Guwahati: Assamese filmmaker Jadumoni Dutta has been conferred the National Film Award for Best Assamese Film for his feature Juiphool, marking another significant recognition for Assam’s regional cinema. Dutta received the prestigious Rajat Kamal at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on September 22. The awards recognised outstanding cinematic works from across India for the year 2024. Written, produced and directed by Dutta, Juiphool is set against the backdrop of the conflict-affected Assam-Nagaland border. The film explores the lives of two women and their relationship amid the uncertainty and hardships created by prolonged conflict in the region.
Also Read: Kokrajhar POCSO Court Sentences Assam Man to 20 Years in Prison
The National Film Award marks Dutta’s second Rajat Kamal in the Best Assamese Film category. His earlier film Jetuka Paator Dore, released in 2011, had also won the award, making the latest recognition a notable continuation of his contribution to Assamese cinema. Juiphool was among the films from the Northeast to receive recognition at the 72nd National Film Awards. Manipur’s Sunita was named Best Manipuri Film, while cinematographer Edmon Ranson won the Best Cinematography award for the documentary Life in Loom, which features traditional weaving communities across several Indian states, including Assam.
The 72nd National Film Awards honoured achievements across feature films, non-feature films and technical categories. The ceremony was presided over by the President of India and was held outside New Delhi as part of an initiative to take the national awards to different parts of the country. Dutta’s recognition has added another notable chapter to the growing national visibility of Assamese filmmaking and its stories rooted in the region’s social and cultural realities.
