# Prodyut Kumar Deka

Prodyut Kumar Deka (born 18 April 1978) is an Indian film and stage director, screenwriter and author based in Assam. His films include Dhunia Tirutabur (2009), Samiran Barua Ahi Ase (2012), Surjasta (2013), and Borosi (2014).
He turned to writing English fiction gradually from 2016-17 with the anthropological Ambari Series based on the Ambari Archeological site in Guwahati.
In 2025, to commemorate fifty years of publication of Roopkar, founded by his father late Pabitra Kumar Deka, the magazine was revived by Prodyut Kumar Deka, who announced it would be published annually as a Special issue.

## Film and television

He made his debut as scriptwriter and director with the critically acclaimed Assamese film Dhunia Tirutabur (English: Beautiful Woman), based on the 2010 disappearance of an artist. His next film, Samiran Barua Ahi Ase (English: Return of Samiran Barua), was based on a political subject and was released in 2012. He tentatively planned to direct a sequel of the movie, titled Samiran Baruah Aru Nahe but the plans were dropped for unstated reasons.
His other films include Surjasta (English: A Sunset), a 2013 work on the subject of child negligence, the 2014 suspense drama Borosi (English: The Trap) and a 2016 television film, Dristi (The Vision), based on Rabindranath Tagore's story of the same name. Surjasta received nominations in the Best Actor Male and Female categories at the Filmfare Awards 2013 (East). Deka contributed to the 2019 anthology film Ji Golpor Sesh Nai. A special screening of the film was held on 18 April 2019 and received favorable praise from the media.
His latest projects include Chiyahir Rong, a 2021 film about newspaper houses in Assam, based on a story by journalist Jitumoni Bora, and The Government Servant, a film set in Mayong and based on a story by Sahitya Akademi Award winner Jayant Madhab Bora. The film was also released online in Reel Drama portal in 2023.
He was co-scriptwriter of the films Orong (Strangers in the Mist) (2015) on child psychology and Rum Vodka Whiskey (2017), based on three unsuccessful love stories in different seasons. Orong won the National Award for Best Rabha film in 2015. He wrote the screenplay of the forthcoming film Smriti, which is directed by Pankaj Kalita and is under production.
He has made two short films based on essays by Assamese writer and journalist Homen Borgohain,Why I write (2008) and A short film about Walking (2011), which were shown in various film festivals. He also made a 50-minute documentary, An Anti-insurgent Journey, which depicts former Asam Sahitya Sabha Chief Kanaksen Deka and his stance against subversive activities of the outfit in the 1990s.

## Theatre

He revived the theatre group Aikyatan in late 2010s, originally founded by his father Pabitra Kumar Deka in the early 1970s. With the group, he has directed plays such as Moni Kanchan (Badal Sircar), Jonakor Pohar (English:The Rising of the Moon), The Game of Chess, and 27 Gaari Kopah (English: 27 Wagons full of Cotton). Deka penned an Assamese translation of the play Eserenga Rod (English: A Sunny Morning), which was premiered in Natasurjya Drama Festival 2016 under the direction of Pranjal Saikia.
Also associated with Indian People's Theatre Association, Assam, he has directed Coffee Housot Apeksha (On the occasion of platinum jubilee) and the famous play An Inspector Calls in 2019 at Guwahati.

## Writing

He writes on cinema in the local Assamese newspapers like Sadin, Asomiya Pratidin, and Asomiya Khobor. He has published several books on cinema and television. His 2021 biography of actor Biju Phukan, Biju Phukan: A Life in Cinema, won the Best Book on Cinema award in the Prag Cine Awards, 2022. He has also written a trilogy of anthropological novels based on the Ambari Archeological site which was discovered in Guwahati in 1969.

### Publications
#### Non-fiction

* Amar Kotha Teolokor Kotha (in Assamese). Guwahati: Arclights. 2014., anthology of cinema essays
* Cinema Suwar Ananda (in Assamese). Guwahati: Arclights. 2017., anthology of cinema essays
* Biju Phukan: A Life in Cinema. Guwahati: Assam Publishing Company. 2021., biography
* Doordarshanor Dinbur (in Assamese). Guwahati: Asom Prakashan Parishad. 2023., a history of television or Doordarshan in Assam

#### Novels

Ambari trilogy
* Ambari. Delhi: Educreation Publishing. 2017.
* Prophecy of Ambari. Delhi: Educreation Publishing. 2018.
* A Monk in Ambari. Delhi: Educreation Publishing. 2020.
Translations
* Chandler, Raymond (2023). The Big Sleep (in Assamese). Guwahati: Roopkar Prakashan.
* Datta, Utpal (2024). The Last Signature of Mozart. UD Foundation.

## Personal life

Prodyut Kumar Deka was born in Guwahati, Assam. He is the younger son of writer and film critic Pabitra Kumar Deka and the grandson of Mahendra Nath Deka, a government officer and film distributor in the early 1970s. He has one elder brother Prantik Deka, a still photographer, film critic and producer of documentaries. Prodyut passed his graduation in Commerce in 2000 and completed Law in 2006 from Gauhati University. He works as a Section Officer in the Assam Secretariat since 2010 and lives in Pub-Sarania, Guwahati, Assam (India). He is married to Pallabi Borah, who hails originally from Nagaon, and they have two sons, Nihaar Ranjan Deka and Ivan Deka.
Prodyut and his family members run the NGO Pabitra Kumar Deka Archive, an archive of old Assamese film materials, in memory of his father. The archive has presented the Roopkar Award to one outstanding personality from stage, film and media annually since 2011.

## Filmography
### As producer/director

| Year | Title | English Title | Genre | Awards/Festivals |
| 2002 | Hatura | The Monkeys Paw | Tele play/Doordarshan Kendra |
| 2003 | Abartan | | 5 Episode/Doordarshan Kendra |
| 2006 | Murder | | TV series/NE TV |
| 2008 | Mayajal | | 5 Episode/Doordarshan Kendra |
| 2008 | Shanti Tirtha | | 5 Episode/Doordarshan Kendra |
| 2008 | Why I Write | | Short film | Hyderabad film festival, Mumbai International film festival, North East Film Festival, Twilight Film Festival, New Delhi |
| 2009 | Dhunia Tirutabur | Beautiful Women | Feature | Best Director, Editor and Make up Award in Assam State Film Festival, 2010 |
| 2010 | Cinema Cinema | | TV series/NE TV |
| 2010 | Pas Porichalokor Pasta Kahini | | 5 Short films/Rong TV |
| 2011 | A Short film about Walking | | Short film | Dhaka International film festival |
| 2011 | Samiran Barua Ahi Ase | Return of Samiran Barua | Feature | 12th Kolkata International film festival, 2012 |
| 2012 | Eta Nikhut Hatya | | 5 Episode/Doordarshan Kendra |
| 2013 | Surjasta | A Sunset | Feature | Nomination in Best Actor Male and Female category in Filmfare Awards 2013 (East) |
| 2014 | An Anti-Insurgent Journey | | Documentary | 3rd Bangalore Short Film Festival, Indian Cine Film Festival, 2014, Mumbai |
| 2014 | Borosi | The Trap | Feature | 5th Dada Saheb Film Festival 2015, New Delhi |
| 2016 | Dristi | The Vision | Tele film/Prag News |
| 2019 | Ji Golpor Sesh Nai | Never Ending Stories | Feature (First Anthology film from Assam) | 12th International Guwahati Film Festival, 2020 |
| 2021 | Chiyahir Rong | The Color of Pen | Feature | 13th International Guwahati Film Festival, 2021 |
| 2023 | The Government Servant | | Feature | Northeast Film Festival 2023, Mumbai, Filmeraa Film Festival, 2023 |

## Stage drama
### As director

| Year | Title | Original writer | Translation | Group | Venue |
| 2011 | Moni Kanchan | Badal Sircar | Nayan Prasad | Adda | Surjya, Ambari |
| 2016 | Jonakor Pohar (Rising of the Moon) | Lady Gregory | Prodyut Kumar Deka | Aikyatan | Surjya, Ambari |
| 2018 | Game of Chess | Kenneth Sawyer Goodman | Prodyut Kumar Deka | Aikyatan | Surjya, Ambari |
| 2019 | An Inspector Calls | J. B. Priestley | Phani Sarma | IPTA | Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir, Uzan Bazar |
| 2024 | 27 Gaari Kopah (27 Wagons full of Cotton) | Tennessee Williams | Suresh Kumar | Aikyatan | Surjya, Ambari |