Indramalati
Encyclopedia
Indramalati is the second Assamese language
film, directed by the great Assamese
poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala. It was released in 1939.
On release in 1939 it was relatively successful, earning in excession of Joymati, aiding Jyotiprasad to go on to direct other films afterwards.
The role of the hero was played by Manoviram Baruah while Raseswari Baruah (Hazarika) was cast as Malati. Acclaimed theatre actor Phani Sarma
was again drafted in to play one of the significant roles, that of Indrajit’s friend. Even great Assamese
musician Dr Bhupen Hazarika
acted in the film and sang Biswa Bijoyee Navajowan at only aged 13. Unlike casting for his first filmi, Jyotiprasad faced comparatively less trouble in finding actors for Indramalati.
There were only nine major roles in Indramalati, and besides Manoviram Barua and Raseswari Baruah, the others were Phani Sarma, Thanuram Bora, Lalit Mohan Choudhury, Khargeswar Agarwalla, Kashi Saikia, Bedananda Sarma and Bhupen Hazarika. Other actors who were also in the film included the Rupkonwar himself, Jnanaviram Barua, Mani Lahiri, etc.
where they would shoot for the indoor locations. Sets were built in Arora Studio, Narkeldanga, where all the indoor shooting was done. An amazingly short three-day shooting schedule at Arora Studio was followed by the artistes, working hard round the clock.
Indramalati was produced once again under the banner of ‘Chitralekha Movietone’ and very much a solo effort in that Jyotiprasad Agarwalla was the director, screenwriter
, lyricist, music director, art director
, costume designer and editor
for the film.
No artistes of Indramalati, like Joymoti, took remuneration. They even participated in the shooting wearing their own clothes. In some scenes, the costume
s even failed to maintain the continuity.
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
film, directed by the great Assamese
Assamese people
The Assamese people are a well-defined subgroup of People of Assam. Though sometimes they are defined as the Assamese-speaking Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley,, this definition is not legally binding...
poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala. It was released in 1939.
Background
Director Jyotiprasad faced a major financial crisis after his first film Joymoti (1935) failed commercially. He spent more than Rs 50,000 and was in debt in the late 1930s, and was fortunate to be able to gather together just Rs 15,000 to make his dream of making a second film come true. Desperately seeking to compensate the loss he incurred in the making of Joymoti, he began shooting Indramalati in late 1937. This time, however, he did not use his Chitraban Studio for the outdoor shoot. Instead, he chose the ‘Talbari’ of his family, at Harigaon, two kilometres from Tezpur Mission Chariali. Within seven days, Jyotiprasad completed the outdoor shooting for the picture and often the camera was kept at a fixed point as the sets and artistes kept changing the angles. The film used over 15,000 feet of film reel.On release in 1939 it was relatively successful, earning in excession of Joymati, aiding Jyotiprasad to go on to direct other films afterwards.
Story
Jyotiprasad Agarwala wrote the story of Indramalati, which was a tale of romance. The name of the hero was Indrajit while Malati was the name of the heroine. And significantly, Jyotiprasad was the first filmmaker to introduce the style of movie-making by using the names of the lead pair.The role of the hero was played by Manoviram Baruah while Raseswari Baruah (Hazarika) was cast as Malati. Acclaimed theatre actor Phani Sarma
Phani Sarma
Phani Sarma was an Assamese theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director. Beginning as a stage actor, he appeared in the first film ever made in Assamese cinema, Joymati...
was again drafted in to play one of the significant roles, that of Indrajit’s friend. Even great Assamese
Assamese people
The Assamese people are a well-defined subgroup of People of Assam. Though sometimes they are defined as the Assamese-speaking Indo-Aryans of the Brahmaputra valley,, this definition is not legally binding...
musician Dr Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. His songs,written and sung mainly in Assamese by the legend himself, are infused with humanity and universalism, and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notable being Bengali ,Hindi and...
acted in the film and sang Biswa Bijoyee Navajowan at only aged 13. Unlike casting for his first filmi, Jyotiprasad faced comparatively less trouble in finding actors for Indramalati.
There were only nine major roles in Indramalati, and besides Manoviram Barua and Raseswari Baruah, the others were Phani Sarma, Thanuram Bora, Lalit Mohan Choudhury, Khargeswar Agarwalla, Kashi Saikia, Bedananda Sarma and Bhupen Hazarika. Other actors who were also in the film included the Rupkonwar himself, Jnanaviram Barua, Mani Lahiri, etc.
Filming and production
After the casting and seven-day outdoor shoot, the eight-member film unit left for KolkataKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
where they would shoot for the indoor locations. Sets were built in Arora Studio, Narkeldanga, where all the indoor shooting was done. An amazingly short three-day shooting schedule at Arora Studio was followed by the artistes, working hard round the clock.
Indramalati was produced once again under the banner of ‘Chitralekha Movietone’ and very much a solo effort in that Jyotiprasad Agarwalla was the director, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, lyricist, music director, art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, costume designer and editor
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
for the film.
No artistes of Indramalati, like Joymoti, took remuneration. They even participated in the shooting wearing their own clothes. In some scenes, the costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
s even failed to maintain the continuity.