Phani Sarma
| Phani Sarma | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Occupation | stage actor, theatre actor, film actor, director |
| Language | Assamese |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Ethnicity | Assamese |
Phani Sarma (Assamese: ফণী শৰ্মা) (1910–1970) was an Assamese theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director. Beginning as a stage actor, he appeared in the first film ever made in Assamese cinema, Joymati, in 1935.
He acted in and directed Siraj in 1948 and Pioli Phukan in 1955.
The theatrical career of Phani Sarma started as a gatekeeper of the women's gallery of the prestigious Ban Stage situated at Tezpur. His father Molan Sarma was also an exponent of drama and was a noted actor of Ban Stage. Along with his father, Phani Sarma regularly went to the Ban Stage and closely observed the distinguished acting of a number of veteran actors like Indreswar Borthakur, Dr Lalit Mohan Chowdhury, Prafulla Borua. This inspired young Bolin (as Phani Sarma was popularly known) towards acting and had a deep impact on his future life. In 1928, he got the opportunity to act on the Ban Stage for the first time in the role of Akbar in the drama Rana Pratap. That was the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Phani Sarma.
In 1930, Phani Sarma joined the Kohinoor Opera, the first mobile theatre group of Assam, started by Natyacharya Brajanath Sarma. From Dhubri to Sadiya, from the north bank to the south bank of the Brahmaputra River, Kohinoor Opera performed its dramas, attracting thousands of spectators who came to see Sarma perform. Apart from initiating a theatrical movement, the Kohinoor Opera introduced co-acting on the stages of Assam. In 1931, Brajanath Sarma, with the help of Phani Sarma introduced female actresses for the first time to appear in their drama productions at a time when male acting was completely dominant, revolutionising the nature of Assamese theatre
In 1933 Phani Sarma played a significant role in the first Assamese feature film Joymati directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, where he played the role of the historical figure of Gathi Hazarika, the villain of the film. The notable acting of Phani Sarma in that role was a special feature of the film which was released in 1935, and Sarma went on the star in Agarwalla's second picture Indramalati.
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