ASSAMESE CINEMA : Hope or Frustration
Cinema, termed as ' Seventh Art' as postulated by Italian
film theoritician Canudo, can create and destroy the society as told me by
Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jahnu Barua. The journey of the Assamese
cinema dated back in 1935 with a historical film 'Joymoti'. But the aesthetics
of cinema, metaphoric representation of images in the frame , socio-cultural
discourse and the praxis of unfolding non-linearity in the narrative, heralded
with
" Gonga Chilinir Pankhi" by Padum Barua. Good cinema in Assam, loosely termed as alternative cinema, was born with it. After Padum Barua, came Bhabendra nath saikia with his masterpiece, " Agnisnan". But the filmmaker who brought the Assamese cinema to the world map, is Jahnu Barua who is committed to good cinema,never compromises with the cheap popular formula. Jahnu Barua is still fighting hard to establish the aesthetics of Assamese cinema .But what confuses me most is the phrase Assamese Cinema. Assam is a state with many tribes having multiple linguistic varieties. In the language of Karbi, Boro,Mising, films are being made in Assam, but the phrase Assamese Cinema suggests films made in the Assamese language which does not include the films made in other language. Therefore, I think, I should use the phrase Cinema of Assam rather than Assamese Cinema. Some of the filmmakers who make films in Assamese and who have made a substantial contribution to the development, are Santana Bordoloi ( Adhajjya) Sanjeev Hazarika(Holodhar), Bidyut Chakraborty ( Raag-birag) and Manju Borah . Through the documentary who is relentlessly working to showcase the cultural ethos of Assam to the people of the world is Mauleenath Senapati, a film school graduate. Senapati's documentaries are culturally deep rooted..Gautam Borah, a strong voice in the field of cinema,made a film " Wosobipo" in Karbi language that received acclodes and laurels in national and international film festivals.
The present scenario of Assam in the field of cinema is pathetically promising as new talents come out with some promise. But I feel that the new filmmakers have become trapped in the cheap populist formulae as if fell into the whirlpool. The legacy of the cinema of Assam is at the hand of the new generation and I am optimistic to a limited sense..
" Gonga Chilinir Pankhi" by Padum Barua. Good cinema in Assam, loosely termed as alternative cinema, was born with it. After Padum Barua, came Bhabendra nath saikia with his masterpiece, " Agnisnan". But the filmmaker who brought the Assamese cinema to the world map, is Jahnu Barua who is committed to good cinema,never compromises with the cheap popular formula. Jahnu Barua is still fighting hard to establish the aesthetics of Assamese cinema .But what confuses me most is the phrase Assamese Cinema. Assam is a state with many tribes having multiple linguistic varieties. In the language of Karbi, Boro,Mising, films are being made in Assam, but the phrase Assamese Cinema suggests films made in the Assamese language which does not include the films made in other language. Therefore, I think, I should use the phrase Cinema of Assam rather than Assamese Cinema. Some of the filmmakers who make films in Assamese and who have made a substantial contribution to the development, are Santana Bordoloi ( Adhajjya) Sanjeev Hazarika(Holodhar), Bidyut Chakraborty ( Raag-birag) and Manju Borah . Through the documentary who is relentlessly working to showcase the cultural ethos of Assam to the people of the world is Mauleenath Senapati, a film school graduate. Senapati's documentaries are culturally deep rooted..Gautam Borah, a strong voice in the field of cinema,made a film " Wosobipo" in Karbi language that received acclodes and laurels in national and international film festivals.
The present scenario of Assam in the field of cinema is pathetically promising as new talents come out with some promise. But I feel that the new filmmakers have become trapped in the cheap populist formulae as if fell into the whirlpool. The legacy of the cinema of Assam is at the hand of the new generation and I am optimistic to a limited sense..
