Mass Mediation of Bihu Dance and Songs in Assamese Cinema with reference to Joymoti and Maniram Dewan

Abstract

The paper focuses on the differences of folk media forms of Bihu dance and songs and the mass mediated forms of Bihu dance and songs. Bihu is the most vibrant folk festival in Assam. Oral literature, material culture, folk customs and rituals, folk performing art forms are associated with Bihu. Bihu dance and songs are included in the folk performing arts associated with Bihu. The folk songs and folk dance of Bihu has grassroots involvement among people. The lyrics are either transmitted from generations or are created by folk artist in a spontaneous way of expressing folk life experiences. The folk Bihu dance is representative of the nature and suits the expression of the folk Bihu songs. Folk Bihu dance and songs are created and performed by common people through the life and living process of the folk society. On the other hand, mass media express through the fusion of art with technology. Cinema is one of the important mass media. Cinema forms the popular culture. Bihu dance and songs are mass mediated to represent through Assamese cinema. The cinematic form of bihu dance and songs has distinct variations from the folk Bihu dance and songs. Due to the process of shaping popular culture by cinema, the forms of Bihu dance and songs represented through the Assamese cinema definitely deviates from the folk media forms of Bihu dance and songs. Therefore, there are distinct differences between the folk media forms of Bihu dance and songs versus the cinematic forms of Bihu dance and songs in Assamese films. This paper analyses the representation of Bihu dance and songs in Assamese cinema through the process of mass mediation. Two evergreen Assamese cinema Joymoti and Maniram Dewan  are analysed to find out how cinematic representation of Bihu dance and songs are performed. Joymoti is the first Assamese film made by Jyotiprasad Agarwala in 1935 and Maniram Dewan  is one evergreen Assamese film made in 1963 with music direction by Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Both the films are taken as reference for studying the cinematic representation  of Bihu dance and songs through Assamese films.

Keywords – Cinematic representation, Folk media, mass mediation, Bihu,  Assamese cinema, Joymoti, Maniram Dewan