New DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee today released
commemorative postage stamps on the eve of 100 years of Indian Cinema depicting
50 iconic bollywood personalities including Dev Anand, Smita Patil and Yash
Chopra.
"Six Miniature Sheets depicting 50 iconic
personalities of Indian Cinema to commemorate this century long journey"
were released by the President, according an official statement by Department
of Posts.
"This issue of 50 stamps is the biggest issue to
commemorate an occasion by India Post," the statement said.
First two Mini-sheets comprising nine stamps, depict some
Dadasaheb Phalke awardees and rest four with eight stamps each depict
personalities from various fields of cinema.
"The personalities depicted in Stamps include, Ashok
Kumar, Bhalji Pendharkar, Durga Khote, Dev Annad, Yash Chopra, Smita Patil,
Rajesh Khanna, Shammi Kapoor, Suraiya, Geeta Dutt, Sohrab Modi, Tapan Sinha, CV
Sridhar, Bhanumathi etc.," the statement said.
India's first full length feature film Raja Harishchandra
by Dada Saheb Phalke was released on May 3, 1913.
GUWAHATI, April 13 -- The Madhya Kamrup College, a premier institution for higher education in Barpeta district, is going to organise a two-day UGC-sponsored national seminar on May 10 and 11 on the topic, ‘Humanistic concerns in the works of Dr Bhupen Hazarika’ including ten sub-themes, a press release stated.
The
sub-themes are: (a) Patriotism in Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s works, (b)
Historical sense and Dr Bhupen Hazarika, (c) Revolutionary visions in Dr
Bhupen Hazarika’s songs,(d) Dr Bhupen Hazarika and the Brahmaputra, (e) Socialist
concerns in Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s works, (f) Nationalist tendencies and
Dr Bhupen Hazarika, (g) The role of nature in Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s works, (h) Humanism as reflected
in Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s films, (i) Humanism as reflected in Dr Bhupen
Hazarika’s prose, (j) Dr Bhupen Hazarika as a man of renaisance, (k) Any other topic related to the main theme.
Distinguished
academicians, research scholars and students have been invited to
participate in the seminar. Participants have been advised to send
abstracts of maximum200 words by April 25 and the final papers must reach the organisers on or before April 30.
Filmmaker Pooja Bhatt will direct a movie 'Dhumuha' based on the life of
legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika and his association with film
director Kalpana Lazmi.
Talking to reporters here, Bhatt said shooting
for the film will start from January 31 next year with Lazmi preparing its
script.
Describing Hazarika as a legend, Bhatt said her
movie will highlight his contribution towards music and society.
"Bhupenda had a multilingual personality, so
we decided to make the movie in multiple languages," she added.
The film will be shot in Mumbai, Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh and West Bengal with a target to be completed before February 2015,
Bhatt said.
Explaining the meaning of the Assamese word 'Dhumuha'
as 'storm', she said, "by birth Bhupenda was an Assamese and so we decided
that the film must be released by this title. Subtitles will be there in
English and that can be viewed through the entire movie".
Stating both her father Mahesh Bhatt and Lazmi
are working on 'Dhumuha', she said the casting will be done according to
the demands of the roles with actors from Bollywood, Assamese and Bengali film
industry.
"I would like to be involved with this film
because I am an admirer and a big fan of Bhupenda, and by making this film we
would like to pay him a tribute", she added.
Eminent researcher-dancer Lubna Marium has been honoured with the first
Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award 2013 in Assam, India.
Asam Sahitya Sabha, India’s one of the pioneering literary and
socio-cultural organisations, conferred the award to Marium at a
glittering function held on Thursday at Rabindra Bhawan.
Assam chief minister Shri Tarun Gogoi was the chief guest of the
programme presided over by Shri Imran Shah, a distinguished writer and
also the president of Asam Sahitya Sabha.
The award consists a citation, a trophy, a traditional Assamese soraai and token money of Rs two lakh.
Asam Sahitya Sabha has instituted the award in association with
Numaligarh Refinery Limited, an enterprise of the Indian government.
Dr Bhupen Hazarika was an icon musician of Assam and his death has
orphaned the greater Assamese nationality. A former President of Asam
Sahitya Sabha, Dr Hazarika was the key person to pave the way for
Assam’s music to the national and international level.
Asam Sahitya Sabha has decided to honour Dr Hazarika with the title
‘Bishwaratna’ and also to introduce ‘Bishwaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika
International Solidarity Award’ once in every two years.
Sharing her response after getting the honour, Lubna Marium in a written
statement told New Age, ‘I am truly overwhelmed. But, also feel that
now we must all make more efforts to build bridges.’
‘It has been a humbling experience. There was so much love and respect
showered on me because of ASS and Bhupen Hazarika, but total confusion
about why ASS had chosen a Bangladeshi woman for an award which means so
much to them. The truth is that Assam does not know Bangladesh at
all,’ she added.
Marium further said, ‘The other interesting fact is that the “Indian”
rhetoric is almost missing in Assam. At times I forgot that I was in
India.’
‘Not very surprisingly, Assamese culture, language, food is almost
exactly like ours. People are so loving and affectionate, just like in
Bangladesh,’ she added.
GUWAHATI: The construction work for a grand memorial in memory of BhupenHazarika has finally began at the cremation site of the singer situated on the Gauhati University campus.
The state cultural affairs directorate has recently completed
demarcation of around five bighas of land at the cremation site, which
will give momentum to the plansof constructing the memorial. Simultaneously, the state public works
department (PWD) has also started construction of the entry gate to the
site.
"The directorate of cultural affairs, Assam, wants to
develop the cremation site of Bhupen Hazarika as a permanent memorial.
We have demarcated the area around the cremation site which was very
necessary to execute the plan. Gauhati University
has also given a considerable plot of land for developing the
memorial," said Madhurima Barua Sen, director of cultural affairs,
Assam. Click here to read the full story
Mahesh
Bhatt, the grand-master of creative cannibalization who has written and
directed celebrated films like ‘Arth’ and ‘Zakham’ based on his own
life, is all set to write another bio-pic, this one based on the
passionate 40-year old relationship between legendary musician Bhupen
Hazarika and filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi.
‘Entitled Dhumuha: The Storm’ the film to be produced by Pooja Bhatt,
would be written jointly by Kalpana and Mahesh Bhatt while Kalpana
would direct the film.
Says Kalpana emotionally, “It is Bhatt Saab and my homage to a man
whom we both consider to be a true son of India. Bhupenda is beyond a
legend. In Assam every leaf that stirs in the trees hums his melodies.
He has an all-pervasive impact on our traditional sounds. We will
endeavour to put his stormy life and music in one film. A tough task! I
hope I am up to it. Bhatt Saab certainly is.”
This bio-pic on one of India’s looming musical legends comes at a
time when Anurag Basu’s proposed bio-pic on Kishore Kumar with Ranbir
Kapoor in the title role is poised to take wings.
Kalpana says the saga of Bhupen Hazarika is very far from removed
from Kishore Kumar’s. “Both were legends in their own right. But
Bhupenda worked within a different discipline . His music was not
restricted to cinema.”
How much of her life with Bhupenda would Kalpana be willing to reveal in Dhumuha: The Storm?
According to Mahesh Bhatt, “It would be Kalpana’s and my effort to
pay homage to Bhupen Hazarika. We will look for new talented face to
play the role of the enigmatic Bhupen. But first we would excavate from
Kalpana’s heart her storehouse of memories of her passionate
relationship with Bhupen. It would be her untold story. The story of a
girl who worshipped the man and the musician she fell in love with.”
While Mahesh Bhatt would be the co-writer and creative head on the
project, Santosh Sivan with whom Kalpana worked earlier in Rudaali and
Darmiyaan would be doing the cinematography.
The big question is, who would play Bhupen Hazarika and Kalpana Lajmi in this bio-pic?
Says Kalpana, “The hunt has begun. It’s tough to find a face a talent
to play Bhupenda. As for me, I don’t know who can play me. Vidya Balan,
perhaps?”
Interestingly Kalpana would be approaching two back-to-back bio-pics.
After the one on her life with Bhupen Hazarika she would write and
direct a bio-pic on the slain actress Priya Rajvansh’s 40-year
relationship with filmmaker Chetan Anand. The Priya-Chetan bio-pic would
be produced by Shanu Mehra, the late actor Janki Dass’s son who was
close to Priya and Chetan.
