Shooting Report

 

Writer: Arun Lochan Das

 

Publisher: Sishu Sashi Prakashan

 

Pages: 159

 

Price: Rs 130

 

 

The book is a record of some moments from Assamese film industry which the writer has seen while reporting on the shootings of different movies for newspapers and magazines across the state.

Being a journalist writer Arun Lochan Das has seen the Assamese film industry closely for more than three decades. He has seen the development and critical phases of the industry and knows the people associated with it.

There are 32 such shooting reports in the book which were published in different newspapers and magazines in his three-decade-long journalist career. He visited one location to the other, passed days with the shooting crews and made his reports.

Anyone who is interested to know about Assamese film industry, shooting of a film, the adversities associated with it and the history of Assamese film industry the book is a mine of information. While narrating his experiences and observations about shootings of films the writer draws references from the past giving a perspective to his writing and making them interesting to readers.  

When writes about the shooting of Manju Bora’s film Joymoti in 2005, Das tells the readers briefly how the first Assamese film Joymoti was made by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala way back in 1935. He gives readers an overview about the migration of the Ahom people, the backdrop that led to killing of Joymoti and stories on historical figures providing readers enough information about Joymoti and the film on her. He writes that till then no Assamese film had been shot in such a big set as used in Joymoti (covering 7000 square feet area) by Manju Bora.

On the chapter Shillongore Godhuli the writer writes about the shooting of Assamese film Jibon Xurobhi which was directed by Naresh Kumar, brother of Hindi film actor Rajendra Kumar. Readers come to know that Naresh Kumar became interested to do an Assamese film by being attracted to the natural beauty of Assam and encouraged by Assam government’s system of returning the entertainment tax for one year.

Sometimes the writer observes the changes come to an actor along with experience. In one of his write up he observes how young actor Barasha Rani Bishaya had changed. “I asked Barasha what she thought about the role she was going to play (in the film Tomar Khobor). She replied that it was a complex one. She never thought about her roles so much in her earlier movies. Now she thinks a lot,” he writes. Again, he writes about Jahnu Barua, “Only he can understand the pleasure of enjoying shootings of Jahnu Barua who has the experience of enjoying it...I learnt many things while enjoying shooting of his Papori and Halodhiya Soraye Baudhan Khai .”    

The eight pages of black and white photographs make the contents more interesting to the readers.

(EOM)

By RAJIV KONWAR 

Published on April 20, 2012