Dr Bhupen Hazarika
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Mofid/ Tourism Assam
Bhupen Hazarika, the 'wanderer' who inspired millions across generations India Today
The artiste
Bhupen Hazarika was perhaps the only living person to unveil his own statue when in 2009, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) honoured him by erecting his life-sized statue in Dighalipukhuri area of Guwahati.
The 'bard of Brahmaputra' whose ability to weave magic out of traditional Assamese music gave songs like 'Dil hoom hoom kare' and 'O Ganga behti ho', swayed and inspired millions across generations with the power and passion of his voice.
A poet, music composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and filmmaker, the self-proclaimed 'jajabor' (wanderer) took the rich folk heritage of Assam and interpreted it beautifully for the world through his songs.
He was one of India’s greatest cultural icons, cherished in Dhaka, Delhi, Jammu and Mumbai as much as in Guwahati.
Three of the films that he was associated with won the President's medals in 1960, 1964 and 1967.
Early life and education
Born in 1926 in Sadiya into a family of teachers, the academically-talented Hazarika completed his
basic education from Guwahati in 1942,
BA from Banaras Hindu University in 1944 and
MA (Pol Sc) in 1946.
He did his PhD in Mass Communication from Columbia University.
He also received the Lisle Fellowship from Chicago University, US to study the use of educational project development through cinema.
Dr Hazarika died in 2011.
Musical influences
During his stay in the US, he met the legendary black singer Paul Robeson, whose famous number 'Old man river' was successfully transformed to the megahit 'Bistirno parore' ('O Ganga behti ho' in Hindi), a virtual anthem for generations of pro-Left activists.
In an interview to a national daily many years ago, he attributed his singing to tribal music.
"As a child, I grew up listening to tribal music - its rhythm saw me developing an inclination towards singing.
Perhaps, I inherited my singing skills from my mother, who sang lullabies to me. In fact, I have used one of my mother's lullabies in 'Rudali'," the Dadasaheb Phalke winner had said.
As a music director and singer
He sang his first song 'Biswa nijoy nojowan' (in the second Assamese film "Indramalati") in 1939 at the age of 12.
In addition to his native Assamese, Hazarika composed, wrote and sang for numerous Bengali and Hindi films from 1930s to the 1990s besides other songs. He was also one of the leading author-poets of Assam with more than 1,000 lyrics and several books on short stories, essays, travelogues, poems and children's rhymes.
He produced and directed, composed music and sang for Assamese films like "Era Batar Sur", "Shakuntala", "Loti ghoti", "Pratidhwani", "Chick Mick Bijuli", "Swikarokti" and "Siraj". His most famous Hindi films include his long-time companion Kalpana Lajmi's "Rudaali", "Ek Pal", "Darmiyaan", "Daman" and "Kyon", Sai Paranjpe's "Papiha" and "Saaz", "Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe" and M F Husain's "Gajagamini".
He received the National Award for Best Music Director in 1976 for "Chameli Memsaab" and President's medal for his films "Shakuntala" (1960), "Pratidhwani" (1964) and Lotighoti (1967).
He also directed, composed music and sang for 'Mahut Bandhure' in 1958, Arunachal Pradesh's first Hindi feature film in colour, 'Mera Dharam Meri Maa' in 1977.
Hazarika also produced and composed the music for the extremely popular television serial 'Lohit Kinare', directed by Kalpana Lajmi, based on famous short stories of Assam for the prime time National Network in 1988.
M F Husain's "Gajagamini"
"You paint through your songs. But I can't sing with my paintbrush. It's up to you to fill this lacuna in my artistry. That's why I've taken you," Husain apparently told Hazarika after chosing him for the music score of "Gajagamini".
Videos
Last year, Hazarika featured in his first music video - 'Our Northeast, Our Star' with music and lyrics by "3 Idiots" duo Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire. He also lent his voice to this year's film "Gandhi To Hitler", where he sang Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan 'Vaishnav jan'.
IPTA
He came to Mumbai to work in the Indian People's Theatre Movement (IPTA) with Salil Chowdhury, Balraj Sahni and other Marxist intellectuals.
He soon made the city his second home. "The generous city and its people have welcomed me, accepted me, and given me my second home since so many years. I admire its people for its willingness to allow people from the rest of India to earn a living and prosper, irrespective of caste, creed or colour," he once said about his life in Mumbai.
Official positions
He was also a member of Assam Film Development Council and the Central Board of Film Certification. In 2003, he was appointed member of the Prasar Bharati Board.
He was a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1967-72 and was awarded the Padmashri in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987. He was the chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1999-2004.
Director
He directed a documentary for the Arunachal Pradesh government on tribal folk songs and dances titled 'For Whom The Sun Shines' in 1974 and also produced and directed a half-hour documentary for Calcutta Doordarshan Kendra in 1977 on the folk songs and dances of northeast India 'Through Melody and Rhythm'.
Personal life
On the personal front, Hazarika was briefly married to Kenyan born Indian Priyam with whom he has a son Tez Hazarika but later separated and was living nearly for the last three decades with Kalpana Lajmi.
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: biography
Bhupen Hazarika is ranked amongst the leading film maker of the nation. He is probably the only living pioneer who is solely responsible for placing the fledging Assamese cinema all over India and also on the world cinema map. He has been the only person in the past 40 years to propagate for a better cinema movement and has integrated all the seven north-eastern states, including the tribal culture and traditions,through the medium of cinema. His remarkable popularity brought him to the legislative Assembly as an Independent member between 1967 to 1972, where he was solely responsible for installing the first state owned film studio of its kind ever, in India in Guwahati, Assam.
Bhupen Hazarika began his career in films as a child actor in the second talkie file to be made in the pioneering years of 1939 in the film "Indramalati". A prodigy whose genius was acknowledged from a very early age he wrote and sang his first song at the age of 10 after which there has been no looking back. He has produced , directed, composed the background score and also featured on the tracks for the films "Era Bator Sur" in 1956, "Shakuntala" in 1960, "Pratidhwani" in 1978 , "Loti Ghoti" in 1967, "Chick Mick Bijuli" in 1971, "Mon Projapati" in 1978, "Swikarokti" in 1986, "Siraj" in 1988. He also directed , composed music and sang for "Mahut Bandhure" in 1958. He produced, directed and composed music for Arunachal Pradesh's first Hindi feature film in color "Mera Dharam Meri Maa" in 1977. He directed a color documentary for the Arunachal Pradesh Government on Tribal folk songs and dances entitled "For Whom The Sun Shines" in 1974.
He produced and directed a documentary "Emuthi Saular Kahini" based on the co-operative movement for the Govt. of Assam entirely in a lyrical format. He produced and directed a half-hour documentary for Calcutta Doordarshan Kendra in 1977 on the folk songs and dances of north east India entitled "Through Melody and Rhythm", he produced and composed music for five reeler color documentary to promote tourism for the Govt. of Assam in 1981. He produced and composed music for the internationally acclaimed award winning Hindi feature film "Ek Pal" in 1986, directed by Kalpana Lajmi, starring Shabana Azmi, Nasiruddin Shah, Faroque Shaikh. He produced and composed the music for the extremely popular television serial "Lohit Kinare" directed by Kalpana Lajmi based on famous short stories of Assam for the prime time National Network in 1988. He has been the Executive Producer as also the Music Composer for the recent award winning film in Hindi "Rudali" starring Dimple Kapadia, Raj Babbar, Amjad Khan and Rakhi.
He has won the President's National Award for the best film maker thrice: for "Shakuntala", "Pratidhwani", and "Loti Ghoti" in 1960, 1964 and 1967 respectively. He won the Arunachal Pradesh Government's Gold Medal in 1977 for his outstanding contribution towards Tribal Welfare, and Upliftment of Tribal Culure through cinema and music composer in India in 1977 for the Assamese film "Chameli Memsaab".
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika has been the Chairman, Eastern Region on the Appellate Body of the Central Board of the Central Boad of Film Censors, Government of India for 9 yrs. consecutively till 1990.
He is on the Script Committee of the National Film Development Corporation, Eastern India.
He is the director on the national level on the Board of Directors of National Film Development Corporation, Government of India.
He was the Executive Council Member of the Children Film Society (N'CYP) headed by Mrs. Jaya Bachchan . He is the member of the Board of Trustees for the Poor Artists Welfare Fund, Government of India. He was the Chairman of the Jury of the National Film Awards in 1985 to 1990. he is at present also on the Governing Council for policy making decisions for the Film and Television Institute, Government of India, Pune.
The information and Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India bestowed the honor of Producer Emeritus on him.
Bhupen Hazarika was also a member of P.C.Joshi Committee appointed by the Information Ministry for revitalizing software programming through television for the coming 21st century.
He has rendered music in outstanding Bengali films, such as "Jiban Trishna", "Jonkir Alo", "Mahut Bandhure", "Kari o Komal", "Asamapta", "Ekhane Pinjar", "Dampati", "Chameli Memsaab", "Dui", "Bechara", and Hindi films like "Arop", "Ek Pal", and "Rudaali". He has in 1995 given music for Sai Paranjype's Hindi feature film "Papiha" and Bimal Dutta's Hindi feature film "Pratimurti". In 1996 he has composed music for Plus Channel's Hindi feature film "Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe" directed by Lekh Tandon starring Meenakshi Sheshadri.
In 1996 he has also composed for Plus Channel's Hindi feature film "Saaz" directed by Sai Paranjype starring Shaban Azmi.
In 1996 he has composed music for Pan Pictures Hindi feature film "Darmiyaan" starring Kiron Kher and Tabu directed and written by Kalpana Lajmi.
In 1998 he has composed music for Hindi feature film "Gajagamini" written and directed by eminent painter Mr. M.F.Hussain.
He had produced a 52 episodes tele serial titled "Dawn" for telecast on Star TV, The serial casts Shabana Aazmi, Mona Ambegaonkar, Deepa Lagoo, Tom Alter and others.
He has also produced another 18 part documentary entitled "Glimpses of the Misty East" on the soio economic and cultural progress in North Eastern India from 1947 to 1997 , assigned to him by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India for celebration of Fifty years of India's independence. In 2000 he has composed music for Hindi feature film "Daman" and had written the story of the film "Chingaari" directed by Ms. Kalpana Laajmi.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN MUSIC AND CULTURE
He is considered today the last of the great mass singers and the only great ballad singer alive in India. Involved in the Indian movement from his very childhood, till today he writes and composes masterpieces teaming with social consciousness which are in striking contrast to his famous love songs. besides being associated with films, Bhupen Hazarika has won the hearts of the entire Indian people through his discs through which he has rendered some of his finest compositions. For Bhupen Hazarika music has always been his first love. He met Paul Robson with whom he became closely associated between 1949 and 1955 in USA. It was during this period he was awarded a Gold Medallion in New York as the best interpreter of India's folk songs by Eleanor Roosevelt.Bhupen Hazarika sings in numerous languages but writes his lyrics and poems in his home language, Assamese.
Bhupen Hazarika has rightly been hailed as India's Cultural Ambassador abroad for placing the folk music of Eastern India on the map of world folk music. He has traveled widely as a Delegate to Conferences on Mass Communication, Poetry, Music, Performing Arts and Cinema from the Belgium Congo to Samarkand, from the Mississipi to Danube, to Europe, Canada, South-East Asia, Japan, USA, UK, and Australia. He represented India in Berlin at the World Conference of Composers who used songs as an instrument in social change. He was given the honor of inaugurating the World seminar in Congresss Hall with his own songs on the liberation of Bangladesh. Bhupen Hazarika's popularity is so tremendous as performing artist,that for the last 50 years he has been the biggest crowd puller and was honored for the Golden Jubilee of his singing career in 1991.
HONOURS CONFERRED
The country bestowed its 4th highest honor on him, the Padamshree in 1977 for outstanding contribution to the field of culture in India.
In 1977 he won two awards in West Bengal. The Bangla Chalachitra Prasar Samity and the Bangla Chalchitra Purashkar Samity for being the best music director of the film 'Dampati". In 1978 he won two awards from Bangladesh Journalists Association and the Bangladesh film industry.
The Gramophone Company of India bestowed on him the Gold Disc for his outstanding contribution towards Indian Music in 1978.
In 1979 and 1980 he won the Ritwick Ghatak Award as best music directors for two theatre plays "Mohua Sundari" and "Nagini Kanyar Kahini".
In 1979 he won the All India Critic Association Award for the best performing folk artist in India.
In 1987 he was conferred the National Citizen's Award at New Delhi for his outstanding excellence in music.
Indian cinemas highest annual award is the DadaSaheb Phalke award: its winner, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a man of deep heart. His personality as a music creator suppressed his identity as a able film maker. He had made seven films in Assamese language alone. Even on behalf of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh he made a Hindi film namely “Marii Dharam Meri Maa”. Apart from these he was the music director of Assamese films like “ Piyali Phukan” (1954), “Dhumuha” (1957), “ Kencha Son”, (1959), “Maniram Dewan” (1963), “Khoj” (1975), “ Kanchghar” (1975), “Cameli Memsaab”, (1975), “Palasar Rang” (1976), “Ban Hansa”, (1977), “Banjui” (1978), “ Akan” (1980), “Aparupa”, (1982), “Angikaar” (1985), “ Sankalpa” (1986), “Maa” (1986), “Yuge Yuge Sangram” (1986), “Pratisodh” (1987), “Priyajan” (1993), “Paani” (1995) and a Bora film “Cmimang” (1987). As music director he directed 27 films of Assam. For his contribution to Assamese film he received Dada Saheb Phalke Award. As director before selecting a theme for his film Dr. Hazarika critically examined the theme.
While the story of Assamese film was based on historical and mythological events Dr. Hazarika made “Era Batar Sur” a totally musical film. In this film we see the hero roams around the cities in search of musical notes. Dr. Hazarika was also inspired by the Neo-realism trend started in Italy. This film reflected his feelings nicely. He made “Pratiddhani” in 1963. In this film the relation between the people of hilly region and those of valley became the central thing; but still it reveals a nice love story. With Manik Raytang he made the screen play on a Khasi folklore. His another film “lati Ghati” (1966) is a film made in trend of film within film. Probably the audience at that time could not understand properly the sharp satirical tone which is why the film was not well accepted. Brajen Baruah’s “Ito Sito Bahuto” is another such film. That is why both the films can be called as the films ‘Ahead of Time’. The “Chik Mik Bijuli” (1969) is a film where Dr. Hazarika pictures the life style of lower class people in the society. Similarly in “Man Prajapati” he pictured the life style of some people who worked in a circus party. Dr. Hazarika is a man master of many fields. For him songs are his life and the lyrics and its tune are his breathed air.
That is why even though he thought about making films; still he could not work on it strictly because he probably did not have so much patience and time to spare for making a film. That is why he became much interested in music direction rather than film making. He was such a careless artist for his future that he even neglected the offer of India’s prestigious ‘Rajasree Production’; who offered him to make five films serially. But Dr. Hazarika did not bother to go ahead after making the first film. Later he was closely in link with films but retired from film direction. As music director, he even created history in Hindi film industry also.
Keeping Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s Legacy Alive
By Utpal Borpujari, Assam Information, November 2012
It seems only yesterday that lakhs and lakhs of people queued up patiently to have a last glimpse of Dr Bhupen Hazarika's body at Judge’s Field in Guwahati. It was a scene never seen in Assam before, and it is doubtful if anyone else’s death would elicit such unprecedented level of public mourning.
But as the state commemorates the first anniversary of the great singer-composer-lyricist-filmmaker-writer’s death, instead of playing into the hands of sentimentalism-driven empty rhetoric, we as a society would do well to analyse whether we are in the right track to preserve his legacy.
This is important more so in the light of the fact that the Assamese society – here I am referring to all inhabitants of Assam, rather than the only Assamese-speaking people – is inherently infamous about its ability to forget its great sons and their deeds. And let’s put it bluntly – the people, the society, the government, the media and various institutions – all are to be blamed for this trait of ours. Come to think of it – how many of us can recall the birth and death anniversaries of great leaders like Gopinath Bordoloi, Tarun Ram Phukan or Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, or know the work of intellectuals like Krishna Kanta Handique, Anundoram Barooah and Banikanta Kakati, or have adequate knowledge of the creations of cultural stalwarts like Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, Bishnu Prasad Rabha or Phani Sarma? (I remember reading long time ago in the Prantik magazine how when someone went to look for Bishnu Prasad Rabha’s house in Tezpur and asked a youngster for directions, he got the shocking counter-question: “In which department does he work?”)
Given the fact that the Bhupen Hazarika’s songs, if not other creations, are too deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of the Assamese society to be so easily forgotten for at least the next 100 years, especially in this digital age when the virtual technology has made preserving and accessing artistic creations much easier (for example, the cultural website http://www.enajori.com has archived links to many old Assamese songs which in the pre-Internet and pre-digital age were impossible to access). But Bhupen Hazarika’s legacy is much bigger than his songs – his ideology, his creativity and his connect with the masses are the aspects that need to be preserved as a whole. Hence, just constructing a memorial at the site where his body was cremated, or having a museum at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra and instituting an award in his memory, while being essential steps, would not be enough to do that.
So, what should we do? The list can be long, but achievable. And it can include probably many more interesting ideas apart from those sought to be discussed below. But the fact is, if plans are not formulated and gradually implemented in a time bound manner, we will still be lamenting after 50 years that we have failed to preserve his legacy, like we do in case of many other luminaries in their birth and death anniversaries. Hence, my effort below to prioritise some of the things that we need to take up as a society – all of which can be initiated by the government with the involvement of appropriate experts from the various required fields:
1. The Memorial: The Bhupen Hazarika Memorial, which is planned to be constructed at his cremation point in Jalukbari, will be a “world standard” one, according to the state government’s announcement. While the details of the project are still not in public domain, it can be hoped that the government means what it is saying. But one thing is sure – it must not be just a well-designed concrete structure with flower beds and pathways around it like most of the memorials in India end up as! The memorial must enable any visitor to experience the whole life and creativity of Bhupen Hazarika. To do that, we must have a museum dedicated to him at the site (if need be, the museum at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra should be shifted to this location), an audio-visual presentation (comprising video, still photographs, audio of his songs and speeches), and a light-and-sound show (something which is being planned at the Kalakshetra should ideally happen at the memorial) at the site giving the visitors an opportunity to experience the life and times of the bard, and a memorabilia shop selling his music, his books, replica of his paintings, his photographs, CDs of his films, T-shirts, mugs, note pads, pens, bags, caps and anything else that can represent his creativity and can attract all sections of people. This sort of tactics are used by museums and memorials all over the world to not only make a great person’s legacy relevant all the time but also to generate revenue to run the place efficiently. Of course, the place would need ample parking space and other amenities like a cafeteria and rest rooms. But would the present available space allow such a huge infrastructure – that is the question one will have to consider.
2. House as tourist destination: World over, the houses of great personalities act as superb tourist destinations. Be it William Shakespeare or Jules Verne or even the fictional house of Sherlock Holmes, tourists throng such places in hundreds and even thousands. Bhupen Hazarika’s house – at least a wing of it since other family members continue to live there – should be put on the tourist destination map of Assam. The idea of a memorabilia shop and an audio-visual tour can be replicated here also.
3. International chair in a centre of educational excellence: A chair can be instituted in Bhupen Hazarika’s name at perhaps the Columbia School of Journalism, his alma matter, and a prominent Indian university like the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, dedicated to the study of impact of culture in society building, given the fact the Bhupen Hazarika’s songs always reflected the society around us. An appropriate grant can be secured by the state government from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, to institute these two chairs.
4. The award: The state government has already made the highly-welcome announcement about instituting an international award in the field of music in memory of Bhupen Hazarika. But if the award has to be a really international in its scale, the government will have to appoint a body comprising international musical stalwarts to identify suitable awardees from various parts of the world whose musical philosophies reflect that of Bhupen Hazarika. Just giving the award to some ‘famous’ names who won’t have even heard Hazarika’s name would not mean anything. The state’s Culture Ministry has a huge role to play in it, which hopefully it will.
5. Museum: While the aspect of museum has been discussed above, the idea of it must reflect everything about the great artiste. It should have everything related to him – original EP and LP records of his songs, posters of his films, photographs, his clothes, his pens, his note books, samples of his handwriting – and everything else that one can put on public display.
6. Annotation of songs: This is what must be taken up at a war footing. We still don’t have annotations of Jyoti and Rabha Sangeet that can be accessed by international musicians. Only recently, media reports said that for the first time ever English annotations of some of Jyotiprasad’s songs were being prepared. This is a real shame. While it’s the duty of the State Culture Ministry / Department to prepare annotations of the songs of such great artistes, it’s even more important to get on the job as far as Hazarika’s creations are concerned, given the hug e number of songs he wrote, composed and sang. Proper annotation is a must if we want his songs to travel to various parts of the world.
7. English translation of all his songs by a panel of experts: This is again a must. While it may not be possible to have quality translations of his lyrics in a way that they can be sung in English, given the fact the high rootedness of them in the cultural and social milieu of Assam, they can be academically translated into English so that researchers and music lovers from the world over can access their meaning in the true sense.
8. Translation of all his writings to English and other languages: The same applies to his other writings, that are already available in collection forms.
9. Recognition of Bhupendra Sangeet as a legitimate school of modern music like Rabindra Sangeet: Again, the state government and non-governmental organisations will have to play a leading role in making the Centre take this forward. Bhupen Hazarika’s music has its own unique style and idiom, and that will be scientifically preserved only if gets nationally recognised as a school of music.
10. Proper collection, archiving and public accessibility of all his films (both fiction and documentaries), plus films that he scored music for (Assamese, Bengali, Hindi): Like many old Indian (including Assamese) films, most of Bhupen Hazarika’s work in cinema (as director) are inaccessible to the masses. In contrast, his work as a composer in cinema as relatively better accessible. However, a concerted effort is needed, perhaps under the aegis of an organisation like the Assam Film (Finance & Development) Corporation, to collect all his cinematic work (as director and as composer), whether in fiction or non-fiction, and across languages, and properly archive them and make them available for public consumption. While some of his films are in the National Film Archives of India and the State Film Archive, quite a few of them might be already lost. Urgent action is needed to preserve whatever is remaining.
But all this and perhaps more will be possible when the government, people and the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust will work in tandem. Given the present circumstances, where the legal heir of Bhupen Hazarika’s intellectual property is still to be decided, it seems that will still take some time. And that means some precious time will be lost. One can only hope that the legacy of Bhupen Hazarika will not get lost in some silly fight over ownership of his creations. Because ultimately, what he created is the common heritage of Assam, India and the whole world.
PS: The last paragraph comes from the author’s own small (and sad) experience. Senior journalist Samudra Gupta Kashyap and the author had conceptualised a documentary film relating to Bhupen Hazarika’s songs, and Kashyap wrote one email formally to the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust and also spoke to Trust member Sunil Nath more than once on the mails which had sought certain information regarding the use of Bhupen Hazarika’s songs in the film. That was nearly a year ago. We are still awaiting a reply!!! If something seeking to take Bhupen Hazarika’s philosophy to the world elicits no response from the quarters that supposedly holds the rights to his creations, how can one expect these quarters to keep the legacy alive?
(Published in Assam Information, November 2012 issue; as well as Seven Sisters Post, http://www.sevensisterspost.com, on 16-11-2012 & 17-11-2012
Filmography
As a director
1956 Era Bator Sur
1958 Mahut Bandhu Re
1961 Shakuntala
1964 Ka Swariti
1964 Pratidhwani
1966 Lati-Ghati
1969 Chik Mik Bijuli
1974 For Whom the Sun Shines
1976 Mera Dharam Meri Maa
1976 Roop Konwar Jyoti Parsad Aru Joymoti
1977 Through Melody and Rhythm
1979 Mon-Prajapati
1986 Swikarokti
1988 Siraj
The Assamese feature films Of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika are
These are the seven feature films in which he was both Director and Music Director
Era Bator Sur (1956) (Tunes from the Deserted Path) Director/ Music Director
Shakuntala (1961): Director/ Music Director; awarded the President’s Silver Medal;
Pratidhwani (Echo) (1965) Director/ Music Director
Latighati (Turmoil) (1964 or 65): Director/ Music Director; awarded the President’s Silver Medal
Chikmik Bijuli (Lightning Spark) (1969) Director/ Music Director
Mon Projapaati (Renderings of the Heart) (1979) Director/ Music Director
Siraj (1988) Director/ Music Director.
Except for Shakuntala, the prints of none of Bhupen Hazarika’s films is presently available.
As a music director
1939 Indramalati (he only sang for the film; at 12 he was too young to be a music director)
1973 Aarop
1975 Chameli Memsaab (directed by Abdul Muzid): Hazarika was given the National Award for the best Music Director in India for that year.
1976 Shimana Perye
1976 Mera Dharam Meri Maa
1976 Dampati
1982 Aparoopa
1986 Ek Pal
1993 Pratimurti
1993 Rudaali
1997 Darmiyaan: In Between
1997 Do Rahain
1997 Saaz
2000 Gaja Gamini
2001 Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence
2003 Kyon?
As a singer
1939 Indramalati
1948 Siraj
1955 Pioli Phukan
1956 Era Bator Sur
1961 Shakuntala
1973 A River Called Titas
1976 Dampati
1976 Mera Dharam Meri Maa
1979 Debdas
1986 Ek Pal
1988 Siraj
1993 Rudaali
1997 Darmiyaan: In Between
2000 Gaja Gamini
2001 Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence
2006 Chingaari
2011 Gandhi to Hitler
As a producer
1986 Ek Pal
As an actor
1986 Ek Pal
As a writer
2006 Chingaari
See also individual articles about
Dr Bhupen Hazarika
