Phani Sarma
Encyclopedia
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
theatre actor, playwright, film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and director. Beginning as a stage actor, he appeared in the first film ever made in Assamese cinema
Assamese cinema
Assamese cinema is cinema in the Assamese language, watched primarily in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti...
, Joymati
Joymati
Joymati , released on 10th March, 1935, was the first ever Assamese film. Based on Lakshminath Bezbaruah's play on the 17th century story of Sati Joymati, the film was produced and directed by the noted Assam poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala, and starred Aideu Handique and acclaimed stage actor and...
. in 1935.
He acted in and directed Siraj in 1948 and Pioli Phukan in 1955.
Early life and theatre
The theatrical career of Phani Sarma started as a gatekeeper of the women’s gallery of the prestigious Ban Stage situated at Tezpur. His father Molan Sarma was also an exponent of drama and was a noted actor of Ban Stage. Along with his father, Phani Sarma regularly went to the Ban Stage and closely observed the distinguished acting of a number of veteran actors like Indreswar Borthakur, Dr Lalit Mohan Chowdhury, Prafulla Borua. This inspired young Bolin (as Phani Sarma was popularly known) towards acting and had a deep impact on his future life. In 1928, he got the opportunity to act on the Ban Stage for the first time in the role of Akbar in the drama Rana Pratap. That was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Phani Sarma.
Kohinoor Opera
The Kohinoor Theatre the mobile theatre group of the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, founded by Sri Ratan Lahkar in 1976.From Dhubri to Sadiya, from the north bank to the south bank of the Brahmaputra, Kohinoor Theatre performed its dramas, attracting thousands of spectators which came to...
, the first mobile theatre group of Assam, started by Natyacharya Brajanath Sarma
Brajanath Sarma
Brajanath Sarma was a playwright, actor and a pioneer of Mobile Theater of Assam, India.-Biography:Brajanath Sarma, also called Natyacharjya was born in the village Shila in the Bajali Area of current Barpeta District of Assam. His father was Padmanath and mother, Nareswari...
. From Dhubri to Sadiya, from the north bank to the south bank of the Brahmaputra River
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
, Kohinoor Opera performed its drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s, attracting thousands of spectators whi came to see Sarma perform. Apart from initiating a theatrical movement, the Kohinoor Opera introduced co-acting on the stages of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. In 1931, Brajanath Sarma, with the help of Phani Sarma introduced female actresses for the first time to appear in their drama productions at a time when male acting was completely dominant, revolutionizing the nature of Assamese theatre.
Film career
In 1933 Phani Sarma played a significant role in the first Assamese feature film JoymatiJoymati
Joymati , released on 10th March, 1935, was the first ever Assamese film. Based on Lakshminath Bezbaruah's play on the 17th century story of Sati Joymati, the film was produced and directed by the noted Assam poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala, and starred Aideu Handique and acclaimed stage actor and...
directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a great Assamese playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was considered as Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture...
, where he played the role of the historical figure of Gathi Hazarika, the villain of the film. The notable acting of Phani Sarma in that role was a special feature of the film which was released in 1935, and Sarma went on the star in Agarwalla's second picture Indramalati
Indramalati
Indramalati is the second Assamese language film, directed by the great Assamese poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala. It was released in 1939.-Background:...
.
In 1948 Sarma, along with Bishnu Rabha
Bishnuprasad Rabha
Bishnu Prasad Rabha was born in Dhaka on 31 January 1909. He was a multifaceted artist and revolutionary singer of Assam. A doyen of the Arts, he is popularly known as Kala Guru . From an early stage, he played an active role in the struggle for Indian independence. However, he never joined Indian...
made a feature film Siraj, based on a popular short story written by Deshapran Lakshmidhar Sarma.
In 1955 he directed and starred in Pioli Phukan, also playing the films protagonist Pioli Phukan. His last film was Ito Sito Bahuto in 1963 where he appeared as an actor rather than taking the director's helm.
Playwright work
Despite his performances on the stage and screen, Phani Sarma also earned many accolades as a playwrightPlaywright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
in which he more possibly more acclaimed. Though few in quantity, his dramas are very rich in quality depth, using his knowledge to lay more emphasis upon its dramatic side rather than the literary side. With a universal appeal and substance, all his dramas became very popular on the stage and were widely acclaimed by the critics.
On the basis of a rebellion that took place during the Ahom
Ahom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
King Sunyeophaa
Sunyeophaa
Sunyeophaa , also called Lakshmi Singha, was an Ahom king. Shortly after he was installed he became a captive of the rebels of the Moamoria rebellion for a few months but soon regained his kingdom....
’s reign, as described by renowned historian Dr SK Bhuyan in his book Konwar Bidroh, Phani Sarma wrote a historical drama Bhogjara. His first film Joymati had also revolved around historical events in the Ahom kingdom and its director whom Sarma had worked under, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a great Assamese playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was considered as Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture...
was the pioneer among such a new wave of dramatists. With local plots, he wrote a number of dramas like Sonit Kunwari, Karengar Ligiri, Lobhita, etc. Following in Jyotiprasad’s footsteps, Phani Sarma wrote a number of dramas with cultural familiarity to the Assamese people. With his own dramatic approach and treatment, Bhogjara became successful in its own right as a powerful drama.
After the success of his 1948 film Siraj, it inspired him to write the drama veraion of the film also named Siraj. It was regarded as a document of Hindu-Muslim integrity as the memory of Partition was still fresh in the minds of the people. Phani Sarma himself played the title role of the drama on more than a hundred stages across the state of Assam in the 1950s and 1960s.
On the basis of his own experiences as an actor and the sad news of the death of his son whilst stage acting, Phani Sarma wrote the social drama Kiya, a tale of an artiste who dedicated his own personal life and enjoyment to entertain other people with very little compensation
Remuneration
Remuneration is the total compensation that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Typically, this consists of monetary rewards, also referred to as wage or salary...
from society. Sarma again addressed issues of isolation
Isolationism
Isolationism is the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by...
and corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
in his later drama Nag-Pas. However he often incorporated humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
into such dramas, and the drama Kola-Bazarthe incorporated elements of comedy with more serious issues of social injustice and inequality.
Sarma was also accredited with translating J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
’s famous drama An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and 1946 in the UK. It is considered to be one of Priestley's best known works for the stage and one of the classics of mid-20th century English theatre...
into the Assamese language
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...
.
Filmography
- JoymatiJoymatiJoymati , released on 10th March, 1935, was the first ever Assamese film. Based on Lakshminath Bezbaruah's play on the 17th century story of Sati Joymati, the film was produced and directed by the noted Assam poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala, and starred Aideu Handique and acclaimed stage actor and...
(1935) - Devdas (1937 film)Devdas (1937 film)Devdas is a 1937 Assamese movie starring Phani Sarma, Mohini and Zubeida and directed by P.C. Barua.The Playback is by Shamshad Begum and Bhupen Hazarika.-Plot summary:...
- Siraj (1948) .... Siraj
- Pioli Phukan (1955) .... Pioli Phukan
- Ito Sito Bahuto (1963) .... Retired Major
... aka Lots of Things Around
See also
- Assamese literatureAssamese literatureAssamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes popular ballads in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form. The literary heritage of the Assamese language can...
- Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva
- Jyoti Prasad AgarwalaJyoti Prasad AgarwalaJyoti Prasad Agarwala was a great Assamese playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was considered as Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture...
- Lakshminath Bezbaruah
- Krishna Kanta HandiqueKrishna Kanta HandiqueKrishna Kanta Handique was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indologist and philanthropist from Assam.-Biography:...
- Bhabananda DekaBhabananda DekaProf Bhabananda Deka , is a multi-faceted writer of one hundred twelve books, textbooks on economics, literature and political science, and articles from Assam, a state in the north-eastern part of India.-Biography:...
- Music of AssamMusic of AssamThe music of Assam, a state in the northeastern part of India, can be divided into various categories of folk music. In recent times starting the late eighties popular artistes have modernized the music that caters to local popular demand....