''Roopkar'' was the first

Assamese language Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a ''lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian language, ...

, tabloid-sized magazine about

Assamese cinema Assamese cinema, also known as Jollywood, is an Indian film industry of Assamese-language motion pictures. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie '' Joymoti''. Since then the As ...

, theater and culture. Established in 1974, the magazine was founded and edited by journalist and writer Pabitra Kumar Deka. Advisers of the magazine were singer & composer

Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...

and writer Nirode Choudhury. ''Roopkar'' was published on a monthly basis. It was the most popular entertainment magazine in the Northeast; it also instituted the first popular film awards Roopkar Awards in Assam in 1975. Many new and young journalists contributed to the magazine, some of whom have made a mark in the field of cinema journalism like Kamal Lochan Das, Shekharjyoti Bhuyan, Arun Lochan Das, Rejek Aji Ahmed, Azim Hazarika, Hemanta Kumar Das, Jibaraj Barman,

Utpal Datta Utpal Datta is an Assamese film critic from Guwahati. Career Utpal Datta earned his Masters in Arts from Gauhati University.He later joined the All India Radio Guwahati, where his book ''24 Frames'' (2008), an anthology of articles on Indian ...

, Bidyut Kumar Bhuyan, Sanjib Hazarika, etc. The Kolkata correspondent for the magazine was Nitai Ghosh. The magazine existed till the early nineties. Besides cultural reporting, various renowned writers like Padma Borkotoki,

Lakshmi Nandan Bora Lakshmi Nandan Bora (15 June 1932 – 3 June 2021) was an Indian novelist and short story writer in the Assamese language, known for over 60 books he has authored, including award winning novels, ''Patal Bhairavi'' and ''Kayakalpa''. A recipient ...

, Nirode Choudhury, Ratna Oza, Arun Goswami, Udayaditya Bharali, Nitya Bora, Debabrat Das, Dilip Chandan, Satya Ranjan Kalita, Prafulla Kumar Dutta etc. wrote social novels for the magazine.

also wrote his famous column ''Anyamat'' in the seventies. A film critic and a former reporter of the magazine, Utpal Datta, made a short film on Pabitra Kumar Deka titled ''Bye Lane 2'' which got selected in various film festivals including the Indian Panorama Section in the Goa International Film festival in 2014. "Noted scribe, writer Pabitra Kr Deka dead"
''Assam Tribune''. ''Roopkar Award'' was instituted in 2011 in the memory of its founder Pabitra Kumar Deka. It is given yearly to one distinguished personality in the field of stage, cinema and media.

Roopkar Award winners

* 2011 – Ratna Oza – Writer & Stage director * 2012 –

Tapan Das Tapan Das (11 January 1962) is an Indian film actor, director and story writer in Assamese cinema and mobile theatre. He also performs in stage plays. Early life Das was born on 11 January 1962 in Guwahati. He has been associated with acting ...

– Actor, Director & Short story writer * 2013 – Munin Barua – Film Director & Playwright * 2014 – Arun Lochan Das – Film Journalist * 2015 – Sashi Phukan – Publisher & Editor of Bismoi Magazine * 2016 – Nayan Prasad – Actor & Stage director * 2017 –

Samarendra Narayan Dev Samarendra Narayan Dev is a national award winner veteran film director. His film career, spanning four decades, has also brought laurels and recognition to Assam. His first independent celluloid depiction, ''Aranya'' (1971), was based on the dwind ...

– Film & Stage director * 2018 – Tapan Das – Still Photographer & Founder of PVTI * 2019 –

Jahnu Barua Jahnu Barua (born 1952) is an Indian film director. He has written and directed a number of Assamese and Hindi films. Some of his notable films are ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai'' (1987), '' Firingoti'' (1992), ''Xagoroloi Bohu Door'' (1995), ...

– Film Director * 2020 – Arun Nath – Film & Stage Actor * 2021 – Pranjal Saikia – Film & Stage Actor * 2022 – Mridul Gupta – Film Director

References

1974 establishments in India Assamese-language mass media Defunct magazines published in India Film magazines published in India Monthly magazines published in India Magazines established in 1974 Mass media in Assam Theatre magazines Magazines with year of disestablishment missing 1990s disestablishments in India {{entertainment-mag-stub