Problematizing the binaries: A study on food symbolism in Bhaskar Hazarika’s Aamis

ABSTRACT Food is an important means of signification in cinema and forms a vital part of its semiotics. The article attempts to analyse food symbolism in the Assamese movie, Aamis (2019), directed by Bhaskar Hazarika. In the film, Bhaskar Hazarika parallels the taboo associated with certain meat-eating traditions in Northeast India and the forbidden relationship between a married woman and a young man to create a unique aesthetic rich in food symbolism. In this way, the film tries to destabilise the age-old societal conventions and moral codes. The paper attempts to problematize the cultural imaginary of Aamis (2019) rooted in the vegetarian/non-vegetarian binary. It scrutinises how Bhaskar Hazarika’s attempt to create a subversive critique of societal norms and morality ends up in reiterating and appropriating the binary oppositions and cultural associations rooted in hegemonic discourses.