Roopkar

Magazine Publishing
Roopkar was the first Assamese language, tabloid-sized magazine about Assamese cinema, theater and culture. Established in 1974, the magazine was founded and edited by journalist and writer Pabitra Kumar Deka. Advisers of the magazine were singer & composer Bhupen Hazarika and writer Nirode Choudhury.

Roopkar was published on a monthly basis. It was the most popular entertainment magazine in the Northeast; it also instituted the first popular film awards Roopkar Awards in Assam in 1975. Many new and young journalists contributed to the magazine, some of whom have made a mark in the field of cinema journalism like Ratna Ozha, Kamal Lochan Das, Shekharjyoti Bhuyan, Arun Lochan Das, Rejek Aji Ahmed, Azim Hazarika, Hemanta Kumar Das, Jibaraj Barman, Utpal Datta, Bidyut Kumar Bhuyan, Sanjib Hazarika, etc. The Kolkata correspondent for the magazine was Nitai Ghosh. The magazine existed till the early nineties. Besides cultural reporting, various renowned writers like Padma Borkotoki, Lakshmi Nandan Bora, Nirode Choudhury, Ratna Oza, Arun Goswami, Udayaditya Bharali, Nitya Bora, Debabrat Das, Dilip Chandan, Satya Ranjan Kalita, Prafulla Kumar Dutta etc. wrote social novels for the magazine. Bhupen Hazarika and Lakshmi Nandan Bora also wrote their famous column Anyamat and Brittor Bahirot respectively for the magazine.

A film critic and a former reporter of the magazine, Utpal Datta, made a short film on Pabitra Kumar Deka titled Bye Lane 2 which got selected in various film festivals including the Indian Panorama Section in the Goa International Film festival in 2014.

Roopkar Award
Roopkar Award was instituted in 2011 in the memory of its founder Pabitra Kumar Deka. It is given yearly to one distinguished personality in the field of stage, cinema and media.

Roopkar Award Winners

 * 2011 – Ratna Oza – Writer & Stage director
 * 2012 – Tapan Das – Actor, Director & Short story writer
 * 2013 – Munin Barua – Film Director & Playwright
 * 2014 – Arun Lochan Das – Film Journalist
 * 2015 – Sashi Phukan – Publisher & Editor of Bismoi Magazine
 * 2016 – Nayan Prasad – Actor & Stage director
 * 2017 – Samarendra Narayan Dev – Film & Stage director
 * 2018 – Tapan Das – Still Photographer & Founder of PVTI
 * 2019 – Jahnu Barua – Film Director
 * 2020 – Arun Nath – Film & Stage Actor
 * 2021 – Pranjal Saikia – Film & Stage Actor
 * 2022 – Mridul Gupta – Film Director

Book Publishing
Roopkar Prakashan, which was the publisher of the magazine, also published few books such Samipeshu (Dr Nirmalprava Bordoloi), Hoimontika (Pulok Gogoi), Asomor Satuta Dosokar Chalachitra (Pabitra Kumar Deka) etc. Roopkar Prakashan was revived again in the 2020s with publication of new books like Roopkaror Shrestha Golpo, Kapurusor Taruwal etc.

Books published by Roopkar Prakashan
From 1975 to 1995
 * Samipeshu – Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi – Poetry
 * Antaranga – Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi – Poetry
 * Hoimontika – Pulok Gogoi – Novel
 * Asomor Satuta Dosokar Chalachitra – Pabitra Kumar Deka – Cinema

From 2020 to Present
 * Mur Satya Anna Sansthanor Kahini – Pabitra Kumar Deka – Humour
 * Roopkaror Shrestha Golpo – Collected Stories
 * The Big Sleep – Prodyut Kumar Deka – Novel
 * Past Revisited – Prantik Deka – Cinema
 * Kapurusar Taruwal – Utpal Datta – Novel