The recent screenings of the award-winning short animated film Rani Gaidinliu: The Iconic Woman of Northeast India, recipient of the ANN Award, mark an important moment in the confluence of animated cinema, public sociology, and indigenous feminist history. Based on Prof. Ajailiu Niumai’s research article published in the Indian Journal of Gender Studies (SAGE), the film has travelled across diverse cultural and academic spaces. Produced by Dimple Sugar of JVD Films, Mumbai, and Deepak S. V., and sponsored by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), New Delhi, the film stands as an important cultural text that brings together indigenous histories, sociological scholarship, and artistic expression. With NFDC’s approval, it has been screened at the Film Division Auditorium in New Delhi, Manipur University, the National Tribal Film Festival, and the Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh Pakhwada commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda in Imphal, Manipur, where the Hon’ble Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla graced the event as Chief Guest in November 2025. The film was also showcased at the Zeliangrong community’s Makuiluang Festival in Senapati district, Manipur.

What has stood out across these screenings is the film’s ability to resonate at multiple sociological levels. At the Film Division Auditorium, the animation film sparked interest among policymakers, academics, and cultural practitioners who appreciated its blend of scholarly rigour and creative storytelling. At Manipur University, students and faculty expressed pride in seeing a regional historical figure represented with nuance, care, and visual elegance. The National Tribal Film Festival and Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh Pakhwada, attended by more than a thousand people provided a powerful platform for connecting tribal histories across India and honouring leaders such as Birsa Munda and Rani Gaidinliu, whose contributions have long been marginalised in mainstream nationalist narratives.

The Makuiluang Festival generated the most moving reception. For the Zeliangrong community, the film was not simply a retelling of history; it was an affirmation of collective identity, memory, homeland, and cultural continuity. Visual representation carries immense symbolic power – it allows communities to see themselves within national discourses that have often overlooked them. In this context, the film becomes a form of cultural reclamation, an intergenerational bridge between historical struggle and contemporary identity. By engaging audiences from policymakers to tribal youth, the film demonstrates how cultural texts can bridge long-standing social divides and foster recognition, pride, and dialogue.

Reflecting on the film’s journey, Prof. Niumai notes, “I never imagined that a sociological study would attract Hindi cinema filmmakers—it was an unexpected yet welcome development.” This transition from research to animation film underscores the power of grounded scholarship to shape public memory and broaden the terrain of intellectual engagement. The film is dedicated to Prof. Niumai’s late father, Dr. K. Paochunbou Niumai, whose values and legacy continue to inspire her academic and creative work. The success of the screenings owes much to the support of NFDC, JVD Films, SAGE Publications, civil servants such as Indra Mallo, IAS, Armstrong Pamei, IAS, and community organisations like Zeliangrong Students’ Union and the Zeliangrong Welfare Association, Delhi. As a gesture of academic encouragement, SAGE publication has made Prof. Niumai’s article Open Access for six months and uploaded the film’s trailer on its website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkAnGXjy1HI

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0971521518785666

 Rani Gaidinliu: Reclaiming an Indigenous Feminist Legacy

Rani Gaidinliu, a recipient of the Tamrapatra Freedom Fighter Award (1972), the Padma Bhushan (1982), and the Vivekananda Seva Award (1983), occupies a unique place in the socio-political consciousness of Northeast India. Born into the Zeliangrong Naga community, she emerged as a central figure in the anti-colonial Zeliangrong movement at a remarkably young age. Her leadership united Zeliangrong Naga communities across Manipur, Nagaland, and Assam against British rule. Her activism, however, was not confined to political nationalism – it was also a project of cultural revitalisation, grounded in Heraka, an indigenous religion, identity, and autonomy.

From a sociological perspective, Gaidinliu’s life compels us to reconsider the intersection of gender, indigeneity, and resistance. She defies dominant stereotypes that cast tribal women as peripheral or passive. Instead, she embodies indigenous feminist leadership, rooted in community, spirituality, and political courage. Yet her legacy remains marginal in mainstream Indian historiography. This invisibility reflects structural patterns wherein the histories of Northeast India are sidelined due to geographical distance, linguistic differences, and enduring stereotypes that homogenise its diverse peoples. Bringing her story to animated cinema is therefore a socio-political intervention as it challenges the narrow boundaries of national memory and asserts the multiplicity of India’s freedom struggle narratives.

From Fieldwork to Film: Public Sociology in Practice

One of the most remarkable aspects of this project is its origin in sociological field research. Traditionally, academic work on tribal women’s leadership circulates within scholarly spaces. The transformation of this research into an animated film represents a meaningful moment in public sociology, demonstrating how academic insights can reach and move wider audiences through accessible visual storytelling. Animation film as a medium enhances this engagement. Through imagery, sound, and emotion, it recreates the atmosphere of a community, allowing viewers to sense the lived realities behind the sociological narrative. The involvement of filmmakers based in Mumbai also signals a new cultural shift wherein the Northeast is entering broader circuits of national cultural production.

Rani Gaidinliu’s leadership presents an intricate picture of indigenous women’s empowerment. Her early political mobilisation, long imprisonment, and post-release activism reflect a form of empowerment that is intersectional shaped by tribe, gender, spirituality, territory, and resistance. She blurred the boundaries between the sacred and the political, the personal and the collective. Her story challenges conventional frameworks of feminism by foregrounding community-rooted leadership that is not derivative of mainstream models. NFDC’s sponsorship signals an emerging recognition of indigenous histories within the national cultural landscape. Yet the authenticity of the narrative is preserved through its grounding in sociological research and community engagement. This collaboration between scholars, filmmakers, and indigenous communities represents a promising model for decolonising knowledge production and ensuring that marginalised voices are present not merely as subjects but as agents of storytelling.

Sociology Meets Storytelling

The success of this short film demonstrates the transformative potential of interdisciplinary collaboration. When sociological research enters the realm of animation film, it produces new forms of public understanding and revitalises historical memory. As the film prepares for its release on OTT platforms, it is poised to introduce broader audiences to the struggles, resilience, and leadership of tribal communities in Northeast India. By foregrounding Gaidinliu’s story, the film contributes to the ongoing effort to decolonise historical narratives and amplify indigenous women’s voices in India’s collective consciousness. It stands as a testament to the power of storytelling, the relevance of sociological insight, and the creative possibilities that emerge when scholarship engages with the arts.