Odia Origin Director & Cinematographer Is Taking Up The Cause Of Cancer Through Films!
Khwahish’ is an ambitious project about a 12-year-old girl who struggles to ‘win her battle’ against cancer. “But the film is not just about ‘the battle’ that many cancer survivors go through; rather it shows how this strong-willed girl takes on what comes next after the battle by becoming a national champion in athletics post her recovery from the disease,” says Rath.
Based on the subject of cancer, the director aims to create a motivational movie for children that will be made in both Hindi and English. It will be a complete commercial film and will be supported by WHO CPAA and Ministry of Health, Government of India. 
Though the groundwork for the film is still ongoing with a large portion of the movie to be shot in Odisha, Rath tells MCL he is most likely to divulge more information about the film by next month.
Talking about the inspiration behind making of the film, Rath tells us, “I have myself been a chain smoker for a long time. But a few years before when I was making a documentary on cancer, I had visited the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. I found majority of the cancer cases stemmed from tobacco consumption. That not only convinced me to quit smoking, but also make a film on it.”
He has thereafter taken up many projects revolving around cancer and involved himself in voluntary activities through NGOs to do his bit for the cause.
Rath graduated from BPFTIO in 1997. Soon after his graduation, he moved to Mumbai to start his career as a cinematographer. Seven years later in 2004, he began his own production house Rajlaxmi Film Productions. The production house has since then produced more than 250 commercial ads, telefilms, corporate films, animation projects and features too.
Rath’s dedication and contribution to the cause of cancer patients has also got him many awards. He had made a film on cancer called “No Tobacco” which gave him his first international recognition as a director and he was awarded at the Nashik International Film Festival in 2015.
He won his first award for Best Cinematography for the film ‘Blue Mountains’ in 8th Nashik International Film Festival, 2016. That apart, his other film on leprosy “New Horizon” brought him accolades as the best director at the same festival, his second such international recognition.