Chalachitra Tattwa Aru Dhara: Bridging the Gap in Assamese Literature

Prabin Bora

It has been a long-standing demand of teachers and students of Assamese literature that many texts of literary criticism are not easily accessible due to their being written in English.

However, not much effort has been dedicated to translating these works into Assamese to make such critical literature more available and accessible to students of Assamese literature.

In an effort to bridge such a gap, publisher Ranjan Sarmah of Bandhav has published a new book on film theories and film movements in Assamese, written by National Award-winning film critic Manoj Barpujari.

The book, titled Chalachitra Tattwa Aru Dhara, was released on March 11, 2025 and covers a wide range of both popular and niche concepts and theories of cinema.

As audiences although everyone watches films, not everyone is able to critically engage with the medium. This is because of a poor exposure to academic concepts behind cinema and an understanding of film theories.

Since its history film has been regarded as a powerful medium of mass communication and it still stands true. Therefore, to better engage with the nuances of the medium, film theories are important.

They not only provide a framework for understanding how films communicate meaning, but also says a lot about how they affect audiences, and how they reflect and influence the society.

Noted author and National award-winning film critic, Apurba Sharma noted that there are very few books on Assamese literature about cinema and film theory, leaving a huge gap that has yet to be filled. He also pointed out that the lack of a comprehensive discussion on cinema, which signals a weak film culture in the region, can also be attributed to the absence of elaborate writings on cinema in Assamese literature.

Therefore, in his opinion of the new book, he appreciated authorManoj Barpujari’s effort to fill this gap and expressed hope that the book would be beneficial for students, teachers, authors, filmmakers, and journalists alike.

Film theories and film movements across the world offer us a look into the past and see how cinema has evolved over time. It gives us an idea of how different filmmakers responded to social, political, and technological changes of their time.An understanding of such evolution will definitely aid our knowledge of the past, present and the future of cinema and helps us understand how global influences and cultural shifts can affect cinema and vice versa.

During the book release event, author Manoj Barpujari had acknowledged that each of the topics presented in the book has such a wide array of information—considering its history and development over time—that each chapter could be a book in itself.

Hence, he has tried to compress all the information and made it easily accessible for Assamese readers for effortless understanding of the various aspects of film theory and movement. Additionally, he has also not limited himself to Western perspectives alone but has broadened the topics with multiple viewpoints and analyzed them through various angles.

Since history is tied to facts and information, each chapter includes an equal share of factual information. The film theories and movements are also closely linked to specific films and filmmakers, so those relevant films and some more are analysed in the book as well. Additionally, author Barpujari has also mentioned that the book also focuses on lesser-known film movements from around the world, such as Dogme 95, Cinema Novo, and many others.

He also said that the book mentions a new wave in Palestinian cinema and has identified the Sixth Generation of Chinese Cinema as a new wave. He has also traced the roots of New Hollywood to independent cinema, along with experimental and avant-garde films of the period. Furthermore, he has contextualized it with the underground film movement in the U.S., as separated from the studio system.

Apart from that, there are discussions on Soviet parallel cinema, Glasnost-Era Movies, along with Ukrainian poetic cinema and Ukrainian filmmakers.

Among the theories, the book discusses a wide range of both basic and critical film theories, including less-discussed theories like Screen Theory and Schreiber Theory, alongside more popular ones such as Auteur Theory, Psychoanalytic Film Theory, Marxist Film Theory, and Queer Theory.

Chalachitra Tattwa Aru Dhara will definitely promote critical engagement with cinema and inspire a thoughtful discourse on the medium’s cultural and artistic evolution.

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