Filmmakers of Assam have made the state proud by bagging as many as five awards in the 71st National Film Awards announced on Friday. Three of these, incidentally, have been won by competing alongside hundreds of others from across the country. These include the Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic (Utpal Datta), the Swarna Kamal for the Best Debut Non-feature Category Film (Shilpika Bordoloi), and the Rajat Kamal for the Best Biographical Film (Sanjib Parashar). What is also important is that a film made in the Ti-Phake language (by Prabal Khound) has also bagged a Rajat Kamal for the first time, as the Best Tai-Phake Film. The history of cinema in Assam, it is worth noting, has completed ninety years, with ‘Joymati,’ the first Assamese film, being released in March 1935. If one takes into account the date from when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala had started making ‘Joymati,’ this history will probably be two more years old. Considering this, one can say that the five awards that filmmakers from the state have bagged this year are also a tribute to the 90-year journey of cinema in Assam. Going one step ahead, one can also consider these five national awards as also a befitting tribute to Bhupen Hazarika as Assam prepares to launch the birth centenary celebration of the great singer, lyricist, musician, and filmmaker on September 8, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreeing to be present as the chief guest. Important to note, the film industry in Assam, which has passed through a terribly bad phase, has started looking up, with a number of films released this year doing pretty well in the box office.