You’re invited: Screening of Bhupen Da Uncut and Conversation
Presented by
Rutgers Oral History Archives and The Assam Digital Living Museum
Please join us for a special on-campus screening of Bhupen Da Uncut, a documentary on the life and legacy of legendary artist Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, followed by a conversation with the film’s director.
Date: Friday, September 25
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: Van Dyck Hall, Room 211
Film runtime: 60 minutes
Click here to register for parking.
Program
Welcome and Introduction
Introduced by S. Mitra Kalita, veteran journalist, Rutgers alumna, and longtime friend of Bhupen Hazarika
S. Mitra Kalita is an award-winning veteran journalist, media executive, prolific commentator, and author of two books. At the height of the pandemic, Mitra founded two media companies to ensure local communities are served, supported and centered. The first, Epicenter NYC, began as a newsletter helping New Yorkers navigate Covid and has since grown into a community journalism multiplatform company. The second, URL Media, is a growing network of high-performing Black and Brown media organizations that share content, distribution, and revenues to increase long-term sustainability. Before launching her companies, Mitra served as Senior Vice President at CNN Digital, overseeing the national news, breaking news, programming, opinion and features teams. Her media background also spans the LA Times, Quartz, the Washington Post, Newsday, and the Associated Press. Mitra was a consultant on Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” and co-producer on the documentary, “Vice is Broke.” She sits on the boards of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the News Media Alliance, the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Assam Digital Living Museum.
Screening: Bhupen Da Uncut (60 minutes)
Bhupen Da Uncut is a vintage candid camera first person account of Assam's legendary singer-musical maestro Bharat Ratna and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee Dr Bhupen Hazarika while he was on a visit to United Kingdom in 1999. Here Bhupenda, as he is fondly referred to by all spoke at length about his childhood- the influence and interaction with cultural stalwarts like Jyoti Prasad Agarwala pioneer of Assamese cinema, his pursuit of Higher Studies in New York, how he met his wife Priyamvada Patel- the dynamics of their relationship as well as his philosophy and ideology. In these candid moments Bhupenda also recited a few of his poetry some of which we believe have not yet been published.
Bhupenda's recollections portray an insight into his mind depicting his assertions, hurt and disillusionments as well as some poignant moments with glimpses into his childlike innocence, simplicity, sensitive and open demeanor.
This documentary was shot 26 years back on a High 8 camera and has great archival value as it is a primary source of details about his life and philosophy from the legendary Bard himself. We believe this documentary has great archival value for posterity since it is a first hand candid account of the legendry Bard himself. More so as we are celebrating his centenary birth anniversary this year.
The film was screened under special packages at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa in November 2025. The documentary also had an international premier in Warsaw, Poland on 14th October 2025 at an event organised by the Assamese Association, Poland, and in Luxembourg on 25th October 2025 at Axom Milon, an event of Assamese NRI's settled in Europe. It was also screened at the Nehru Centre, London, UK on 28th October, organised by the High Commission of India in UK in association with Luiporia Nasoni to commemorate Dr Bhupen Hazarika's centenary birth anniversary celebrations.
Universities and various other organisations have organised screenings of the documentary as a tribute to the Bard of the Brahmaputra on his birth anniversary. Prominent among them are - Gauhati University, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, Press Club of India, New Delhi, Royal Global University, Guwahati, JB University Jorhat, Centre for Policy Research of North East, Shillong.
Director : Bobbeeta Sharma
Producer: Sangita Advertising
Executive Producer: Chinmoy Sharma & Bobbeeta Sharma
Editor & Creative Director: Ravindra Badgaiyan
Duration: 61 Minutes
Language: Assamese with English Subtitles.
Post-screening Conversation, a discussion between:
Bobeeta Sharma, Director, Bhupen Da Uncut and Meheli Sen, Associate Professor of South Asian and Global Cinemas, Department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures, and Acting Director of the Cinema Studies, Rutgers-New Brunswick
Bobbeeta Sharma has been associated with the cultural world of Assam since she was introduced as a child artiste in eminent film maker Dr Bhabendranath Saikia's national award-winning film Anirbaan in 1979. Since then, Sharma has acted in films and numerous television serials. She had also been a presenter and English newsreader for the National broadcaster Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati, (DDK) and PPC North East (1988-1998)
Sharma's recent documentary Bhupen da Uncut on legendary singer-musical maestro Bharat Ratna late Dr Bhupen Hazarika was screened at International Film Festival of India held at Goa in November 2025. It also had international premier in Warsaw, Poland organised by the Assamese Association of Poland on 14th October 2025, in Luxembourg at Asom Milon- a gathering of Assamese NRI'S settled in Europe on 25th October and in Nehru Centre, London organised by Luitporia Nasoni of UK in association High Commission of India, UK on 28th October 2025. Sharma has produced, directed and presented various programmes for DDK Guwahati. Her serial on Assamese NRI's settled in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, France and Belgium titled Bidexot Apun Manuh (Our Own People Abroad) has received widespread appreciation and popularity in her home state Assam and was one of the longest running series on DDK Guwahati (2001-2008). It also received the RAPA Award in Mumbai in 2003. She has directed other socially relevant documentaries for DDK Guwahati and Films Division on women empowerment, sustainable agriculture, child labour, etc., and her directorial venture titled Rupahi Asom Jonaki Batere was on air every Sunday on DDK, Guwahati from 2005-2016. Her documentary on veteran Assamese actress Jnanada Kakoti titled Jnanada: Reflections of Light and Shade has received Special Jury Mention in the 15th Jaipur International Film Festival in 2023. So far this documentary has been selected for screening in 11 Film Festivals in India and abroad. Her documentary titled A light Refuses to Fade out: Aruna Mukherjee has won awards and critical acclaim in many festivals within India and was an official entry at the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) in 2018 & South Asian Film Festival in Kolkata in 2019.
Sharma is author of the book The Moving Image and Assamese Culture: Joymoti, Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Assamese Cinema published by Oxford University Press. This is the first book on the history of Assamese Cinema in the English language. The book has been awarded the 'Honorable Mention' in the Non-Fiction category at the London Book Festival 2014. Sharma was working as a Senior Lecturer in History in Pandu College, Guwahati for 9 years (1993-2002).
From 2005 to 2016, Sharma was serving as the honorary Chairperson of Assam State Film Finance and Development Corporation Ltd (ASFFDC), a Government of Assam undertaking from 2005-2016. During her tenure the corporation established the first Film Archive and the first Film Museum of Assam and the North East and also started film production on a public private partnership mode. Through this scheme the ASFFDC produced eight Assamese feature films since 2010. Of these Baandhon directed by Jahnu Barua bagged the National Award as Best Regional Film in the Assamese language and Dikshow Bonot Palash directed by Sanjib Sabhapandit received the national award as the Best Film on National Integration.
Bobbeeta Sharma was also engaged in honorary capacities with many other organisations like Indian Women Network (CII), Assam Chapter as Chairwoman. Ms Sharma is also Secretary, Dr Phani Sharma Welfare Trust & Om Shanti Trust, a non government organisation working for underprivileged sections of society. She had also also served as two term Member of Central Board of Film Certification(2006 - 2012) Govt. Of India and Tea Board of India. (2005-2011). Sharma is an Alumni of American Council of Young Political Leaders and was part of a historic India-Pakistan Delegation of young political leaders in 2004. She is also an Alumni of Institute for Global Tobacco Control, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Meheli Sen received her Ph.D. from Emory University’s Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts in 2008, with a certificate in Film Studies. Prior to this, she received a B.A. in Comparative Literature in 1997 and an M.A. in Film Studies in 1999 at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India. Sen has previously taught at the University of Oklahoma’s Film and Media Studies Program and in the College of Communication at DePaul University.
Her research area is post-independence Indian cinema, particularly Hindi and Bengali language films. She is especially interested in questions of gender, genre, modernity, globalization, and new media cultures. Her work has been published in journals such as Cinema Journal, Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory, South Asian Popular Culture, among others. She has co-edited an anthology titled Figurations in Indian Film (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2013).
Sen’s book, Haunting Bollywood: Gender, Genre and the Supernatural in Hindi Commercial Cinema (University of Texas Press and Orient BlackSwan, 2017) explores the supernatural in Bollywood cinema, and the varied modes through which it raises questions of film form, history, modernity, and gender in South Asian public cultures. Arguing that the supernatural is dispersed among multiple genres and constantly in conversation with global cinematic forms, she demonstrates that it is an especially malleable impulse that routinely pushes the Hindi popular film into new formal and stylistic territories.
Professor Sen is currently working on a second book on media cultures in South Asia.
The conversation will explore Bhupen Hazarika’s artistic and political legacy, the making of Bhupen Da Uncut, and the continuing relevance of his work to contemporary media, culture, and social movements.
This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.