"The cinema has no boundary;it is a ribbon of dream." ~ Orson Welles

       It is very effortless to understand this phrase by Welles,but the execution and acceptance of the same is unsmoothy.Cinema as a form of art,has gone through the waves of French Impressionism,German Expressionism,Absurdism,Post Modernism and so on.Experiencing a rugged and variant path of movements and ideas,the concept of cinema has been broaden enough from 'Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory' to 'Everything,Everywhere All At Once',from 'A Trip to the Moon' to 'Oppenheimer'.

       During the initial days of Cinema,as an infant it was able to amaze all every folk in the world,however,with the passage of time cinema has become a prime matter for Art Critiques.As a form of art, promising the ethics of aestheticism,cinema should permeate the thoughts of all sections of society.It is not justifiable to look into cinema as a split personality but like every form of art is divided into various categories,some scholars of cinema has categorised it into two identities - Commercial and Parallel.This identification is mostly prominent in South Asian countries.According to critiques this differentiation is due to the different styles of storytelling cinema uses,or one may say the character or genre a cinema possesses,but this statement is not completely agreeable.As cinema is an audio-visual medium,one of the most important elements for a cinema to do well is the perspective of the Audience.

      For the first time when I got exposure to World Cinema,the first thought that came into my mind was that what had led me and is still letting my people,from where I belong to,witness this grand world of cinema that is so different and beautiful from the movies that we watch in television or blockbusters that we watch at theaters.Tarkovsky's 'Mirror','Sacrifice','Stalker',Kiarostami's 'Close Up','Taste of Cherry',Kieslowski's 'Three Colours : Red, White, Blue ', Wong Kar-wai's 'In the Mood for Love' were few of the first pieces that attracted me and many such pieces like these are still to be deeply analysed and understood by people.People of my place are still one step back to understand the depth of Guru Dutt's 'Pyaasa' and consider Bhansali's 'Devdas' as a piece of art rather than a blockbuster.It is because the so called barrier that we have set between us and good cinema by categorising cinema into art house films and commercial 'masala' films that we are lagging behind in witnessing the marvel that cinema produces.Cinema as a whole form,belongs to the house of art.

       It is to be noted that the quality of films that I have already mentioned are films which are popular among a certain class of people.It would be a surprise for me if a milkman from Assam recognises any of these movies just by hearing the name,but the same individual would give a list of hundred Bollywood action movies starring Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan.It is because of the kind of movies people are used to,that creates the difference of taste.However,why has good cinema been confined to the reach of certain cinephiles only ? Or,what is the actual meaning of the term 'cinephile'? Do a person needs to be a great lover of Western art house films,films that are nominated for International festivals or films that have been directed by acclaimed directors like Bergman or Godard to be called a Cinephile? Why cannot we consider a person who is deeply into Bollywood,watches each and every film in theatres or a constant audience of OTT platforms as a 'Cinephile'? Where has the boundary been set ? Does it only end on critiques' note of acclaimation or are there other sublime principles leading to it ? These questions and a multiple number of questions such as these are what we often ignore in spreading the word of Cinema as a whole.

      In a recent interactive session with a very well known filmmaker from Assam,the question of popularity of Film Appreciation Courses had been raised.The same question that I have been constantly asking in my other articles and speeches too,that is,why is Film Appreciation Courses or Screening of 'Good Cinema' confined to the urban region of Guwahati and some sort of elite residing regions of developing districts like Nagaon or Tezpur only? And the answer was what I and anyone could expect at that time,not very volunteering,that if the person is raising the question of spreading awareness then he himself can take initiative in his place or other rural places that have never got the blessing of knowing the true essence of cinema,and invite films and filmmakers for screenings,no filmmaker would deny to throw light in areas of dark.Everytime I visit a film festival or a screening,I always carry a hawkeye if I could find a person from my village or any other villages such as mine,and everytime I lose myself amidst the cinephiles carrying the identity of an elite class or city dwellers.I constantly try to answer my own questions but I end up finding an obscure answer.If I,as an enthusiast,is to bring the change,is to bring the concept of good cinema into areas where people watch dailysoaps,then how ? When Himangshu Prasad Das' film 'Goru' was screened all over Assam,in local halls and auditoriums,I somewhere got my answer.But for a film to enter every nook and corner of Assam,we need groups of many such individuals who would come out for the sake of good cinema and people, without thinking much about the loss of economy and manual labour.

      It is not only because of the ignorance of people that good cinema doesn't reach to a mass audience,but also the reasons leading to this ignorance.This ignorant class of people have never got the exposure to 'Good Cinema'.In the first case,because good cinema is costly.Earlier the rate of tickets were affordable and middle class people, especially youth of that time could watch a film every week, sometimes the same film three times in a row.With the price hike in movie tickets,it can be seen how people have lost interest in watching movies in theaters.OTT platforms are lesser known facts among middle-aged people of less-elite class and for the youth,who are merely satisfied with their pocket money and starving for a job it is less affordable.Secondly,the state of Assam have limited halls for screening,so even if the people have a little interest in cinema,it is obviously impossible for them to travel for an hour or two to watch a film in theater every week or every month.In this regard,I really appreciate Himangshu Prasad Das' attempt of screening his movie in open field or auditoriums of every district.For a film to reach people,it is the duty of the makers first to make sure how it would reach.People are not bound to watch one's movie.It is irrelevant to bring 'Assamese Community Sentiment' for spreading the message of a film or blaming the community sentiment again when the film doesn't work.To bring a change in the society,one should have to be the change.

       Thirdly,it is the concervative thinking of makers,critics and so called cinephiles to conserve films for a certain class only.Many filmmakers talk about the audience for whom they have made the film.It is obviously very important to know the audience for whom one is making the film but if the film speaks for the labour community,then the first prior audience of the film should be the labour class itself;if the film speaks about the conservative traditions of the society,then the film should play the role of making a change by entering the sentiments of that particular society;if the film has good message for children,then the message should reach the children of all classes and all sections of the society.The publicity and reach of a movie should not be only for the profit of the film but for the profit the people.Good films can form a good society.However,it is an irony how good films remain unwatched and unheard while 'not at all good films' reach and gets adored by the audience.

       The most important factor, then,is the low popularity of Film Appreciation and Film Studies.Firstly, do the people of my place know the meaning of the term 'Film Appreciation' ? Do people know that Film can be studied? Secondly,what is the role of Art Critiques and Film Institutions in spreading awareness? Surprisingly,there is abundance of resources and initiatives in Urban Guwahati but less, nearly zero in other districts.Whatever is present,it is only confined to the Elite class or middle class people such as us who luckily resides in Guwahati or urban areas of other districts and luckily for the social gazettes in our hand.Most of the Elite class people who flaunt there knowledge in cinema and usually doesn't like to merge their taste with people unaware of cinematic knowledge or history have very less interest in taking good cinema into the nook and corner.Perhaps because of the hurdle of transportation or manual labour or perhaps the fear of getting trapped in a trial and error process or perhaps the traditional way of conserving good cinemas for people 'with knowledge of Cinema' and not for people who 'are in need of getting the knowledge of Cinema'.The middle class folks such as us,it is quite a Hercules task, though not impossible,many of us trying to do so.

       The analysis of the character of Cinema and the reasons behind its split personality is complex,though Cinema is easy to understand and feel, like an emotion.The Elite quality of Cinema also in a gist showcases the Elite tempered society of the state.The complex state of economy of production of Independent films and the complex factors of unpopularity of good films defines the economic condition and quantity of intellect in the state.Cinema as a modern art is political and the political analysis of cinema is very alarming for the development of cinema as well as the perspective of the audience.