Golden Dream for Silver Screen
It was a rough ride indeed, but Jagannath Murmu held on to his dream—to showcase his skills in Santali showbiz. This tenacity stood him in good stead. His two feature films and one short film have grabbed the eyeballs of both critics and cine-goers. Not to mention the accolades and awards that followed.
These days, however, Jagannath is in “hibernation”. Away from the hype and hoopla of “light-camera-action”, he is quietly working as a faculty member in the cinematography department of Biju Patnaik Film and Television of Odisha (BPFTO), Cuttack. But the fire in his belly still burns.
Hailing from Udala in Mayurbhanj district, Jagannath had been nourishing the dream to make it to filmdom since his college days. Inspired by 90s Bollywood blockbusters like Darr and Dil Se, young Jagannath thought of making films in Santali, the language he loves and lives with.
The opportunity came in 2001, when he was a final year student of cinematography at BPFTO. His short film Marang Buru (Supreme God), which was made on behalf of his institute, created a flutter at the Mumbai Festival for Short Films. With the spotlight on the evil practice of witch hunting, the film won the hearts of critics and Jagannath walked off with the jury award.
The success of his debut film and experience at the festival fuelled his passion to make feature films. But it was easier said than done. “When I passed from BPFTIO in 2001, I was restless to make a feature film. But I did not have the money. Nor did anybody throw in his/her lot with me. So I toured Mumbai and Chennai, where I made documentaries as a freelancer to earn, learn and save,”Jagannath reminisces.
The documentaries boosted his finances somewhat, but he was still not well-off enough to fulfill his dream.In 2006, he landed a job at a TV channel, Focus, in Delhi. Finally, his first Santali feature film Ahonj Hidinj Kema (You are Unforgettable) came out a few years later. The film turned out to be a smash hit in the Santali-populated belts of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. It fetched him the Jharkhand Cine Awardsfrom the All India Santali Film Association (AISFA) for‘Best Feature Film’, ‘Best Direction’ and ‘Best Cinematography’.
“I mortgaged my certificate to a bank, burrowed from my friends and exhausted all my savings to make the film with a budget of Rs 8 lakh” recalls Jagannath—producer, director and cinematographer, all rolled into one.
In 2010, he came out with his second film Aamge Sari Dularyia (You are My Right Love). It swept the board with a pile of awards from the Jamshedpur-based (Jharkhand) Pt. Raghunath Academy of Santali Cinema and Art for ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Direction’,‘Best Cinematography’ and ‘Best Negative Role’. The AISFA’s Jharkhand Cine Awards for ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Actress’, ‘Best Singer (Female)’ and ‘Best Villain’ also fell into its kitty.
“Love” is the thread that strings together the events and moments in his films to zoom in on personal problems, social shortcomings and traditional taboos. If his Marang Buru critiques the evil practice of watch hunting, Ahonj Hidinj Kema focuses on relationship, and Aamge Sari Dulariya slams child marriage. “Love isat the core of all conflicts and confusions, acts and actions, strife and struggle in my films,”the filmmaker explains.
Even as Jagannath rails against old and established evil practices in society, he loves to gamble with greenhorns in his films. “Instead of banking on tried and tested artistes, I prefer to work with novices. But I never pick them randomly and cast them haphazardly in my films. They have to go through a rigorous training to work in my films. For example, octogenarian Katurna Majhi had to go through a grilling session for a fortnight before she could play the role of grandmother, the protagonist in Aamge Sari Dularyia,” he says.
Though immersed in academia now, Jagannath is planning another flick to highlight how ignorance of the law land youngsters in trouble sooner or later. “We are now working on the script. It may take off shortly,” Jagannath signs off.