''Axone'' is a 2019 Indian

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Nicholas Kharkongor Nicholas Kharkongor is an Indian people, Indian film director. He made his directorial debut with his 2012 film ''Fair and Lowly''. His feature films includes the 2016 ''Mantra (2016 film), Mantra'' and the 2019 ''Axone (film), Axone''. Life a ...

and produced by Yoodlee Films,

Saregama India Saregama India Ltd is an Indian music record label and content company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is the oldest music label in India, established in 1901 as the Indian branch of the British Gramophone Company. It later became a ...

's film division. The film stars Sayani Gupta,

Vinay Pathak Vinay Pathak (born 27 July 1968) is an Indian theater and film actor. He has starred in many films including '' Khosla Ka Ghosla,'' '' Bheja Fry,'' ''Island City'' and '' Johnny Gaddaar'' and had a supporting role in movies like ''Jism'', '' ...

, Lin Laishram,

Dolly Ahluwalia Dolly Ahluwalia is an Indian actress and costume designer who was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 for costume design.Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...

, Lanuakum Ao, Tenzin Dalha, and Rohan Joshi. The film follows

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

n migrants in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, in their attempt to organize a wedding party. The film premiered at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

on 2 October 2019.

Plot

The story tells of a group of migrants from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, Upasana, Chanbi, and Zorem, who are trying to help their friend Minam with her wedding preparations. Minam, who shares a flat with Upasana, Chanbi, and others from their region, is called away suddenly for an interview. Meanwhile, her friends try to find an ingredient to make ' Axone,' a special dish that they want for the wedding. The friends face various difficulties as they attempt to plan the wedding and prepare Axone. The other tenants object and the landlord's mother-in-law enforces her rule against parties or spicy cooking in the flat. They decide to hold the wedding at Chanbi's boyfriend Bendang's flat, but finding a way to cook Axone without drawing the attention of locals brings comical problems. Shiv, the landlord's son, and a friend of Zorem, lends his hand. His girlfriend breaks up with him when she sees him with Upasana, and later with Chanbi. As the wedding hour nears, the friends are discouraged at the thought of failing Minam (who has not yet returned). Zorem finally resolves to cook Axone on Upasana's landlord's terrace, and receives the landlord's permission in spite of his mother-in-law. The friends manage to prepare the Axone just in time for the wedding. The marriage commences with Minam initiating a video conference with her groom and family from her hometown with Minam’s sister standing in for her, which the friends had not realized. After the ceremony, Zorem proposes to Upasana, and Chanbi decides to go back to her hometown with Bendang. In the meantime, Bendang reconciles with a racist incident from his past. In the end, the friends indulge in Axone, while Shiv laments not being able to find any mainland Indian cuisine.

Cast

* Sayani Gupta as Upasana * Lin Laishram as Chanbi * Lanuakum Ao as Bendang * Rohan Joshi as Shiv * Merenla Imsong as Balamon * Tenzin Dalha as Zorem * Asenla Jamir as Minam *

Dolly Ahluwalia Dolly Ahluwalia is an Indian actress and costume designer who was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001 for costume design.Vinay Pathak Vinay Pathak (born 27 July 1968) is an Indian theater and film actor. He has starred in many films including '' Khosla Ka Ghosla,'' '' Bheja Fry,'' ''Island City'' and '' Johnny Gaddaar'' and had a supporting role in movies like ''Jism'', '' ...

as Landlord * Samit Gambhir as Rakesh (eve teaser), Supporting/ Guest Appearance * Eliel R Famhoite as Lalrempui * Milo Sunka as Hayna * Aakash Bhardwaj as Hironya * Deepansha Dhingra as Shiv's Girlfriend * Jimpa Bhutia as Bunty * Pallavi Batra as Secretary's Daughter-in-Law * Vijay Kumar Dogra as Rowdy neighbor *

Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...

as the man outside Zorem shop (Special appearance).

Production

The film took 25 days to shoot on locations in New Delhi.

Release

The film premiered at the

on 2 October 2019 and made its debut in India at the

Mumbai Film Festival The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organises the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in the city of Mumbai, India. Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the chairperson of the trust while Shivendra Singh Dungarpur serves ...

(MAMI) on 19 October 2019. The film was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on 12 June 2020.

Soundtrack

The multi-lingual soundtrack includes Papon, M. Mangangsana, Mangka Mayanglambam and Tajdar Junaid with lyrics written by Vaibhav Modi and Kh. Mangi Singh.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8747548 Indian direct-to-video films 2019 direct-to-video films 2019 films Films set in Delhi Films shot in Delhi Films about food and drink Films about landlords