Runumi is the ninth Assamese language

Assamese language

Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...

 film. It was directed and produced by Suresh Chandra Goswami and released in 1952. The film is based on Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...

’s play The Warriors at Helgeland. It is the second Assamese film to have been shot in location and open floor after Joymoti. The film stars Kanaklata Saikia, Neyimuddin Ahmed, Suresh Goswami, Indreshwar Barthakur, Hironmoyee Devi. The film was set in Assam and Nagaland (then the Naga hills of Assam).

Banned in 1952

Although the film was running in good response, the then government of Assam headed by chief minister Bishnu Ram Medhi suddenly banned due to some unknown reason that left Goswami completely bankrupt. The government did not offer any reason for the ban.

Retrieving the film

After the ban, Goswami’s brother-in-law Lakshminath Borthakur took it for some “illigal" viewing in some tea gardens and since then it has been lying in a tin trunk box in Borthakur’s residence. After four decades, Borthakur’s son Amiya Borthakur returned it to Guwahati-based Dolly Borpujari, daughter of Mr Goswami. The 13 reels are still in original cans.

Present condition of the film

Preliminary examination indicates that a significant part of the film could still be intact. But the actual condition of the print will be known only after it is checked by experts for due to the high-humidity conditions of the region the cans have caught rust and a few of them even have developed cracks, because of which some of the contents might have got damaged.

Restoring the film

Utpal Borpujari, Goswami’s grandson and a noted film critic, is already in touch with relevant people in Mumbai for the cleaning of the print and transferring it to other formats. The National Film Archive of India

National Film Archive of India

The National Film Archive of India was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in February 1964. Its three principal objectives are* To trace, acquire and preserve for posterity the heritage of Indian cinema;...

in Pune is expected to restore and preserve the film.

The Appeal

The late Goswami’s family has appealed to the Government of Assam to let the people know why the film was banned, and also come forward to help restore and preserve the film. It also appeal to anyone directly or indirectly involved in making of the film or related to any material of the film or had seen the film to send or share those materials and memories.