SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD, there are several talented people hailing from Assam who are making a name for themselves in various fields of activities. With a view to introducing these sons and daughters of the soil to the viewers back home, the Assamese television serial Bideshat Apon Manuh assumed a significant role. Produced by Chinmoy Sarma and telecast on Guwahati Doordarshan, the serial anchored by Bobbeeta Sarma earned huge popularity among the viewers for its subject matter and its presentation.

Besides focussing on the successful Assamese expatriates, the serial also zoomed into the beautiful foreign locales to give the viewers a rare taste of ‘travelling’ abroad just sitting in front of their television sets. As for artistes and technicians of Assam it is not an easy task to work in foreign locations due to several constraints, monetary among them being a chief reason, the makers of this serial overcame all odds to come up with such a gem that has already completed over 150 episodes.

The man who directed and edited this serial, besides handling the photography, was Manas Adhikari, who took up this project after the success of another runaway hit on Guwahati Doordarshan titled Geetimalika, a song-based programme that completed 100 episodes. Adhikari still vividly recalls his journeys to different parts of the globe in ‘search’ of these Assamese expat achievers. He has travelled to countries like the USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, etc during the making of Bideshat Apon Manuh that can well be termed unique in the annals of Assamese television serials.

Apart from small screen, Manas Adhikari has also assisted in direction in a number of Assamese silver screen productions. He was the chief assistant director in films like Pahari Kanya, Haladhar, Prabhati Pakhir Gaan, Railor Alir Dubari Bon, Mimangsha, Grahananta. Of these, Haladhar and Railor Alir Dubari Bon brought national film awards for Assam.

On the other hand, he has creditably edited a number of Assamese feature films, besides numerous documentaries and television productions, including serials and telefilms in a career spanning 22 long years ever since he stepped in this field in the mid-1980s. Matsyagandha, Jugantarar Tezal Puwa, Garam Batah, Jone Jwale Kapalat, Patni, Bhumiputra, Suren Choror Putek, Adhinayak, Jatinga Ityadi..., Jakham, Jivan Nadir Duti Paar, Jonak Bihin Jivan, Priya Milan, Ujanir Dujani Gabharu are some of the Assamese films where Manas Adhikari worked as the editor.

The projects he has worked as the editor will number around 500 that also includes a good number of regional film and television productions. The popular Assamese television serials edited by Manas Adhikari are Sahu Aai, Jitu Nitur Abhijan, Dipsikha, Amrit Sadhan, Kakadeutar Haar, Madoi, Janma, Mahatama, Doinandin, Hanhire Chakulu Dhaki, Colonel Barua, Jonakar Barashun, etc, besides those super-duper hits Geetimalika and Bideshat Apon Manuh.

His works have won rave reviews as also a number of awards. For Sanjiv Sabhapandit’s national award winning film Jatinga Ityadi... Manas Adhikari won the best editor’s award at the state film festival. He was honoured as the best editor in the film awards of Prag Channel and NE Television. Moreover, he has also won a number of awards for editing in the television and documentary categories instituted by several socio-cultural organisations of Assam.

Ever since he entered into this profession, he had a dream to establish on his own, a full-fledged editing facility in Guwahati as then for most of the post-production works, including editing, the filmmakers and television serial producers had to go to places like Chennai and Mumbai as the lone editing studio at the Jyoti Chitraban could not cater to all of them. So, he started a state-of-the-art editing facility billed Adhikari Vision at the Anuradha Cinema complex at Bamunimaidam, where a number of Assamese films, documentaries and television serials undergone editing works under the able hands of Manas Adhikari.

It was Manas Adhikari who introduced ‘computer face editing’ for the first time in the North East at Adhikari Vision that also today boasts of other facilities like camera and sound. He has also used the facilities at Adhikari Vision to train a number of aspiring youths to earn a livelihood in the world of film and television.

But, he is pained at the present state of affairs of the Assamese film industry that has been passing through a bad phase of late, thanks to closure of a number of cinema halls across the state, indifference of audience to watch even quality Assamese movies, piracy, et al. “The film medium is a part of greater Assamese culture and its development will only add to the enrichment of our culture, besides offering avenues for survival to the artistes and technicians,” says Adhikari.

Kamal Kr Bhagawati