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Roopkar Awards’ presented to eminent film critic Utpal Datta and filmmaker Sanjeev Hazorika

By Prantik Deka |

The prestigious Roopkar Awards, instituted in memory of distinguished cine-journalist and litterateur Pabitra Kumar Deka, was presented to eminent writer-film critic Utpal Datta and noted actor-filmmaker Sanjiv Hazorika for the years 2023 and 2024 respectively, in a low-key function held at the premises of the Pabitra Kumar Deka Archive on January 5.

Instituted in 2011 in the memory of its founder Pabitra Kumar Deka, the awards, given away biennially, were presented by the state’s eminent fine arts artist Chandan Chutia.

“Despite being surrounded by many accomplished writers, Pabitra Kumar Deka always encouraged fresh writers like us to contribute to the ‘Roopkar’ magazine. ‘Roopkar’ is more than just a magazine, it was a school where we could learn about cultural journalism,” writer-film critic Utpal Dutta said after receiving the award.

Accepting the award, award winning filmmaker Sanjeev Hazorika recalled how journalist Pabitra Kumar Deka encouraged him to write in ‘Roopkar’.

Attending the award ceremony, which was hosted by cine-journalist Bidyut Kumar Bhuyan, the editor of ‘Asam Bani’ and well-known writer, Dilip Chandan recalled how he began his journalism career as a cine-journalist after meeting Pabitra Kumar Deka during his student days, and how his first novel, ‘Majulit Atiya Gadhuli’, was published in ‘Roopkar’.

Speaking on the occasion, acclaimed mime artiste Moinul Haque joked about how he and late actor Jayanta Das approached Pabitra Kumar Deka about becoming good human beings. Nayan Prasad, a noted film critic and cultural activist, recounted how he became acquainted with Pabitra Kumar Deka and began writing, while journalist Mrinal Kumar Bora recalled how he had the confidence to approach Pabitra Deka and contact many prominent people.All the speakers regaled the attendees with anecdotes from their experiences with Deka and their respective journeys in the field of culture.

The intimate function was attended by Rana Deka, Nayan Prasad, Moinul Haque, Hemanta Kumar Das, Namrata Dutta, Dilip Chandan, Mrinal Kumar Bora, Montu Saikia, Amardeep Gogoi, Hemanta Debnath, Jitumoni Bora, Rosy Bora, Dhanjit Das, Hemchandra Pathak among others.

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