Saga of the First Assamese Film Heroine Aideu Nilambar Handique, of Joymati Fame

The history of Assamese film is a saga of struggle. It was Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, a noted poet, playwright, composer and freedom fighter, who was instrumental in introducing the female actress in the first Assamese Film Joymati, under the banner of Chitralekha Movietone in 1935.

The courage and fortitude that Aideu Nilambar Handique displayed as the first Assamese film actress in the first Assamese talkie Joymati, directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, was incredible. It was the birth of a new era of regional films and entrance of females into the Assamese films. Joymati was the legendary Assamese heroine and martyr. Aideu, who played the pivotal role of Joymoti, was then a teenager, as she was born at Pani Dihingia Gaon, Golaghat on June 27, 1915.

Assam at that time had no film studio, or even cinemas; local actors knew nothing about performing on film and, on stage, men played the female roles. In the role of the heroine in Joymati, she displayed courage and fortitude. Aideu Nilambar embodied the quintessential Assamese women of her time. She accepted the role of the first film actress in the pioneering film- with family plots, bigotry and courage - at a time and place when for women even to go to school, let alone act on screen, was unacceptable. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala vainly advertised in newspapers and toured villages in his quest for a girl prepared to break social shackles and appear before a camera. It is said that an associate of Agarwalla, and Aideu's cousin, showed photographs of Aideu to Agarwalla. The filmmaker was impressed and the teenage girl was brought to the filmmaker's tea estate. Frightened and lonely, Aideu did not want to act. Only with her father's consent did she agree to the film, which included a scene in which she was beaten up. Joymati premiered in 1935, and became a classic, while Aideu's name went down in the annals of Assamese cinema. With this, a benchmark was set in Assam's film arena.

Aideu was a compatriot of Jyoti Prasad in setting the benchmark for Assamese talkies. But the star never got to see Joymati as there was no local cinema. It was only 40 years later, in a documentary on her, did Aideu see any clips from it. Ironically, like Joymati in the film, Aideu Nilambar in her real life too was shunned by neighbours, and sank into solitude and obscurity. Villagers would not drink from the pond from which she fetched water, her family were fined by a kangaroo court and no man would marry her. She remained unmarried because she referred to her co-actor, assuming the role of her character's husband, as Bongohordeo (Assamese for husband) in the film. Her ostracised life was a reflection of an Assamese society which had failed to recognise her pioneering spirit. She never acted after Joymoti again, except for a minuscule role in the film Ganga Siloni and a guest appearance in a film made on her life. Only in 1985, when Assam celebrated the golden jubilee of the state's cinema, was her role acknowledged. The East Indian Motion Picture Association had gifted Aideu a wheelchair. The Assam Government, much later, gave her Rs.1,500 a month as pension. It also recommended her name for Padma Shri, but was denied the award because she had done only one film. An erratically paid pension was instituted and in 1991, a girls' school was named after her in her village. An Assamese film Aideu (Behind the Screen) was made on Aideu Handique's tragic life and times of the first Assamese film actress by Arup Manna which was released in Mumbai International Film Festival on February 8, 2007. She died on 17 December, 2002 (aged 87) at Kamargaon, Golaghat.

The journey of Joymati was the glorious beginning and yet, during the rest of her life, spanning more than seven decades, Aideu lived in utter penury. However today we see the changes in the attitude of the people in general. Now film heroines live a life of glamour.

All these would not have been possible without the courage shown by Aideu long back in the thirties when Assam lagged far behind in film industry.

By: Ratan Bhattacharya

Also Read: Smita Patil: The Pole Star of Indian Parallel Cinema

Also Watch: