Jyoti Prasad Agarwala

Born: 17 June 1903

Died: 17 January 1951

• He was a noted Assamese playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and filmmaker from Assam.
• He was considered as an Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output, and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture.
• In fact, he is regarded as the founder of the Assamese cinema for Joymoti (1935).
• His death anniversary (17 January) is observed as Silpi divas (Artists’ Day) in his honor.
• He established the Chitraban Studio at the Bholaguri Tea Estate and began filming the movie Joymoti around the end of 1933.
• This was the first film from Assam.
• The film, released in 1935, was based on a play by Laxminath Bezbarua about the heroic Ahom princess Sati Joymoti imprisoned and tortured by a repressive Ahom swargadeo.
• In 1936 he married Devajani Bhuyan.
• In 1941 he participated in the freedom movement, and in 1942, he went underground to escape British repression.
• Toward the end of his life he moved from a romantic to a more radical vision, which was reflected in his works.

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