The world of Assamese celluloid: ‘yesterday and today’

The study explores the entire journey of the Assamese cinema, which means a journey that will narrate many stories from its past and present, furthermore also will try to analyze its future potential. This paper deals with the trends emerging in genres, technical advancement, and visual representation along with a cult that emphasized the commercial success of cinema by toeing the style of Bollywood and world cinema. It explores the new journey of Assamese cinema, which deals with small budgets, realistic approaches, and portraying stories from the native lanes. It also touches upon the phase of ‘freeze’ that the Assamese cinema industry was undergoing due to global pandemic Covid-19.


Introduction
Is there any transformation in the craft of Assamese cinema or it is the same as it was in its beginning phase? Being a regional cinema industry, has the Assamese cinema been able to make its space in the creative catalog of Indian and world cinema? Is there anything radical that it has contributed towards the current and the next generation who is accepting and appreciating experimental cinema? This paper aims to explore the elongated journey of the Assamese cinema, a journey that will narrate many stories from its past and present as well analyze its future potential. It will also have an insight in illustrating how the cinema industry of Assam has faced privation, but still is endeavoring its best to rise like a phoenix by adapting renewed technologies and a vision to live another cycle. It endeavors to provide a gist of the current scenario of the Assamese cinema: the new journey dealing with smaller budgets, a more realistic approach, and portraying stories from the native lanes.
As expressed by Stanley Kubrick, One man writes a novel. One man writes a symphony. It is essential for one man to make a film. Cinema entertains, but at the same time they also address, represent, and communicate with its audience: cinema has become multilayered. A cinema influence, express, aspires, and also builds a perception of a community, society, and a country. It is a powerful influencer and a reflector for humanity. Talking about the regional cinema, most of the regional filmmaker knows the relation between their soil and the seeds, their 'man' and the 'air'. They have experienced the smallest to the greatest moments portrayed in the celluloid, from simple stories of earning daily wages to dreaming big: everything portrayed undiluted. So is the approach of Assamese filmmakers. Assam comprises some of the small developing towns and humble villages. The growth of Assamese cinema is gradual as compared to the other mainstream cinema industry in the country.
It is an endeavor to root out the cause and effect of unpredictable yet the popularity of Assamese cinema in the 21 st century where top-notch technologies and equipment can be used for quality management. It is a rare occasion for the Assamese cinema that its indigenous narrative has made its entry in the podium of magnificent Oscar. The year 2018 created history with the nomination of the Village Rockstar by Rima Das in the Oscar. Blandford and others advocate "... three criteria any director must meet to be an auteur: technical competence, personal style, and interior meaning" (Blandford, 2000:17). Considering Blandford's criteria, it shall not be wrong to address Rima Das as an auteur. Village Rockstar represents not only the essential, experimental approach of the Assamese 'another' new wave cinema, but also it has become a torchbearer for several projects of avant-garde filmmakers. However, Assamese cinema has rarely managed to make the breakthrough on the national screen of the multiplexes regardless of its cinema's making its presence in the National Awards over the years. The journey of National Award for Assamese cinema began with Nip Barua's Ronga Police (1958) in the 6 th National Film Awards.
But it does not mean that the craft of weaving narratives in the celluloid is a secondary means of communication in Assam as a regional cinema. Storytellers like Bhabendra Nath Saikia 1 (20 th February 1932-13 th August 2003), Jahnu Barua 2 (born 1952), Bhupen Hazarika 3 (8 th September 1926 -5 th November 2011), Munin Barua 4 (5 th November 1946 -7 th April 2018), to name a few, have always been loyal to this form, as the pages of history testify that making of cinema has been a part of their identity. They struggled for a realistic representation of the rural culture and the tussles of the inhabitant against oppression and exploitation. Even though the beginning of the 21 st century has seen 'Bollywood-influenced' Assamese cinema releasing on the big screen, but the stories were not been able to compete in the national market of cinema 'bazaar'. Despite being a self-supported entertainment industry, Assamese cinema has its own local flavor of narratives, the stories transmit its people's culture, struggle, believes, and existence. The contemporary Assamese cinema and its filmmakers are trying to leave an imprint on both national and international screens and platforms. To mention, Bhaskar Hazarika's Aamis (2019) won two awards at the 3rd Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) 2019, and also the 'Best Director' Award with the lead Lima Das winning the 'Best Actor: Female' Award.

Beginning of Cinema in Assam
"The first Indian film show occurred in July 7, 1896, a few months after the Lumiere brothers introduced the art of cinematography in Paris in 1895. Filmmakers in the west soon started using India, its scenery and exotic culture in their films like Coconut Fair (1897), Our Indian empire (1897), A Panorama of Indian Scenes and Procession (1898), and Poona Races '98' (1898)" (Acharya, 2015:10). When the Lumiere brothers organized their short films screening in India, it was in Watson Hotel, Bombay. "There were four shows in the evening, at 6, 7, 9 and 10; admission was a flat Re1; the films screened were Entry Of Cinematographe, Arrival Of A Train, The Sea Bath, A Demolition, Leaving The Factory, and Ladies And Soldiers On Wheels" (Bhatia, 2017). However, it took a little more than a decade for cinema to reach Assam. Assamese cinema cannot be thought about without Jyoti Prasad Agarwal 5 (17 June 1903-17 January 1951. "Assamese film industry's foundation was laid way back in 1935 with Jyoti Prasad Agarwala's Joymoti, it had a slow start and attracted a fewer audience. Even as the situation improved since 1970-1980s onwards, the industry's growth compared to many other regional cinemas has been relatively stunted for various reasons" (Barpujari, 2013:55  Jyoti Prasad Agarwal was influenced by Lev Kuleshov's style of crafting cinema following the doctrine of cinematic realism that demands banish of the theatrical elements of cinema and creating space for the aesthetic values of documentaries, montage, and real-life substance. The changes that have taken place in the Soviet Union in 1917 after the revolution had influenced Agarwal's idea of a new culture in the cinema while learning filmmaking at the UFA studio in Germany. "While in Berlin, Agarwala attempted to turn his play, Sonit Konwori, into an English movie, with the help of UFA studio. Things didn't work out, but the experience greatly enhanced his knowledge of filmmaking" (Dey, 2020).
In pre-independent India, Agarwala was the only political filmmaker, however, in post-independent India, there came many filmmakers in the timeline of Indian cinema like Ritwik Ghatak and Shyam Benegal.
"After his return to Assam, he continued his activities for Indian independence that has disrupted his studies earlier and in 1932 he was imprisoned for fifteen months. He established the Chitraband Studio at the Bholaguri Tea Estate and began filming the movie Joymoti around the end of 1933" (Raj Kumar, 2009:249). Agarwala was financially strong enough to schedule the production of his first film in any of the popular studios in Calcutta or Pune. But, he was deeply skeptical regarding any misrepresentation of the conventional culture of his native land. The large concrete Chitraban studio was designed using local and traditional "Joymoti may also be seen as India's first feminist film. Three of the film's female characters -Joymoti herself, her close friend Seuti, and the king's mother -were against the royal court's politics." 8 ( Mazid, 2006). Otherwise, the portrayal of women in the Indian celluloid has been either as a vulnerable gender, sufferer, a voiceless, or a Goddess of 'sacrifice' for her family. After four year's he made his second last effort in 1939 titled Indramalati, which was shot in a studio in Kolkata with a hope for a successful box office. And it merely recovered his production cost, and, with a heavy heart, he had to close-down his studio. Unfortunately, Agarwala is not considered among the pioneer of Indian cinema. The world of South Asian cinema had to re-discovered his passion for cinema since he was never acclaimed in his native place. It is the current Hindustani cinema that is feeling a need to look back at the unsung heroes of the realism cinema on the Indian map.

Timeline of Assamese Cinema
The narrative of Assamese cinema has been a slow-paced linear narrative from the beginning. It had its own share of experimentation, expectation, and limitation. The scripts were mostly adapted from history, mythology, and realistic stories from the native land.
Creating a fancy imaginary world for the audience to escape their reality was not a filmmaker's choice. Considering the cinematic language, basic editing approach, locked frames with simple compositions, earthy color palettes were the prime choice of the Assamese filmmakers, without taking away the essence of realism from the audience. Joymoti was the first historical release followed by Indramalati (1939), the third Assamese cinema. But subsequently, the production of cinema in that decade was limited. Stories were there, but the storytellers were apprehensive and took time to analyze this form.  The 1940s carried the pain of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala's loss along with a temporary pause for a few years in the cinema production until the onset of WWII, which brought changes in the landscape. The phase of silence motivated Rohini Kr. Baruah to produce Manomati (1941). At the same time, there were noted poet, lyricist, dramatist, author, artist, theatre actors who had the desire to try their skills of narrating stories using celluloid. Indeed, after the gap in cinema production, their efforts became notable contributions, however, the production of cinema in number was limited as it did not come out to be a successful form to invest time and money. The filmmakers of the 1940s had well represented the stories revolving around the then existing issues like communal violence and the common man's struggle for survival. Raagini (1987) and Kolahal (1989), which were the winners of National Award-Best Regional Film. The 80's also has some first's in the Assamese cinema industry like the first Eastman color movie was Ajali Nabou (1980)  To tally the timeline of cinema production, the 1960s had witnessed an era of boxoffice hits along with the 1970s, the 1980s and the late 1990s where the new wave was on its way. A 'new cinema' was in the process of emerging: shredding away the limited camera composition, static frames, emotional narratives, controlled soundtrack, use of basic editing techniques, realistic dialogues, mise-en-scene depicting the humble livelihood: abandoning a non-experimental cinema. The investments were limited as the reach of the audience from the Assamese cinema was also limited. Another beauty of the Assamese cinema industry being a regional cinema is that the veteran actors were very much a part of the common crowd in the streets: no comfort of vanity van, no luxury brands to endorse, or any exclusive lifestyles to maintain. Stardom did not prevail in the Assamese cinema industry till then. They witnessed and lived through the problems of life, they experienced the issues instead of reading, hearing, or try to just adopt the script. These precious experiences assisted them to nurture the same emotions on the silver screen.
The 90s was the era that has accepted both: which gave businesses to local vendors who provided the new releases mostly on rent, and also sold video cassettes/tapes on demand. Watching cinema at home was a luxury affair and also a matter of pleasure around the early 1990s since the mall-culture, fine dining, or clubbing was not common. The cult of video and cassette tapes ruled the market for a certain period for both cinema and music (albums). Nonetheless, by the end of the 90's arrived a time where the VCR cult came to an end, the release of Assamese cinema was nearly on the threshold of collapse.
Shifting to digital production was a dice decision. Adapting to digital production was an undiscovered investment for a small self-supported industry that has not even settled yet.
Expecting quality content, influential narratives, creative techniques, or the performance of good actors were not even thinkable.
Cinema in India has its deep-rooted influence among its people. As the youth of Assam started migrating to the metro cities they got more exposed to the national and international taste of cinema. This did bring back the vibe to revive the Assamese cinema. On the other hand, certain factors have influenced the emergence of these new dynamics in regional cinema (and especially for Assamese cinema) : Firstly, the new generation has helped to act as a bridge of knowledge from one state to another, from one country to another. They discussed ideas, appreciated experimental work, and nurtured creativity. They understood the need of the hour: they embraced 'newness'. The techsavvy Generation Z is helping to build a network society for the exchange of information, content, and ideas.
Secondly, the convergence of the internet with mobile technology has made information accessible to everyone and everywhere. This has supported many cinema critics and creative brains to form groups to exchange ideas and works. In short, the internet has unlocked an extensive horizon towards the world cinema library which can be accessed by anyone from anywhere at the tip of their figure. The OTT platforms and digital media have also added to this new wave of demand for regional cinemas.
Thirdly, globalization along with mobility in all directions has opened the minds and scopes. And due to this, the contemporary filmmakers (especially regional filmmakers) got exposure to the international cinema with the help of various prestigious film festivals as a platform to experience brilliant works and also to showcase their own crafts.

Fourthly, independent and government bodies (Film Division of India, Children's Film
Society of India, and a few more) have begun to take the initiative to nurture the small but creative thoughts and support the regional filmmakers.
The meaning of entertainment has changed; the rigidness to accept and absorb representations on-screen has transformed. Platforms to access cinemas have enlarged for which the dynamic for demands of the content have also changed. "The way we consume motion pictures has changed even more. In the 1970s, film buffs organized their lives around repertory-house schedules and might travel 50 miles to catch a screening of a rare film. Today, even the most out-of-the-way town has a video store with four or five thousand titles in stock, ready for viewing at a moment's notice, and if you can't find it there, you can get it on the Internet. Twenty years ago, very few of us actually owned movies; today, even fewer of us do not. Films are a lot more like books, now (and books are about to become more cinematic). In the past twenty years our exposure to filmed entertainment has increased by a magnitude or more" (Monaco, 2000:13).

The Contemporary world of Assamese Celluloid: re-birth of Assamese cinema
In an interview,1961, Truffaut said the 'New Wave' is neither a movement, nor a school, nor a group, it's a quality. The contemporary phase has opened a new discourse on 'regional reality'. It is filled with stories, mostly from debut directorial which has created a buzz not only in their homeland, but their stories have reached national and international screens. "The more we see the screen as a mirror rather than an escape hatch, the more we will be prepared for what is to come" (Bazin, 1967:7). Cinema is trying to be a mirror for the transformation of the Assamese society which is in a complex state moving towards a new paradigm in every aspect. "North-east India, is flooded with visionary filmmakers; who, on almost zero support and budget, are being able to make a mark for themselves at various film festivals, both in India and abroad. Bagging National awards and entries to national and international film festivals, it seems the game has just begun. This is a whole new breed of filmmakers from the region, which has defined all odds and journeyed afar, to voice social concerns that need attention" (Goswami, Borah, Barbaruah, 2012:36). Borpujari's directorial debut Ishu (2018) will introduce the audience to certain myths, stereotypical taboos of witch-hunting, and practices that were and might be is still being practiced in rural Assam. Deep Choudhary in his directorial debut Alifa (2018) deals with displacement, alienation, and marginalization that is a major concern existing in the region of Assam. A large portion of people is still deprived of their fundamental human needs and in such situations where one cannot gain the basic needs, then essentials like health and education become a matter of luxury. They are left alone to fight and make a choice between their existence and dreams.
Bornodi Bhotiai (2018), Anupam Kaushik Borah's directorial debut is to be counted as the first full-length cinematic projection focusing on the discourse of the Sattriya's in the land of Majuli, the decaying of tribal culture on the island, and the hardship of its people. Audiences can experience an extremely simple and slower pace of living, ample time, but few opportunities to invest in. "In September, a movie named Kanchanjangha collected Rs 5.12 crore at the box office. Since October, another movie named Ratnakar has grossed over Rs 6 crore and smashed the all-time single-day collection record of Assamese cinema. What's more: both movies opened at multiplexes even in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. For the moribund industry that was once called 'Jollywood', there is suddenly hope of revival" (Sharma, 2020). Jatin Bora's production Ratnakar (2019) depicts the beautiful bonding between a father and a daughter. It will mesmerize the audience with its visual appetite, emotional tangent, and music, which has made space in everyone's playlist. It has been seen as a developmental cinema in which it supports the formation of outdoor shooting location, new technical implications like shooting with Drone camera, great editing work with VFX, and much more. The use of digital technology enables the regional filmmakers to become economically hopeful to get the investment in return and be free Regional cinemas have traveled a long way in every aspect: acceptance of experimental cinemas, horizontal growth of screening platforms, and the experimenting fusion of genres.
Cinema has become a tool from few to many, from closed and controlled studios to the lanes and streets of the nearby soil. Cinema narratives have new cinematic language now: from stories of legends and super-heroes to stories of 'you and me'. In the contemporary period, filmmaking has no closed style and banner, every filmmaker has his/her own style to represent a common story in their own uncommon approaches. It shall not be wrong to analzse that the world of 'you and me' is changing, so thus the stories on the big screens. Use of silence, casting non-professional actors, capturing more of nature humbly, real space and real events (unstaged and unscripted), portraying characters in a raw look (no make-up, no designer costumes) are some of the essential elements which the filmmakers are giving attention to in the contemporary Assamese cinema. The new air of significant approach to set an example for the contemporary regional filmmakers with small-budget and limited technology with non-state aids has generated another new wave cinema.
The freshness of themes, the recreation of the innocence and simplicity of everyday life filled with emotion and sentiments, and significant experimentation with cinematic languages are pulling back to the road of Italian neo-realism cinema forms and style. Some of the key characteristics of Italian Neo-realism traces that can be seen in the contemporary Assamese cinemas like documentary visual style, the use of realistic locations rather than studios, use of non-professional actors, avoidance of superficial editing styles, with basic camerawork and lighting, which indicates towards another new wave. The slowness of tempo, the minimalistic use of music, absence of peppy song and dance, the simple dialogues minus the high melodrama and reactions: all these marks towards minimalism that not only seems very different from the earlier cinemas but also identifies the contemporary filmmakers as the representative of avant-garde cinema. Small steps have been initiated to motivate the new dynamic in Assamese cinema production. Like, the screening of the five new releases of Assamese cinema has been made compulsory for at least 100 days a year in the malls and cineplexes of Assam; cine-awards are being conducted to encourage the film fraternity.
However, are these strategies sufficient enough to renew an under-developed means of art and communication?

Changes in the Assamese cinema of 21 st century: film techniques
The production of cinema is no more a pure form of art, indeed it is a classic fusion of art, science, and technology. Technological advancement has made a paradigm shift impacting the production of cinema worldwide and the regional cinemas are no less in using them. The stages of production itself have under-gone into detail precision with experts working only in their specialized areas to produce technically richer final productions. Each stage of production (pre-production, production, and post-production) have been incorporated with technical experts. Also to mention, all these three stages are affected by many factors, like the budget of the project, the subject of the film, and also the duration they have to adhere to work in.
To begin with pre-production, thick hand-written scripts are being gradually replaced by scripts digitally typed, and storyboards are no more done with hand-painted sketches as digital software for sketching or images from the internet are easily available, no more shooting schedules are done with paper and pen as software with standard formats are available on the internet where one just needs to fill the details. Screenplays are done with the help of intelligent screenplay writing through AI (Artificial Intelligence) and costume designs, sets, etc. are also done using AI, apps, and software. There is no doubt that the workload has reduced to a great extent, the time consumed has decreased, more accuracy of fine work has evolved with an adaptation of technology, but a few of the veteran professionals have been affected, especially, who are technically challenged. However, not to forget that due to these technical advancements, the production of cinema has geared up again especially in the postpandemic scenario. Maintaining social distance and avoiding much traveling is possible due to many online apps and platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, etc. to conduct an online meeting to discuss, plan and bring scripts into action. Digital platforms have also helped in penetrating the releases of new productions on 'multiple screen sizes' 11 .
In the context of the production stage, the entire shooting of a film has undergone from analog to digital: advanced technical equipment in the market has given contemporary filmmakers a wide catalog of technical possibilities for audio and visual production. In the analog system, the cost of the reel was a major investment, the time consumed in the process of developing the film was another concern. Furthermore, if any technical or non-technical error occurs, then planning for a re-shoot was an additional hurdle. It was also a major hit in the budget. Furthermore, the analog sound had its own merits and demerits. In many contemporary cinemas, the cameras are used not to captivate the audience with complicated narrative and unreal images, on the contrary rather to play with audience expectations.
Independent Drone cameras, 4K 3D cameras, Dual camera VR, with Dolby sound are in trend.
Various camera accessories, a wide range of compositions for sound recording has facilitated to reboot shooting post Covid-19 pandemic.
"Three jobs generally proceed more or less concurrently during post-production: editing, sound mixing, augmentation and looping (or ADR), laboratory work, opticals and special effects" (Monaco, 2000:129). The post-production stage is no less behind in accepting to sit in a different location, different cities and yet stay connected at the same time during the pandemic. Many big and small budget projects which were in the post-production stage could productively get their release on various OTT platforms mainly due to these technological advancements.
Apart from the pre-production, production, and post-production stages, two more stages have informally become a core part of the production: research and marketing & distribution. Depending on the subject and its treatment, research is done for a deeper understanding. Social media has been a boon, especially for the regional and small budget cinema for crowdfunding, marketing & distribution. The entire process of producing a cinema has become more in tune with the current demands and aspirations. In terms of marketing and distribution where the big studios are still working with the traditional distribution strategies and process, the small budget, regional cinemas, and many directorial debuts are choosing the new breed of online distribution channels. Prime Video, Netflix, Disney Hotstar, Voot, MX Player, ALTBalaji, etc. have emerged in the era of the internet and made it easier for the filmmakers to get audiences beyond the traditional platforms. Traditional celluloid preservation has been a challenging expense which the digital production techniques have relieved the filmmakers from. Digital preservation simply requires few megabytes for storage in the computer. But to be practical and give a realistic presentation there are many limitations yet to be met. Limited institutions to graduate skilled technical professionals, lack of finance to avail the latest equipment, tight budget to include industry experts, and with one professional studio is the 'common reality' that the Assamese cinema industry has been surviving with.
Satyajit Ray says, "Somebody-I do not remember who-has defined the Cinema as the highest form of commercial art. After ten years in this profession, I have no quarrel with that definition" (Ray, 2001: 48) The industry has become more regulated, capitalized, and well-equipped with digital high end-production techniques. Cinema production has become more professionalized, rationalized, and specialized in terms of the division of 'labor'. Post pandemic, the world is trying to reboot at its best, resuming back to normal and at this pace, the Assamese cinema industry has also geared-up by effectively hosting the Prag Cine Award 2021. Productions of cinema have been started scheduling, cinema halls are gradually planning to put up their big screen whereas new network society like Reeldrama Production has rolled out a new OTT platform for Assamese films, web series and other shows to be released.

Conclusion
The contemporary period has the potential to nurture many auteurs from the regional landscape with their own styles of treating simple to complex stories: stories that need not wait for big budgets, big stars, big banners, and multiplexes to be produced and released. When an individual travels, along with 'him' many stories, memories, and feelings are also carried and so do cinema. After a long wait, local stories have traveled and made space on the big screen of Indian cinema. In the midst of all these some creative minds have selected cinema to be a tool for representing their simple stories on the big screen in a very unique yet common manner. And this, with the transformation of time, has brought various shades of cinema to the screen around the globe. Cinema is no more confined to the big banners, nor a matter of legacy: it has become a canvas for a storyteller whose story can influence the audience. The audiences are now accepting and appreciating the stories from their next door, stories from their life, and also trying to find themselves in the characters on the screen.