{"id":6397,"date":"2022-01-08T23:00:28","date_gmt":"2022-01-08T17:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=6397"},"modified":"2023-08-09T13:13:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T07:43:28","slug":"jyotiprasad-joymoti-indramalati-and-beyond-history-of-assamese-cinema-parthajit-baruahs-new-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/jyotiprasad-joymoti-indramalati-and-beyond-history-of-assamese-cinema-parthajit-baruahs-new-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Jyotiprasad, Joymoti, Indramalati and Beyond: History of Assamese Cinema: Parthajit Baruah\u2019s New Book"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jyotiprasad,

The author Parthajit Barua and others at the book release event<\/p><\/div>\n

Jyotiprasad, Joymoti, Indramalati and Beyond: History of Assamese Cinema <\/em> explores the journey and struggle of Jyotiprasad Agarwala as a filmmaker while making the first Assamese film Joymoti <\/em>(1935) and second film Indramalati<\/em> (1939). It is the first comprehensive book on the history Assamese cinema that looks at the background and foreground from Joymoti (<\/em>1935) to the present time.<\/p>\n

The book is significant for many reasons – \u00a0Jyotiprasad Agarwala, who made the first Assamese film Joymoti<\/em> (1935), submitted a film script titled The Dance of Art<\/em> at UFA, Berlin in 1930, which would have been the first talkie in India. But in the narratives of Indian cinema, Jyotiprasad Agarwala\u2019s name has not been mentioned as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. This book is the first book in English to discuss in details his days at the University of Edinburgh and UFA, Berlin.<\/p>\n

Parthajit Baruah told Silhouette Magazine<\/em>, “Jyotiprasad Agarwala made tremendous contribution to the growth of Indian cinema. But sadly, in spite of his tireless efforts to give a new meaning to Indian cinema, has not received due recognition as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. Jyotiprasad, who wanted to construct a new cinematic aesthetic through his film Joymoti<\/em> (1935) that displays the socio-realistic aspect of Assam, had chosen Bholaguri Tea Garden, a remote place in Assam, to make films. Unlike his contemporary Indian filmmakers who wanted to make films to entertain people, Jyotiprasad acknowledged cinema as a powerful cultural and aesthetic medium, and used it as a tool for projecting the Assamese cultural identity.”<\/p>\n

The Foreword ‘Passion and Knowledge’ is written by Italian film critic, Massimo Lechi.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

An excerpt:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Dibrugarh to Edinburgh, from the UFA studios to the Bholaguri Tea Estate, from ancient Hindu philosophy to the invention of the cinematograph, from ancestral Asian musical traditions to the creation of modern film institutions in post-Independence India, this brand new history of Assamese cinema spans over centuries and covers with admirable ease the huge geographical and cultural distances that separate the Indian sub-continent from Europe, as well as the common threads that tie them together in cinema and in the arts in general. It tells a story full of pioneering \u2013 and therefore highly inspiring – figures and quickly evolving technologies, of individual artistic failures and collective cross-cultural contaminations. A story whose core, I believe, is not, as the title may suggest at first glance, the great Jyotiprasad Agarwala \u2013 the relentless dreamer, the ambitious Renaissance man behind the milestones Joymoti<\/em> and Indramalati<\/em> – or any of the talented film directors who followed his path, but Assam. Assam the faraway, peripheral Indian state, still relatively unknown to foreign travelers and somehow overshadowed by its noble neighbor, Bengal. Assam with its evocative folk songs structured on pentatonic scales and its fertile rural landscapes, home to a beautiful, fascinating hybrid culture, in which film – the hybrid art form par excellence \u2013 unsurprisingly found ways to root and reshape itself during the first half of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

In recalling the life of the genius who fathered the Assamese film industry and in depicting in detail the trends of the region\u2019s current production, Parthajit has managed to combine the patience of the experienced researcher with the enthusiasm of the hungry cinephile. The book you are about to read is the work of a passionate man genuinely committed to his native land and its history. And to his mission\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Filmmakers and film critics on the book<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Parthajit Baruah belongs to that new generation of film critics and scholarly film historians who make Assamese people proud of their hoary heritage be it Cinema or culture in general. He is the kind that would not hesitate to put in any amount of search and struggle to get at the truth of the matter he is dealing with. With a high degree of awareness and knowledge of life lived in Assam, he is chronicling and analyzing the birth, growth and flourish of Assamese cinema in this book. This authentic new book on Jyotiprasad Agarwala is well worth studying and preserving.\u2019<\/p>\n

~ Adoor Gopalakrishnan<\/strong><\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

\u2018Situated in a remote corner, it was next to impossible for Assam and the Assamese to start its cinematic journey in the early 1930s. All credit goes to Jyotiprasad Agarwala and his passion for filmmaking. Parthajit portrays the difficult but incredible journey of Jyotiprasad in his new book \u201cJyotiprasad, Joymoti, Indramalati and Beyond.\u201d Personally, I am astounded with delight to see Parthajit\u2019s exploration of Jyotiprasad Agarwala and the early years of Assamese cinema.\u2019<\/p>\n

~ Jahnu Barua<\/strong><\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

\u2018Parthajit Baruah has done a remarkable, very informative book on Assamese cinema with notable comments on the films he writes about. It is a highly creditable and readable account of the birth and development of the cinema in Assam. He deserves our high praise and gratitude for this.\u2019<\/p>\n

~ Aruna Vasudev<\/strong><\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

\u2018Parthajit Baruah is a noted film scholar and documentary filmmaker based in Nagaon, Assam. “Jyotiprasad, Joymoti, Indramalati and Beyond: History of Assamese Cinema” is the first ever book in English that charts the history, length, breadth and depth of Assamese cinema, a long-marginalized segment of Indian cinema that needed highlighting to reach out to an international readership. Broken down into eleven chapters, the book devotes several chapters to Joymoti<\/em>, the first Assamese feature film and to its director Jyotiprasad Agarwala of whom we need to know much more than we do. The book lucidly contextualizes the historical, political, cultural and sociological evolution of Assamese cinema and will fill a large vacuum in the knowledge base of Indian cinema in general and Assamese cinema in particular.\u2019<\/p>\n

~ Dr Shoma A Chatterji<\/strong><\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

\u2018Parthajit Baruah brings his customary rigour and deep understanding to this fascinating history of Assamese cinema. Brimming with nuggets of information, the book wears its exhaustive research lightly. A must-read for all lovers of Indian cinema.\u2019<\/p>\n

~ Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri<\/strong><\/p>\n

————<\/p>\n

Contents of the book<\/strong><\/p>\n