Rochona Majumdar, COSAS member and Professor of South Asian Languages and Civilizations and Cinema and Media Studies, was awarded the Chidananda Dasgupta Memorial Award for best writing on Cinema for her book Art Cinema and India’s Forgotten Futures (2021) in November of 2023. 

Majumdar’s book is recognized in the award’s citation for its discussion of film practice and film societies in Bengal, and for its intriguing questions about how art cinema offered new insights into postcolonial Indian culture, history, and politics.

“Offering fresh perspectives on ‘doing history through cinema,’ the book contributes significantly to studies in Indian history and Indian cinema.”

The award is in honor of the well-known journalist, film critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta, one of the pioneers of the Film Society Movement in India. Original critical writings on cinema published within the last three years were considered by jury members Dr. N. Manu Chakravarty (Bangalore), Shri Makarand Sathe (Pune), and Prof. Abhijit Roy (Kolkata). 

Congratulations, Professor Majumdar, on this great honor!