Pramathesh Barua

Pramathesh Chandra was an actor, screenwriter, and director. He was born on 24th October 1903 in Gauripur, Assam, and worked on films belonging to the pre-independence era. Barua was an heir of the Royal Family of Gauripur in Dhubri, Assam. He received his primary education from Hare School at Calcutta. He went to the Presidency College in Calcutta to graduate with a Bachelor of Science. After completing his graduation, he embarked on his journey to Europe, where he gained exposure to films. On his return, he became a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly and joined the Swaraj Party. But later, he migrated to Calcutta to focus on films. During his stay in Shantiniketan, he met actor Dhiren Ganguly. He then acted in a Takay Ki Na Hay; a film directed by Ganguly. In 1926, Pramathesh Barua began his career in film; he joined the British Dominion Films Ltd. In 1929, he debuted with a movie titled Panchashar, directed by Debaki Kumar Bose. Barua became immensely passionate about the art of filmmaking. He wanted to visit Europe to acquire knowledge about the fundamentals of filmmaking.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote a letter of introduction for Pramathesh Barua. The purpose of this letter was to initiate the meeting between the American television host and producer M. Rogers. He acquired in-depth training in the field of cinematography in Paris. He learned a lot about the set, lighting, and production from the studios of Fox and Elstree in London. He purchased lighting apparatus and set up his Barua Film Unit and Studio at his residence in Calcutta. With this, he made the first-ever Indian film shot under artificial lighting, titled Apradhi. Barua acted as the protagonist and Debaki Kumar Bose as the director. Apradhi was full of experimentation and learning; makeup had been as per lighting, the lighting had to be changed. Altogether, Apradhi is imperative to the Indian cinema as it was replete with lessons for the technical team.

In 1933, BN Sarkar insisted that he join New Theatres. Here, he excelled in all facets of filmmaking. In 1934, he directed Rooplekha, wherein the flashback element in narration was used for the first time in Indian cinema. Pramathesh Barua then acted in Devdas, which was a huge success. In Rajat Jayanti, Pramathesh Barua transformed from a tragic hero (as in most of his previous films) to a comic hero. Rajat Jayanti was India’s first-ever Comedy talkie. In 1939, Barua quit theatres and filmmaking. Later his health began to decline, and in 1951, he died.