Veteran Assamese actress Gyanada Kakati, one of India's earliest film stars to gain international recognition, passed away at the age of 94 due to age-related health issues. She breathed her last on Wednesday night at a private hospital in Shillong. Kakati leaves behind her daughter, Juri Kakati.
In 1959, Kakati made history as the first Assamese actress—and one of the first Indian actresses—to achieve global fame when her film ‘Puberun’, directed by Prabhat Mukherjee, was selected for screening at the Berlin International Film Festival.
This marked a significant milestone, with ‘Puberun’ being the sole Indian film represented that year, alongside notable films like Jean-Luc Godard's ‘Breathless’ from France.
Film and TV personality Bobbeeta Sharma, who made a documentary on Kakati's life, explained that Kakati had a remarkable career in which she featured in 14 Assamese films and four Bengali films. Her acting debut was in the 1949 film Parghat, which was the seventh Assamese film to be produced. Over the years, Kakati became a beloved figure in Assamese cinema, with five of her films receiving national awards.
About Gyanada Kakati
Kakati's journey into acting was particularly notable considering the challenges she faced as a woman in post-war India, balancing her role as a wife, daughter-in-law, and mother with her acting career, particularly in the conservative atmosphere of the late 1940s.
Not many know that Kakati dedicated her career to the Assamese film industry for which she rejected many Bollywood films, one of them being the iconic 'Bandini'.
In addition to her acting, Kakati was a trained singer and served as an announcer for All India Radio (AIR), becoming the first person to do so at the AIR Shillong/Guwahati station, which was inaugurated in 1948.
Kakati won the Bishnu Rabha Award in 2002 from the Assam government. Gyanada Kakati was also a singer and an active vocalist in Akashwani centres for Shillong and Guwahati.