Sandyaraag

Sandhyaraag is the story of Putli, a poor widow, and her two daughters Charu and Taru, who are sent to work as maids in two rich households in the city. Charu is taken in like a family member, but Taru is less fortunate and must keep out of the way of a lecherous master and his grown son. When they are old enough to be married, both are made to leave the city. Used to town life, they come back to the village to face extreme poverty with no work. To escape it Taru decides to marry the driver of her former employer, though she knows he cannot have children. She asks her sister to come with her, and their mother Putli asks Charu to take her along as well, since an experienced woman will be needed to help raise any child.

Saikia wrote the screenplay and dialogue himself and produced the black and white film. Manik Baruah was chief assistant director and Gunasindhu Hazarika assistant director, with the sound by Piyush Roy. It has two songs, Bhalkoi Dhoribi Bota and Aami Nirashar.

Sandhyaraag was a commercial success: after paying the cast and crew and clearing the loans taken to make it, some money remained with the producer, as Saikia recorded in his memoir. It won the silver medal, the Rajat Kamal, as the best Assamese film in 1977 and was selected for the Indian Panorama.

In Bhabendra Nath Saikia's filmography, Sandyaraag was followed by Anirban (1981) and Agnisnaan (1985).