Gauri Barman

Gauri Barman was a painter, writer, film director and documentary maker from Assam, born in 1936 at Belsor in Nalbari district. He was one of the four directors of Aparajeyo (1970), a film made jointly under the banner Chaturanga with Phani Talukdar, Atul Bardoloi and Munin Barua, and starring the Bengali and Hindi film actress Rakhee.

His first film as sole director was Hridoyor Prayojan (1972). He later directed Akon (1980), Juge Juge Songram (1986), Aponjon (1995) and Jiban Jeuti, with music by composers including Ramen Baruah, Bhupen Hazarika and Prabhat Sarma. He made about 30 documentaries and television serials, and co-wrote the script of the Doordarshan serial Chakrabehu.

Barman also held solo and group painting exhibitions from 1955 onwards, wrote regularly for leading Assamese periodicals and newspapers, and founded a school called the Academy of Visual Art. He received the Jibanshilpi Adya Sharma award in 2019 and died in Guwahati on 29 October 2020.