Few films have the magical power to revolutionize and Dr.Bezbaruah by Brajen Baruah was one such film that transformed the then-existing film production system in Assam.The first Assamese film Joimoti, released in 1935, was produced in a studio model when Producer/Director J P Agarwala, established his studio set up for the shooting and sound recording of the film in a tea-estate godown. After that system not working up to the expected standards, J P Agarwala went on to produce his second film in the studio of Kolkata and that process of filmmaking, in a Kolkata Studio, continued till 1969. So basically in those days the Filmmakers had to set up a base at the nearest convenient place in Kolkata, camp there and had to make their films there- right from the song recording to the final print.
Even Brajen Baruah, one of the leading Music directors with the credit of eight successful films, made his first film Eto Sito Bahuto at the Kolkata Studio. He had captured the outdoor scenes, mostly in Guwahati transporting all the equipment and technicians from Kolkata. And as for the producer making a film on a shoe-string budget, this transportation, indeed became a Hercules task for him. Film-making in such a way was cumbersome! So Brajen Baruah shot his second film Dr. Bezbaruah entirely in Assam and even shot the indoor scenes not in a studio, but rather in a normal location. And this time instead of hiring technicians from Kolkata, he trained some local youths to handle the camera and sound recording work. He later took help from the studios of Kolkata only for song recording and post-production works. And on 9th Nov 1969, this film was released on the silver screen. The film was a great commercial success and most importantly the film inspired a good number of aspiring producers to make films in Assam along-with Assamese technicians.
Thus, beaconing hope for film-makers of Assam to make films in their home ground. Dr.Bezbaruah was a big hit; be the screenplay, the essence of the story, the use of music or the success story of the film-making at the base- all these aspects might be some inspirational topic of discourse among film students today.
However, like many films, Dr.Bezbaruah too was scrutinized, criticized and insulted as a copy of a third-rate Hindi masala film. Most Hindi films use the same kind of masala, but some films turn out to be hit and others are a flop. So the question is - Does the masala make a film HIT? A mere copy of a Hindi film cannot be transformed into a hit movie in the Assamese language. But how did Brajen Baruah make the film a hit?
The general conception that the Film industry holds is that Hit films have no logic, only flop film has. So the inclusion of a local technician and shooting in a normal space outside a studio floor is no doubt an example of his creative imagination supported by his technical outlook or might be some reflection of his passion for film, but this cannot be a reason of the phenomenal success of the film!
The success of Dr.Bezbaruah lies in the dramatic and emotional fundamentals presented in a most enchanting approach. The very first sequence was constructed in a very high dramatic note blended with suspense and curiosity and maintained the required pace till the last sequence of the film and this worked its magic! And not just that, this fast-paced story gradually transformed into a multilayered story spreading out from an urban setting to a rural backdrop. And projecting this distinctive feature wasn’t easy then!
The striking attribute of this film was that the characters did not know, but the audience of the film already realized that the lady was the biological mother and the youth was her child that got lost in a hospital. The such situation created a strong sense of curiosity among the audience, gripping their emotions.
And the amalgamation of all these gripping aspects and their construction into a screenplay that plays with the emotional intelligence of the audience is not an easy task. Besides, the story of the criminal-turned-doctor also created mystery and suspense to another level. The principal structural format of this screenplay was - the audience knew the secrets but the characters did not. All these features kept the audience on tenterhooks waiting in anticipation for the mysteries unfold and the criminals to be caught. Another vital question that perhaps keeps the audience alert is whether will both the parallel stories meet at one point.
The film is rare as it juxtaposes two different genres, on one hand, it is a fast-paced thriller and on the other, it is a simple, soft emotional story. The screenplay writer who is also the director shows his excellent command over the structure of the screenplay by combining two reverse plots in the same platform maintaining the required pace of the entire movement of the all-absorbing plot. The dialogues were short, crisp, razor-sharp and suggestive, remarkably different from the existing trend of poetic or literary dialogues of Assamese films, highly prejudiced by Bangla film and literature. Those dialogues were popular as songs which can be compared with the dialogues of Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay which was released after six years of Dr.Bezbaruah. Short-n-sharp dialogues in Hindi film had its commencement with Vijay Anand’s Johny Mera Naam, released after one year of Dr.Bezbaruah.
It is worth a mention that, besides dialogue and screenplay, Brajen Baruah paid due attention to the lyrics and the music of the film. As a recognized Music director and innovative composer, he was always prone to acing the quality of the lyrics and most of the leading poets of Assam had penned songs for him. He was a lyricist par excellence. For this film he had himself penned two songs and collaborated with two upcoming lyricists namely; Dr. Nirmal Prava Bardaloi (who had retired from Guwahati University as a professor) and Eli Ahmed (a recent Padmashree awardee). He is also credited to have introduced to the Assamese film industry, the music director Ramen Baruah and the singer Dwipen Baruah, both of whom have completed fifty glorious years in the Assamese film industry as renowned Music Director and Singer respectively, creating records in terms of numbers in their respective fields.
As a Music director, Brajen Baruah had the power to always combine melody with the situational Dramatic mood of the scene. This blend made the playback look like an extension of dialogue projecting the songs closer to the film visuals. In the masterpiece Dr.Bezbaruah too, Ramen Baruah (Music Director of the film) followed the same pattern and also added his personal touch that gave a distinctive personality to the minor sounds resulting in songs that breathed freshness and felt unheard before.
Dr Bezbaruah, incomplete footage
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was the first music director of Assam who turned to a film director with Brajen Baruah being the second in the list. Till the making of ‘Dr. Bezbaruah’, Brajen Baruah was involved in music composing for film, stage and All India Radio. During this time he gave a massive number of everlasting melodies to Assamese listeners and it was with Dr. Bezbarua that he took retirement from the music world. Albeit the success of Dr. Bezbaruah glorified him as a Director and gave an elevation to the Assamese Film industry, however, this achievement paved a departure for Brajen Baruah from the Music world. So, be it the introduction of music genius like Ramen Baruah and stalwart Dwipen Baruah or the first of its kind masterpiece Dr Bezbaruah or the countless melodies.
The Assamese film took a huge leap forward with the innovative and challenging contributions of Brajen Baruah.
