Aideu Handique (1915–2002) was an Indian actress best remembered as the heroine of Joymoti (1935), the first feature film made in the Assamese language. Directed by Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the film cast her in the title role of the 17th-century Ahom princess Joymoti Konwari, making Aideu Handique the first leading lady of Assamese cinema.
| Full name | Aideu Handique |
|---|---|
| Born | 1915 |
| Died | 2002 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Region | Assam, India |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Known for | Lead role in Joymoti (1935) |
| Language | Assamese |
Aideu Handique was born in 1915 in Assam, in what was then British India. She was selected by the playwright, filmmaker and cultural figure Jyotiprasad Agarwala to play the lead in his pioneering film project at a time when very few women from respectable families in Assam were willing to appear before a camera.
Her sole major screen role was that of Joymoti Konwari in Joymoti, released in 1935. The film, based on Lakshminath Bezbaroa's play and shot at the Chitralekha Movietone studio set up by Agarwala at Bholaguri Tea Estate in Tezpur, marked the birth of Assamese cinema.
Despite the film's later recognition as a landmark in Indian regional cinema, Aideu Handique faced considerable social ostracism in her village for having acted on screen and for portraying a married woman opposite a male co-actor. Conservative customs of the period reportedly led to her being prevented from marrying, and she lived a largely secluded life in her native village thereafter.
Aideu Handique occupies a foundational place in the history of Assamese cinema as its first female lead. Her participation in Joymoti is often cited in studies of early Indian regional film as an example of the personal cost borne by women pioneers in the industry. In later decades, her contribution received belated recognition from cultural organisations in Assam, and her life has been the subject of writings and documentary treatments examining the social conditions of women performers in early 20th-century India.