- Source: Roopkar
Roopkar was the first Assamese language, tabloid-sized magazine about Assamese cinema, theater and culture. Established in 1975, the magazine was founded and edited by journalist and humor writer Pabitra Kumar Deka. Advisers of the magazine were famous singer & composer Bhupen Hazarika and writer Nirode Choudhury.
Magazine publishing
Roopkar was published on a monthly basis. It was the most popular entertainment magazine in the Northeast; it also instituted the first popular film awards Roopkar Awards in Assam in 1975.
Many new and young journalists contributed to the magazine, some of whom have made a mark in the field of cinema journalism like Ratna Ozha, Kamal Lochan Das, Shekharjyoti Bhuyan, Arun Lochan Das, Rejek Aji Ahmed, Azim Hazarika, Hemanta Kumar Das, Jibaraj Barman, Utpal Datta, Bidyut Kumar Bhuyan, Sanjib Hazarika, etc. The Kolkata correspondent for the magazine was Nitai Ghosh. The magazine existed till the early nineties. Besides cultural reporting, various renowned writers like Padma Borkotoki, Lakshmi Nandan Bora, Nirode Choudhury, Ratna Oza, Arun Goswami, Udayaditya Bharali, Nitya Bora, Debabrat Das, Dilip Chandan, Satya Ranjan Kalita, Prafulla Kumar Dutta etc. wrote social novels for the magazine. Bhupen Hazarika and Lakshmi Nandan Bora also wrote their famous column Anyamat and Brittor Bahirot respectively for the magazine.
A film critic and a former reporter of the magazine, Utpal Datta, made a short film on Pabitra Kumar Deka titled Bye Lane 2 which got selected in various film festivals including the Indian Panorama Section in the Goa International Film festival in 2014.
Roopkar Award
The Roopkar Award was instituted in 2011 in the memory of its founder Pabitra Kumar Deka. It is given yearly to one distinguished personality in the field of stage, cinema and media.
= Roopkar Award winners
=2011 – Ratna Oza – Writer & Stage director
2012 – Tapan Das – Actor, Director & Short story writer
2013 – Munin Barua – Film Director & Playwright
2014 – Arun Lochan Das – Film Journalist
2015 – Sashi Phukan – Publisher & Editor of Bismoi Magazine
2016 – Nayan Prasad – Actor & Stage director
2017 – Samarendra Narayan Dev – Film & Stage director
2018 – Tapan Das – Still Photographer & Founder of PVTI
2019 – Jahnu Barua – Film Director
2020 – Arun Nath – Film & Stage Actor
2021 – Pranjal Saikia – Film & Stage Actor
2022 – Mridul Gupta – Film Director
Book publishing
Roopkar Prakashan, the publisher of the magazine, also published few books such Samipeshu (Dr Nirmalprava Bordoloi), Hoimontika (Pulok Gogoi), Asomor Satuta Dosokar Chalachitra (Pabitra Kumar Deka) etc.
Roopkar Prakashan was revived in the 2020s with the publication of new books like Roopkaror Shrestha Golpo, Kapurusor Taruwal etc.
= Books published by Roopkar Prakashan
=From 1975 to 1995
Samipeshu – Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi – Poetry
Antaranga – Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi – Poetry
Hoimontika – Pulok Gogoi – Novel
Asomor Satuta Dosokar Chalachitra – Pabitra Kumar Deka – Cinema
From 2020 to Present
Mur Satya Anna Sansthanor Kahini – Pabitra Kumar Deka – Humour
Roopkaror Shrestha Golpo – Collected Stories
The Big Sleep – Prodyut Kumar Deka – Novel
Past Revisited – Prantik Deka – Cinema
Kapurusar Taruwal – Utpal Datta – Novel
100 years of Indian Cinema
On the occasion of 100 years of Indian cinema, Roopkar celebrated the occasion by instituting Roopkar Film Festival (RFF), which was held from April 21 to 23, 2013 at the Rudra Barua Auditorium, Jyotichitrabon Complex in Guwahati where the cinematic heritage of the Indian film industry was showcased. Some of the master pieces crafted throughout the century by some of the tallest figures of the fraternity from Satyajt Rays' Nayak to Ramesh Sippy's Sholay were screened. The festival also published a book on cinema edited by Utpal Datta for the occasion.
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Roopkar
- List of Assamese periodicals
- List of magazines in India
- Pabitra Kumar Deka
- Munin Barua
- Utpal Datta
- Prodyut Kumar Deka
- Haider Aziz Safwi
