Shefali in the music video which made Saswati famous

Feb. 22: Come February 28 and a galaxy of stars, including popular singer and heartthrob Zubeen Garg, Channel V pop band Aasma and singer Saswati Phukan of popular remix number Kaanta Laga fame will glitter on stage for a mega cultural event in the city.

The show will be part of the Prag Cine Awards 2003, which has been organised to honour the best in the various creative and technical categories among the 16 Assamese and one Karbi film released during the year 2003.

The awards ceremony that will be held at Nehru Stadium has a complementary purpose. “We hope to draw the attention of the public and the authorities to the adversities faced by the Assamese film industry,” said Pranay Bordoloi, secretary of the organising committee of the programme.

“Though the industry has produced artistes like Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla, Bishnu Rabha, Gyanoda Kakoti, Bhupen Hazarika, Bhaben Saikia, Eva Asau, Jahnu Baruah and many others who have won laurels at the national and international levels, nothing much has been done to give the industry the recognition it deserves,” he added.

The film awards, that will be attended by 8,000-10,000 people, has been organised by Prag channel, a leading cable channel service provider in the city.

“The awards will give value to mainstream Assamese films apart from adding credibility. This will in turn prove a catalyst for the progress of our film industry,” said dramatist-litterateur Arun Sarma at a news meet today.

The award plaque, an all-silver curved slender figure holding up a globe, was also unveiled during the meet.

The five-hour-long awards function will include performances by a host of local film artistes besides Zubeen Garg, Aasma and Saswati Phukan. It will feature singers Dwipen Barua, Malabika Bora and Samar Hazarika and other performances by popular film stars Biju Phukan, Tapan Das, Nipon Goswami, Pranjal Saikia, Mridula Barua, Moloya Goswami, Hiranya Deka, Jayanta Das, Jatin Bora, Rabi Sarma, Prastuti Parashar, Barsha Rani Bishoya, Panchali Gupta, Ashim Baishya, Kapil Bora, Akashitora and Nishita Goswami.

In true showbiz style star-performers will arrive on stage in cars. The jury panel for the awards comprises national award-winning music director Sher Chowdhury, short-story writer and cinephile Debabrata Das, writer Anuradha Sarma Pujari, documentary filmmaker Prabin Hazarika and Nayan Prasad, producer of the national-award-winning film Adajya.

Actress Moon Moon Sen and Hindi film actor Ashish Vidyarthi will grace the occasion as guests of honour.

Bhupen Hazarika will be honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the function.