Laaz

Ila, a girl from a fishing community, is a bright schoolgirl and a favourite of her teachers, in a society where poverty keeps most girls out of school. She owns one set of clothes, which she washes and dries carefully, and she asks her father to bring her a bar of soap. Her mother tells her that washing clothes with soap is a luxury for a fisher family.

Ila finishes lower primary school. Her parents think that is enough, while her teachers want her to go further. Then her mother, pregnant and ill, dies, and Ila must look after the house and her younger siblings. Her attendance becomes irregular as final exams approach. With her teachers' encouragement she sits a selection test and comes first. Two months before the final exam she stops coming again.

After a long absence she turns up in the school grounds in worn clothes. When the headmaster asks sternly why she stayed away, she answers in a trembling voice that she had nothing to wear under her frock.

Manju Borah wrote the screenplay from Arun Goswami's story Maachmoriya Suwalir Laaz. The film was made under the banner of AAAS Productions Private Limited. Dialogue was by Basanta Das, sound recording by Bapi Sengupta, re-recording by Lakshmi Narayan and art direction by Phatik Barua. Tarali Sarma composed the music, and the film has no songs.

Laaz was shown in the Indian Panorama in 2005 and at various international festivals. It received a special mention from the jury at the 2nd Bangladesh International Film Festival and was selected for the London Film Festival in 2013.

In Manju Borah's filmography, Laaz came after Anya Ek Jatra (2001) and Akashitorar Kothare (2003) and was followed by Joymoti (2006) and Aai Kot Nai (2009).