes across a mysterious chest containing a golden orb, a portal appears and he gets expatriated to a strange new world Tamar gets rescued by Tugung, a culture-saviour Hindi professor, who ironically happens to be the only one in the vicinity who can speak Tamar’s Nyishi dialect. She, meanwhile, is fighting her own fight, against illegal constructions that have caused landslides but at the mention of Tamar’s village — Sangi-gai — Riter drops everything and helps Tugung find a way to send Tamar back home. When I stepped out after watching Sangi-Gai, I wished I wasn’t ignorant about Ete’s debut feature film, the Arunachali film scene and the Nyishi language.