Kokborok Cinema refers to the
Kokborok language
Kokborok (also known as Tripuri or Tiprakok) is the main native language of the Tripuri people of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from ''kok'' meaning "verbal" and ''borok'' meaning "people" o ...
film industry in
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and among the
Tripuri people
The Tripuri (also known as Tripura, Tipra, Tiprasa, Twipra) are an ethnic group originating in the Indian state of Tripura. They are the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through t ...
. Tripura's Kokborok film industry began in 1986 with ''
Longtharai'' (1986) directed by Dipak Bhattacharya
adapted from Bimal Sinha's novel ''Karachi theke Longtharai''
depicting the struggle-ridden life of jhum cultivators in the rural hills of
Longtharai followed by the Kokborok film ''
Langmani Haduk'' (1993) directed by Ruhi Debbarma can be read as a critique of the modern regime.
The Kokborok film
''Mathia'' (2004) directed by Joseph Pulinthanath, is the first International Award-winning Kokborok film.
History
![Maharaja Birchandra with Maharani Manamohini](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Maharaja_Birchandra_with_Maharani_Manamohini.jpg)
Before it became a recognised form of artistic expression, cinema already existed in
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
. Its predecessors, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, dance, theatre, acrobatics, textiles, and photography, all contributed to the development of cinema. The relationship between film and the visual arts has existed for a very long time and is very complex. The birth of Tripura's modern era was thus heralded by
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–96), a master painter, photographer, composer, scholar of Vaishnava literature, and patron of all artistic endeavours. About one and a half centuries of the royal family's rule saw the continuation of the core musical interests and practises. More so than art or architecture, the
Manikya kings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were fascinated by literature and music. Upon the death of
Maharaja Birendra Kishore in 1928,
Maharaja Bir Bikram, who had a passionate interest in theatre and other forms of art and culture, took over as ruler of the realm. Just like his father,
Maharaja Birendra Kishore, he was a genius in playing the
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
and
esraj
The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...
. Ustad Munne Khan,
Enayat Khan
Ustad Enayat Khan ( ur, عنایت خان ; 1894–1938) also known as Nath Singh was one of India's most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th century. He was the father of Vilayat Khan, one of the topmost s ...
, Muzaffar Khan, Masid Mia,
Adam Box
Adam Box is an American drummer, best known for his work with the country duo Brothers Osborne.
Box started playing drums at church in his hometown of Zero, Mississippi, in a church band that covered contemporary rock songs with Christian lyrics ...
, and
Ustad Allauddin Khan are among a few well-known artists who have performed in
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
.
Prince Nabadwip Chandra, the father of
Sachin Debbarman, who was a well-known music director in the nation, was particularly talented in the musical arts. The first Indian woman to practise photography was
Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini,
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya's third consort. She arranged her self-portraits with the Maharaja to portray herself as a contemporary royal photographer. She received training as a royal photographer under her husband's supervision, and she organised photographic exhibitions in the palace where the Maharaja presented self-portraits of both himself and his wife
Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini. The May 1890 issue of The Journal of the Photographic Society of India focused on the portraits of the Camera Club of the
Palace of Agartala.
The relationship between Nobel laureate
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resha ...
and four generations of
Tripuri kings is another important incident in the history of the princely state of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
. Understandably, this resulted from
Maharaja Ratna Manikya's liberal support of
Bengali language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...
and culture by the
Manikya dynasty
The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north- ...
rulers of
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
(1464–68). In his first letter to
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896), dated May 6, 1886,
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
made reference to this familial relationship while searching for historical details about Tripura to draw inspiration for his celebrated book "Rajarshi."
Notable films: 1993–2022
This section covers notable Kokborok feature films released between 1993 and 2022. Notable films, in this context, include those films which have participated or won awards in national and international film festivals, and the films which have made history (for example, first full-length film, first filmmaker, first color film, longest movie).
References
{{World cinema
Cinema of Tripura
Kokborok
Cinema by culture
Films shot in Tripura
Kokborok-language films