Ollywood’s Comeback With ‘Raja’ Releases

Ollywood’s Comeback With ‘Raja’ Releases

Fans of Odia films finally have a reason to rejoice this Raja! With theatres welcoming back audiences after close to two years of dry spell due to the pandemic, Odia cine industry has also made a comeback this festive season with four films lined up for release – Gupchup, Bidyaran, Dil Mora Manena and Daman. Two of the films feature late actor Mihir Das and would give his fans a chance to witness his acting brilliance on big screen for the last time.

Gupchup

Directed by Prithvi Raj Patnaik, multi-starrer ‘Gupchup’ is a rom-com (romance and comedy) film, which promises wholesome entertainment with dollops of love, action and drama. While Amlan Das and Sunmeera Nagesh will be seen playing the lead roles, actors like SailendraSamantray, Ananya Mishra, Arosikha Mishra, Himagni Dutta, Papu Pom Pom, Mihir Das, Bunty R Samal and SantuNije will be seen essaying other important roles in the film.

The other highlight of the film is that this is veteran actor Mihir Das’s last shot project. Since the actor passed away before the post production of the film, the voiceover for his character has been done by Shakti Baral.

Gupchup is produced under the banner of ‘Black And White Motion Pictures’. The music is composed by Nabs and Saroj, lyricsby Arun Mantri, Tapu Nayak, Aptakam Rath and Debdas Chhotray and choreography credits go to Dibyajyoti, Raja D and Poppin Dibya.

An alumnus from Zee Institute of Media and Arts (ZIMA), Prithvi, the director said, “This film is based on the life, love and struggle of a boy, who eventually ends up making a hygienic gupchup factory. Revolving around this storyline, the film has many twists and turns to keep the audience hooked to their seats.”

“This film has now become more special to us as Mihir Sir is there in this film. He was a true mentor to us and will remain in our hearts forever. Unfortunately, we have also lost our producer Sibaprasad Das to COVID 19 last year. Thankfully, his son Aniket Das has taken his legacy forward as a result of which we could complete the movie. So, this movie is very close to our hearts,” added Prithvi, who has directed other Odia projects like ‘Tandav’ and ‘Edda Obstinate’ before.

The team has assured that it will be released during the Raja week, restarting the tradition of Raja release for Ollywood cine-lovers. The movie has been released on 10th June this year.

Bidyaran

After a long wait, the Odia audience is in for a treat as the most-awaited film of superstar Babushan Mohanty, ‘Bidyaran’ is all set to release this Raja. A lot of hype has been created around the amazing body transformation of Ollywood’s Romeo, Babushan who will be seen in a new avatar in the film. Paired opposite actress, Sivani Sangeeta, this film is Babushan’s second movie with her, after ‘Sister Sridevi’.

Produced by Pradeepta Prakash Acharya and Niranjan Nayak, the film is directed by Jyoti Das. With high hopes for the film, Das said, “In the 12 years of my career as a director, I have done only 5 films so far and this is my 6th film. Action movies are my area of interest and this film too is action-packed but at a different level altogether. My film ‘Good Boy’ was supposed to be made starring Babushan in the lead role, but due to unavailability of dates that did not materialize. This time I hope our pairing will present something new and exciting to the Ollywood industry.”

Dedicating the film to his fans and well-wishers, Babushan said, “I am very happy and the feeling is surreal. It feels as if it is my debut movie and I have butterflies in my stomach. All my fellow Odia people have given so much love to me for years. I feel blessed for that. Unlike my current days, I know I had been quite lazy, but this movie is proof that I am back and for good. I want to dedicate this film to all my fans and well-wishers, this Raja.”

Though the dates are not been fixed, soon the wait will be over.

Dil Mora Manena

Like ‘Bidyaran’, ‘Dil Mora Manena’ has been on the wait-list for quite a long time with the hopes to reach the big screen. The shooting for this film had started since 2017 and features actors Swaraj Barik and Sivani Sangeeta. The star cast also includes late veterans Mihir Das and Salil Mitra.

Directed by veteran director, ChandiParija, the film has been conceptualised on the theme, “Love can happen anywhere – even during the most unexpected moments of life.” The film has been produced by Bapuni Kumar under the banner ‘Maa Tarini Entertainment’ and Chhabitaand Sridhar Martha under the ‘RRC banner’. In fact, producer Sridhar Martha is essaying a negative role in the movie. The music has been composed by Prem Anand and choreography has been done by Lubun-Tubun duo.

Excited about the release, Sivani said, “Finally the wait is over. This Raja will be a memorable one for me as two of my films have been scheduled for release. I hope the audience will celebrate this Raja heartily by watching our films with family and friends.”

The movie released on June 10.

Daman

‘Daman’ had grabbed eyeballs the day its trailer was released on the occasion of Republic Day this year since for the first time, fans of superstar Babushan had seen him in a different avatar. No glamour, no action and no female protagonist along side!

Also starring Dipanwit Mohapatra in lead role, the film has been produced by Deependra Samal under the banner J P Motion Pictures and directed by the duo- Vishal Mourya and Debiprasad Lenka.

Based on real events, the film tells the story of a doctor who fearlessly conducts his duties righteously without worrying about any consequences. The film portrays his struggle to make people in the remote areas of Odisha aware of the fact that malaria can be cured through awareness and not superstitions.Odisha is among the top contributors to the malaria burden in India and yet no proper steps have been taken to raise this issue and provide solutions. This is one such story of an impossible yet incredible journey of a doctor who is desperate to save the people of Malkangiri from malaria.

Sharing more insights on the project, Vishal, the director, said, “We started working on this project in mid-2020. Debi and I had researched for more than a year on the subject. Previously we had done a documentary in Malkangiri, so we closely witnessed the lives of the tribal people and the people who serve there. This led us to come up with the idea of making a feature film on this area and topic and this is how Daman came into existence.”

Glad with the response from fans and well-wishers after the release of the trailer, Babushan said, “I have experimented with a role that I am not used to. So, I believe my audience will also accept me in such a challenging character just like they have shown their love and support for me in my previous films.”

‘Daman’, whose trailer has created new hopes in the minds of the Odia cine-lovers and made a buzz over the social media platforms, was set to release on June 10. But the makers have postponed the release to July.