Akshay Parija’s ‘Konttho’ Creates A Stir In Tollywood

Akshay Parija’s ‘Konttho’ Creates A Stir In Tollywood

At a time when Ollywood is struggling with low audience turnover as well as encountering a dearth of efficient mainstream filmmakers who can make content-driven films, Odisha’s very own Akshay Parija’s Bengali films are turning into a household name in the Bengali film Industry. Case in point is the film ‘Rosogolla’ which released last year which was lauded for its unique content.

The Odia filmmaker is back in the news with yet another Bengali film ‘Konttho’.  The story of the film revolves around a successful RJ Arjun Mallik whose life suddenly takes a tragic turn when he is diagnosed with Laryngeal Cancer. His whole world comes crashing down when his profession takes a setback because of his disease while his wife Pritha, played by Paoli Dam, continues working as a voice artist. Depression takes over Arjun when he sees his wife performing and his own career crashing down in front of him. Things change when Romilla, a speech therapist, played by Jaya Ahsan, starts training Arjun to speak with his Esophageal voice thus bringing a positive turn in his life.

In an interview when Director cum actor Shiboprosad was asked about the story of the film, he said, “Back in 1999, I was working with a private television channel where cancer survivor Bibhuti Chakraborty shared his journey in a segment of a nonfiction programme called Aloye Phera. The show was a hit and extremely inspiring for  the viewers. It was then that we decided to make a film on it so that others can draw inspiration from his story as well.”

Speech therapists play an important role in laryngeal cancer patients’ lives as they are the ones who help them assess and treat a wide range of speech, swallowing and communication difficulties. Speech therapist Somnath Mukherjee and ENT specialist Arjun Dasgupta helped the directors develop the story.

Parija has been associated with the most respected name of present day in Kolkata – “WINDOWS” which is led by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. Recent blockbusters of the director duo are Praktan, Posto, Hami, Bela Seshe and the latest Dussehra release Manojder Adbhut Bari.

Talking exclusively to My City Links, he said, “This is my fourth Bengali film after ‘Mukherjee Dar Bau’, ‘Rosogolla’ and ‘Manojder Adbhut Bari’. It is based on a very unusual story. I am thankful to Shiboprosad and Nandita who have made such a brilliant film. It is all set to release on May 10 this year.”

Parija, whose name is associated with remarkable Odia films like ‘Jianta Bhuta, Thukul, Kehi Nuhe Kahara’, Biju Babu in Odia, ‘Kadvi Hawa’, ‘Halkaa’ in Hindi, has won two National Awards, 24 State Awards, and over 62 International Awards.

On the quality of Odia films and the resultant decrease in audiences, he further said, “We have always tried to serve people by presenting original stories. The remakes we did were only meant to create opportunity and employment for the people of film fraternity. We are welcoming new talents like in our upcoming Odia films ‘Chirkut’ and ‘2 Chocolate’ with all new actors. If we can make such good films in the Bengali film industry, we can make brilliant films here in Ollywood too. We just need the support of our Odia audience and more cinema halls to release Odia films.”