Homen D' Wai (''full name:'' Homendro Waikhom, 1970 – 10 July 2021) was an Indian film director, scriptwriter and lyricist from

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. ''Dr. Yaima'', ''Mittrang Keithel'', ''

Yaiskulgee Pakhang Angaoba ''Yaiskulgee Pakhang Angaoba'' () is a 2011 Manipuri film written and directed by Homen D' Wai. It is produced by Premjit Naoroibam and Kenedy Naoroibam, and presented by Anita Naoroibam. It stars Gurumayum Bonny as the titular protagonist with ...

'', ''Dr. Hemogee Heloi'' and ''

VDF Thasana ''VDF Thasana'' is a 2014 Manipuri film written and directed by Homen D' Wai and produced by L. Momo Sharma, under the banner of Robin Color Picture. It stars Gurumayum Bonny as the titular protagonist with Leishangthem Tonthoi and Abenao Elang ...

'' were some of the famous movies he directed.

Career

Homen D' Wai started his career in movies under the guidance of K. Ibohal Sharma. He worked as an assistant cinematographer in the 1993 Ibohal Sharma's directorial venture ''Sambal Wangma''. Later, he went on to direct music videos which became hit song numbers of the time. The first feature film directed by him was ''Raja'', a 2003 movie. His 2004 feature ''Dr. Yaima'' became a hit and ran at Friends' Talkies, Paona Bazar successfully for more than 100 days. His movies ''Mr. Lakhipyari'' (2005) and ''Mittrang Keithel'' (2006) had successful theatrical run in Friends' Talkies and Usha Cinema respectively for more than 50 days. He also attempted to re-unite the Manipuris living in the state and Meiteis from states like Assam, Tripura through his films. These efforts could be seen in his movies like ''Nungshibi Ahing'' (2008) and ''Govindagee Sharik Makhol'' (2011). ''

'' (2011) and ''Dr. Hemogee Heloi'' (2013) were films of Homen D' Wai which made records in the box office at a time when Manipuri cinema's popularity among the masses slowed down. His last directorial venture was ''

Ei Actor Natte ''Ei Actor Natte'' ( English: ''I'm Not An Actor'') is a 2019 romantic Indian Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predom ...

'' (2019). Most of his movies were flavoured with comic, humorous elements. But his versatility as a filmmaker could be seen in movies like ''Nungshibi Ahing'' (2008) and '' Kekoo Lotpee'' (2008). The blessing ceremony of a new movie ''Sendoidi Ahing Tumde'' with Homen D' Wai as the director was held in 2021 but he died even before the shooting could commence. He also had plans to make four other movies (''Yaiskulgee Pakhang Angaoba 2'', ''Dr. Hemogee Heloi 2'', ''Khabei Chegap Dot Com'' and ''Phanekse Kanagino'') which he had finished scripting. He died on 10 July 2021, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

complications. He was also undergoing dialysis at Shija Hospital, Imphal due to kidney failure.

Accolades

Homen D' Wai received the Best Director, Best Lyricist, Best Screenplay and Best Feature Film awards at the 8th Manipur State Film Festival 2013 for his work in the movie ''

''. He also won the Best Lyricist award for a song in the movie ''

'' at the 9th Manipur State Film Awards 2014. His 2019 movie ''

'' won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award at the 13th Manipur State Film Awards 2020. The citation for the award reads, "''Most of the sequences of the film

provide amusement tickling the viewers in an emotional narrative promoting a moral health and invoicing the general interest of cine-goers. With this views, the film has been adjudged for the Award of the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, 2020''".

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D' Wai, Homen People from Imphal Meitei people 1970 births 2021 deaths Film directors from Manipur Indian film directors People from Imphal West district Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India