UK Fest Call For Odia Music Video ‘Barsha Bhijaa Raati’

UK Fest Call For Odia Music Video ‘Barsha Bhijaa Raati’

Adding another feather to the happening Odia music scene, a recent music video — ‘Barshaa Bhijaa Raati’ — has been officially selected for screening an international film festival in the UK.

Released under the banner of BnR Films, the music video will be screened on December 8 at ‘Lift-Off Sessions 2019’ organized by Pinewood Studio, UK.

The music video’s story is as unique as its success. ‘Barsha Bhijaa Raati’ is a true portrayal of the feelings of Annapurna Das, the lyricist and a professor of Odia language from Kandhamal district, for her husband.

“It was literally a rain-drenched night when the lyrics came to me straight from my heart. I never thought that my poem would become a song and it would have such a long and fascinating journey,” shared Annapurna, who is also the producer.

Once composed, the song was recorded in a duet version with Bankim and Amrita Bharati lending it with their voices.

“The association with award-winning studio ‘BnR Films’ and globally-acclaimed director Biswanath boosted our confidence in this project. Today, we are ecstatic to learn that the music video will have its world festival premiere at a prestigious international event,” she added.

Indeed, it was also a challenge for Bankim Patel to compose a tune for the poem-turned-lyrics.

“Initially, I was up for the trial as a composer, but yet I was sceptical about whether I would be able to do it convincingly or not. When I received the lyrics, it was in a poetic form, like the ones we read in colleges. As an artist, I felt that such genuine and passionate creation needs justice and I got a tune, developed it, and recorded it accordingly,” said Bankim.

Since it was not a high-investment project, only the studio version of the song was shot.

“When this song was finally made, everybody went speechless. No one had thought that this will come out so beautifully. In fact, Annapurna Das was so overwhelmed that she broke into tears with happiness,” Bankim recalled.

“Acclaimed filmmaker and the CEO of BnR Films, Biswanath Rath, directed ‘Barshaa Bhijaa Raati’. He had registered the music video in many international entertainment events including ‘Lift-Off Sessions 2019’ and surprisingly, it got selected. From thousands of entries, this was the only Odia video to be selected among the final 50-60 and it’s a matter of pride for all of us,” he added.

Co-Producer Jyoti Prakash said, “We are really humbled to know about this unique milestone. Perhaps this is the first (or one of the first) such romantic Odia music videos to premiere in an international film festival outside India. Of course, there are many high-quality Odia music videos which get millions of views on YouTube, but I haven’t seen any of them making a mark in the international film festival circuit. It has given us lots of encouragement, confidence and motivation and we aspire to make more such music videos and short films. We have already started working on the lyrics and story ideas.”

On his part, director Biswanath Rath said the news of the music video’s world premiere was an ecstatic moment for the entire team.

“Like many in our film industry, we also believe that YouTube views, likes and comments can never be the sole criteria of a music video’s success. Ever since the release, we aspired to take this music video to a global audience. After all, this is one such rare Odia song in recent times, which has got pure Odia lyrics (without the use of any Hindi or English words) and soul-touching music, which has been widely appreciated by many critics,” he added.

Watch the full music video: