Devdas, Now In Odia!

Devdas, Now In Odia!

Literature has always been a great source of inspiration for films. But Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s ‘Devdas’ has caught the fancy of Indian film makers over the generations. The self-destructive, alcoholic protagonist’s doomed love story has more than nine movies based on it. 

From Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s ‘Devadasu’ (1953), Dilip Kumar, Vyjanthimala and Suchitra Sen starrer ‘Devdas’ (1955) to the 2002 release which featured Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit and then Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D in 2009, the tragedy has continued its charm to this day. 

Closer home, the story has fascinated Odia filmmaker Mrutunjaya Sahoo, who is now making a film on it. Shooting for Sahoo’s ‘Nayaka Ra Naa Devdas’ is now underway at different locations outside Odisha like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and Semiliguda and Paralakhemundi in the state.

The cast of the film includes actor Asit Patra of ‘Bhairab’ fame who plays the protagonist Devdas while Bhoomika Das plays Paro. Further, Ollywood diva Anu Choudhury will be seen in the character of Chandramukhi and Bobby Mishra will essay the role of Devdas’ friend Chunilal. 

Talking to MCL about playing the legendary character of Devdas, Asit said, “I always love to take up challenging subjects. I have done different types of characters before and with this film, I am challenging myself again. As the story is well-known to all, it becomes even more difficult to play the characters. I have read the novel and tried to understand it better and so I will put in my best.”

Meanwhile, it will be a test of sorts for teenaged actor Bhoomika who will play the character of Paro, one that is full of complexities. “It is challenging and interesting for me at the same time. I am getting to learn many new things about acting while portraying such an epic character. It is only because of this character that I have agreed to do this movie. Of course, I can’t compete with an actor like Aishwarya Rai but will give my hundred percent to do justice to it in my own style,” she said.

Similarly actress Anu Choudhury believes that though it is impossible for her to compete with a legendary actress like Madhuri Dixit, she is doing great homework to justify the character of Chandramukhi. She said, “This character already has a special place in the audience’s mind, which is making it more difficult to portray. I have put in a lot of effort in learning the style of talking and body language of Chandramukhi. Playing the character becomes even more difficult when it comes to dancing wearing such heavy costumes in the scorching summer, but we are trying our best to make a brilliant film and we hope people will love it.”

Director Sahoo is confident that the film will strike the right chord with the audience. “Obviously, the budget is always high when it comes to Bollywood movies. Definitely, we can’t reach that level but we can assure that the film will cater to the taste of Odia cine lovers. We want the Odia audience to see this heart touching love story in Odia language,” he said. He further informed that although the release date is yet to be finalised, the shooting of the film will get over by May 15.