A History of India's North-East Cinema - by Parthajit Baruah (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book depicts the journey from the first Assamese film (1935) to the present. It addresses the peripheral status and identity crisis of North-Eastern people in mainland India and examines the role of Bollywood in the construction and misrepresentation of this region in popular Hindi cinema. Part I looks at how the people of the North-East are constructed as 'foreigners' or 'outsiders' by mainland Indians. Part II discusses the socio-political and cultural shifts in the Assam region. Part III traces the journey of cinema in the other seven North-Eastern states, narrating the regions' socio-political phenomena and the unique cultural discourses"--

Book Synopsis

A History of India's North-East Cinema: Deconstructing the Stereotypes, the first book on the history of cinema in this region, depicts the journey from the first Assamese film, Joymoti(1935), to the present time.

This book addresses the peripheral status and identity crisis of North-Eastern people in mainland India, a region that comprises eight states, and examines the role of Bollywood in the construction and misrepresentation of this region in popular Hindi cinema.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I looks at how the people of the North-East are constructed as 'foreigners' or 'outsiders' by mainland Indians, due to their physical facial features. Part II discusses the socio-political and cultural shifts in the region of Assam, the issue of Assamese identity which led to the Assam Movement and the upsurge of the insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). It provides a nuanced discussion on the background and foreground of the first and second Assamese films, Joymoti (1935) and Indramalati (1939). Part III traces the journey of cinema in the seven other North-Eastern states-Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Sikkim, narrating the regions' socio-political phenomena and the unique cultural discourses. For instance, one of the chapters examines the turbulent period beginning with the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and its impact on the growth of cinema in the region.

The book contains a rare collection of film posters, newspaper advertisements, photographs, letters and other documents, representing both the public and private domain of film-making.

Review Quotes

Parthajit Baruah's A History of India's North-East Cinemais an important study of cinema of Assam and the seven North-Eastern states of India. It addresses the conspicuous absences of historical analyses of 'North-East' cinema within the frame of Indian cinemas, presents a thorough overview of socio-political contexts, and puts the spotlight on films which are either disregarded or not known.
Madhuja Mukherjee, Professor, Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University, India

This pioneering effort will help build up a comprehensive picture of India's North-East cinema. This deeply researched book goes beyond countering the prejudices by offering authentic discussion on landmark films from the eight states in one place. This chronicle is imbued with history, culture, politics and economics and creates a spectrum of the cinematic culture of the region. This is a valuable contribution to the study of Indian cinema.
Anil Zankar, Filmmaker, Writer, and Visiting Faculty, Indian Institute for Science Education and Research, Pune, India

About the Author

Parthajit Baruah is a senior lecturer at Renaissance Junior College, (Assam), India, film historian, and film practitioner. He has authored several academic books on films, including The Cinema of Adoor Gopalakrishnan (2016) and research projects on Assamese cinema at the National Film Archive of India. Baruah has made thirteen documentaries and one fiction feature film (The Nellie Story, 2023) on socio-political issues.