Before it became a recognised form of artistic expression, cinema already existed in
Tripura. Its predecessors, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, music, dance, theatre, acrobatics, textiles, and photography, all contributed to the development of cinema. The birth of Tripura's modern era was thus heralded by
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–96), a master painter, photographer, composer, scholar of Vaishnava literature, and patron of all artistic endeavours. About one and a half centuries of the royal family's rule saw the continuation of the core musical interests and practises. More so than art or architecture, the
Manikya kings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were fascinated by literature and music. Upon the death of
Maharaja Birendra Kishore in 1928,
Maharaja Bir Bikram, who had a passionate interest in theatre and other forms of art and culture, took over as ruler of the realm. Just like his father,
Maharaja Birendra Kishore, he was a genius in playing the
sitar and
esraj. Ustad Munne Khan,
Enayat Khan, Muzaffar Khan, Masid Mia,
Adam Box, and
Ustad Allauddin Khan are among a few well-known artists who have performed in
Tripura.
Prince Nabadwip Chandra, the father of
Sachin Debbarman, who was a well-known music director in the nation, was particularly talented in the musical arts. The first Indian woman to practise photography was
Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini,
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya's third consort. She arranged her self-portraits with the Maharaja as a contemporary royal photographer and received training from her husband. She organised photographic exhibitions in the palace where the Maharaja presented self-portraits of both himself and his wife
Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini. The May 1890 issue of The Journal of the Photographic Society of India focused on the portraits of the Camera Club of the
Palace of Agartala. The relationship between Nobel laureate
Rabindra Nath Tagore and four generations of
Tripuri kings is another important incident in the history of the princely state of
Tripura. Understandably, this resulted from
Maharaja Ratna Manikya's liberal support of
Bengali language and culture by the
Manikya dynasty rulers of
Tripura (1464–68). In his first letter to
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896), dated May 6, 1886,
Rabindranath Tagore made reference to this familial relationship while searching for historical details about Tripura to draw inspiration for his celebrated book "Rajarshi." == Notable films: 1993–2022 ==