Jatua opens Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Assamese Cinema at IFFI

The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Choudhury Mohan Jatua declared open the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Assamese Cinema at the ongoing 40th International Film Festival of India here today.

Celebrated actor and National Film Development Corporation Chairman, Om Puri was the Guest of Honour on the occasion. Veteran Assamese cinema actress Gyanada Kakoti, who had represented the Assamese film fraternity at the 1959 Berlin Film Festival, also graced the occasion.

Joymoti, the first Assamese film - a talkie, was screened as the opening film. A short film documenting the 75 years of Assamese Cinema was also shown. A special package of five films - ''Joymati'' (Dir: Jyoti Prasad Agarwala), ''Agnisnaan'' (Dir: B.N. Saikia), ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai'' (Dir: Jahnu Barua), ''Ganga Chilone Pankhi'' (Dir: Padum Barua) and ''Aai Kot Nai'' (Dir: Manju Bora) documenting the journey of Assamese film industry has been included in the festival.

Directors Jahnu Barua, Nayan Prasad, Bitopan Baorbora, Ms.

Santwana Bardoloi and noted actress Bidya Rao were also present on the occasion. Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Government of Assam, Swapnanil Barua, Chairperson, Assam State Film Finance and Development Corporation Bobbita Sharma and Director, Directorate of Film Festivals, S M Khan attended the function.

It was in 1955 that Piyali Phukan by Phani Sarma became the first film from the region to earn plaudits outside, winning a Certificate of Merit in the National Film Awards of India. 1959 saw Puberun by Prabhat Mukherjee, the first film from the region to be screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The mid-1950s saw the emergence of Dr Bhupen Hazarika as a film maker with his directorial debut 'Era Bator Sur'. It appropriately showcased the musical genius in him. The 1950s and 1960s were also the decades of the Barua brothers Brojen, Nip, Dibon, Ramen and Dwipen of Guwahati, considered the first family of Assamese cinema.

In 1977 came Bhabendra Nath Saikia's Sandhyarag, which attracted the attention of the world beyond, to Assamese cinema. Saikia's humane, simple storytelling also won him acclaim for Anirbaan, Agnisnaan, Kolahal, Sarathi, Abartan, Itihaas and Kaalsandhya, the last one being a Hindi film that set the tone for realistic films on the issue of insurgency.

If Saikia provided the spark, Jahnu Barua took Assamese cinema to greater heights. Having begun with Aparoopa in 1982, Barua went on to make Papori, Banani, Pokhi, Kuhkhal and Konikar Ramdhenu. He, however, found himself among the best of contemporary Indian film makers after making Halodhiya Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Catastrophe) and Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door (It's a Long Way to the Sea).

The first won him a host of international awards as well as the Northeast's only National Award for Best Film while the latter earned him critical acclaim across the globe. His Hindi film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara also got appreciated widely. Talented names from Assam, like actor Seema Biswas, singer-composer Zubeen Garg and director Meera Kagti have sought and found recognition in film industries in Mumbai and elsewhere.

-- (UNI) -- 25BY30.xml

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