Assamese cinema is the Indian film industry of Assamese language. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti. Since then the Assamese cinema has developed a slow-paced, sensitive style. In the beginning the industry were called Jollywood, for Agarwala's Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio.
Jahnu Barua is an Indian film director. He has written and directed a number of Assamese and Hindi films. Some of his notable films are Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987), Firingoti (1992), Xagoroloi Bohu Door (1995), Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara (2005), Konikar Ramdhenu (2003), Baandhon (2012), and Ajeyo (2014).
Sailadhar Baruah was an film producer from Assam, India. He is best remembered for his visionary contribution to Assamese Cinema as the producer of some of the greatest Assamese movies ever made, such as Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai and Xagoroloi Bohudoor.
Tora is an Assamese language children's film directed by Jahnu Barua and produced by the Children's Film Society, India. The film was released in 2004. The film received the Best Children's Film award in the 51st National Film Awards for the year 2003.
Konikar Ramdhenu is a 2002 Indian Assamese language film directed by Jahnu Barua. It was released on 20 December 2002. The film was shown in Indian Panorama section of IFFI during October 2002 in Delhi and Mumbai International Festival in 2003. It is the last instalment of his trilogy, the other two being Xagoroloi Bohu Door (1995) and Pokhi (1998). Konikar Ramdhenu depicts the horrors that happen in a juvenile home.
Xagoroloi Bohu Door is a 1995 Indian Assamese language drama film directed by Jahnu Barua. The film was released in 1995.
Firingoti is a 1992 Indian Assamese language film directed by Jahnu Barua. The film was released in 1992.
Aparoopa is a 1982 Indian Assamese language drama film directed by Jahnu Barua. It is the first feature film of the director and also the first Assamese film produced by National Film Development Corporation of India. It stars Biju Phukan, Suhasini Mulay, Sushil Goswami and Girish Karnad. The Hindi-language version is titled Apeksha.
Bonani is an Assamese language drama film directed by Jahnu Barua. The film stars Sushil Goswami, Bishnu Kharghoria and Monami Bezbaruah. The film was released in 1989. The film is set with an ecological angle and won National Film Award for Best film on environment.
Pokhi is an Assamese language drama film directed by Jahnu Barua. It was released in 1998 as is the second instalment of his trilogy — the other two being Xagoroloi Bohu Door (1995) and Konikar Ramdhenu (2003). Pokhi won a National Award for Best Feature Film in the Assamese Category in 2000.
The 35th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1987. Ceremony took place in April 1988 and awards were given by then President of India, R. Venkataraman.
Baandhon is a 2012 Assamese language drama film, starring Bishnu Kharghoria and Bina Patangia in the lead roles. The film was directed by Jahnu Barua and produced by Assam State Film Corporation Limited. The film was initially released on 26 October 2012 in the state of Assam and later on 5 July 2013 in selected PVR theaters across rest of India.
Basundhara is a 2009 Indian Assamese drama film directed and produced by Hiren Bora, with a screenplay by Sagar Sangam Sarkar, Birinchi Kumar Medhi and Bora himself. It stars Barsha Rani Bishaya in the title role, and Saurav Hazarika, Bishnu Kharghoria, Ifftikar Ahmed, and Prithiraj Rabha in other major roles. The film deals with a pressing contemporary ecological issue of human-elephant conflict in the region of Assam.
Ajeyo is a 2014 Assamese language drama film directed by Jahnu Barua; based on the Sahitya Akademi Award winner 1997 Assamese novel Ashirbador Rong written by Arun Sharma and adapted as screenplay by the director himself. It was produced by Shankar Lall Goenka and stars Rupam Chetia and Jupitora Bhuyan in the lead roles. The film was released on 3 January 2014.
Indra Bania was an Indian theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director from Assam. His performance in Jahnu Barua's Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai earned him the Silver Leopard Best Actor's award at the Locarno International Film Festival. He was the recipient of the Natasurya Phani Sarma Award.
The Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) is an annual film festival held in Guwahati, Assam, India. The State Government-owned Jyoti Chitraban (Film Studio) Society organised the festival in association with the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute. The first ever Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) to be held in northeast India, which will be inaugurated on 28 October 2017 by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The Assam government supported festival began on 28 October with screening of the Oscar winning ‘The Salesman’, directed by Asghar Farhadi and produced by a joint collaboration of Iran and France.
Rima Das is an Indian filmmaker best known for her 2017 film Village Rockstars, which won several national and international awards and became India's official entry for the 90th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Chosen out of 28 other entries in India, it was also the first Assamese film to be submitted for Oscars. The film won India's National Award for Best Film and Best Editor.
The 40th International Film Festival of India was held from November 23 - December 3, 2009 in Goa. Veteran actors Waheeda Rahman and Mammootty were the Chief guests for the edition. The 75 years of Assamese Cinema was celebrated by a special section featuring five films. Assamese film personalities Jahnu Barua, Gyanada Kakoti, Bidya Rao and Manju Bora were present on the occasion. For the first time, Malegaon industry of remakes received an international platform with the screening of two of their films.
Bulbul Can Sing is a 2018 Indian Assamese language drama film directed by Rima Das. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. The film centres on three teenagers trying to come to terms with their sexual identities. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese at India's 66th National Film Awards.
Film Appreciation on Cinemas of Jahnu Barua: Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Perspectives (1980-1990) is a research book written by Dr. Juhi P. Pathak and publish by Redshine Publication. The book is an exploration of the works of Jahnu Barua, a renowned Indian film director who has made significant contributions to Assamese and Hindi cinema.
