The music of Assam consists various genres of folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from the late eighties, popular artistes have modernized the music catering to local popular demand.
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor and politician from Assam, widely known as Sudha Kontho. His songs were written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
Dr. Zubeen Garg is an Indian singer–songwriter, composer, lyricist, music director, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, poet and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assamese, Bengali and Hindi-language film and music industries, but has sung in 40 other languages and dialects, including Bishnupriya Manipuri, Boro, English, Goalpariya, Kannada, Karbi, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Mising, Nepali, Odia, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tiwa. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and plays 12 instruments including anandalahari, dhol, dotara, drums, guitar, harmonica, harmonium, mandolin, keyboard, tabla and various percussion instruments. He is Assam's highest-paid singer.
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.
Eastern Panorama is a monthly news magazine started in April 1992, by Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala and published from Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, India. It has since then been regularly published, without any break, and has been disseminating news, events, views, and concerns of the people of the region.
Borgeets are a collection of lyrical songs that are set to specific ragas but not necessarily to any tala. These songs, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th-16th centuries, are used to begin prayer services in monasteries, e.g. Satra and Namghar associated with the Ekasarana Dharma; and they also belong to the repertoire of Music of Meghalaya outside the religious context. They are a lyrical strain that express the religious sentiments of the poets reacting to different situations, and differ from other lyrics associated with the Ekasarana Dharma. Similar songs composed by others are not generally considered borgeets.
Pakeeza is a Hindi album by Zubeen Garg, released in 2013 with eight numbers of romantic songs under the banner of Times Music. The album was released in Guwahati Medical College auditorium during the event of Prag Cine Awards, 2013. It took 6 years in the making of this album. His feat of more than 20,000 songs in 30 languages over the past 28 years certainly speaks volumes about the versatility of Zubeen Garg as a singer. But it doesn't even come close to describing his uber iconic status in north east India.
Pabitra Kumar Deka was a progressive writer, columnist, publisher and editor of monthly magazine, film critic and screenwriter of the State of Assam in India. He is the winner of the Best Film Critic Award in 1988 from the Eastern India Motion Picture Association. The Government of Assam has instituted the State Best Film Critic Award in the name of Pabitra Kumar Deka Award from 2010 after his death.
Jim Ankan Deka is an Indian musician, documentary film maker, photographer and director of Bangalore based organisation and music school Eastern Fare Music Foundation. He is the first person from Assam to open a music institute and a production house in Bangalore, India. He won multiple awards for his song Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident.
Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xhipare is a 2012 Assamese language socio-political thriller film, with some dialogue in Hindi, starring Sanjay Suri and Bidita Bag in the lead roles. It was directed by Bidyut Kotoky and produced by National Film Development Corporation of India. The film was simultaneously made in Hindi as As the river flows.
Manas Robin is an Indian music director, singer, musician, lyricist, filmmaker, Bihu artist, and music producer from Assam.
Mayukh Hazarika is an Indian playback singer and music director from Assam. He is the frontman of Delhi based band Mayukh Hazarika and the Brahmaputra Balladeers. He is the son of legendary Assamese musician duo Jayanta Hazarika and Manisha Hazarika and nephew of Dr Bhupen Hazarika.
Anindita Paul is an Indian singer who sings predominantly in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi languages.
Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi is an Assamese writer. He was formerly deputy commissioner. His first literary creation is a poem named Junbai'.
Mission China is a 2017 Indian Assamese-language action drama film directed by Zubeen Garg and produced by Garima Saikia Garg as well as Zubeen Garg himself under the banner of "Eye Creation Productions". The film features Zubeen Garg and Deeplina Deka in lead roles and Sattyakee D'com Bhuyan, Siddharth Nipon Goswami, Yankee Parashar, Parthasarathi Mahanta, Pabitra Rabha, Bibhuti Bhushan Hazarika, Tridib Lahon, Nabadweep Borgohain, Ragini Parashar and Bhashwati Bharati in supporting roles. Zubeen also wrote the script and screenplay for the film.
Ratnakar: A New Myth of Love is a 2019 Indian Assamese-language action thriller film directed by Jatin Bora and produced by Bora and Navanita Sharma's J.B. Production. The film stars Bora and Barsha Rani Bishaya, with Nishita Goswami, Pabitra Bora, Chetana Das, and Sanjeev Hazarika in supporting roles and features young Ashramika Saikia. It is the adaptation of 2016 Tamil film Theri.
Pratighaat is an Indian Assamese language action drama and romance film directed by Achinta Shankar, written by Rajdweep and produced by Narendra N Sinha and Nalini Roy Gayari. The film has been released under the banner of Issue Production and distributed by Norman Studio Works. The film features Amrita Gogoi and Diganta Hazarika in lead roles while Ashramika Saikia as child artist. It is scheduled to release on 6 December 2019
Sumitra Hazarika is an Indian activist. She was born in a village near to Titabor in Assam, India. She was married to Manindra Gogoi until his death in 2015 and was sister-in-law to Bhupen Hazarika. She is president of the Mission for Integration, Gender Equalization, Harmony and Fight against Threat (MIGHT). She also works for the Assam State Commission for Women. In 2022, she filed a first information report (FIR) against politician Sherman Ali Ahmed regarding his televised comments on rape. In recognition of her achievements, Hazarika received the Nari Shakti Puraskar on 8 March 2017 from President Pranab Mukherjee. She also was awarded the Prag Perona in 2018.
