It has been a long-standing demand of teachers and students of Assamese literature that many texts of literary criticism are not easily accessible, as they are written in English.

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

In an effort to bridge this 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.

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

Since its inception, film has been regarded as a powerful medium of mass communication, and this remains true today. 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 say a lot about how they affect audiences and reflect and influence society.

Noted author and National Award-winning film critic Apurba Sharma observed that there are very few books in Assamese literature on cinema and film theory, leaving a huge gap that has yet to be filled.

He also pointed out that the lack of comprehensive discussion on cinema—which signals a weak film culture in the region—can be attributed to the absence of elaborate writings on cinema in Assamese.

In his opinion of the new book, he appreciated author Manoj 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, showing how cinema has evolved over time.

They give us an idea of how different filmmakers responded to the social, political, and technological changes of their time.

An understanding of such evolution definitely aids our knowledge of the past, present, and future of cinema and helps us understand how global influences and cultural shifts can affect cinema—and how cinema, in turn, can influence them.

During the book release event, author Manoj Barpujari 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 the information and make it easily accessible to Assamese readers to ensure effortless understanding of the various aspects of film theory and movement.

He has also not limited himself to Western perspectives alone but has broadened the topics with multiple viewpoints and analysed them through various angles.

Since history is tied to facts and information, each chapter includes a substantial share of factual content. The film theories and movements are also closely linked to specific films and filmmakers, and those relevant films—among others—are analysed in the book.

Additionally, author Barpujari noted 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 identifies the Sixth Generation of Chinese Cinema as a new wave.

He has also traced the roots of New Hollywood to independent cinema, along with the experimental and avant-garde films of the period.

Furthermore, he has contextualised it within the underground film movement in the United States, separate from the studio system.

Apart from that, there are discussions on Soviet parallel cinema and 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 frameworks such as Screen Theory and Schreiber Theory, alongside more popular ones such as Auteur Theory, Psychoanalytic Film Theory, Marxist Film Theory, and Queer Theory.

The language of the book is moderately simple, and the concepts are simplified for the basic understanding of readers who are not the usual suspects when it comes to questions about the medium of cinema.

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

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