Five Timeless Odia Films Based On Classic Novels
Cinema has, from time to time, fallen back on literature in search of stories. To adapt a story on screen is a daunting task. If a story happens to be a classic, it is more difficult. Inspiration is the fuel the film industry runs on and one must not disagree that books are inspiring. Here we look at five critically acclaimed Odia films based on classic novels.
Abhinetri
Riding high on the success of the classic ‘Amada Bata’, when producer Babulal Doshi decided to make one more film, his inspiration came from Kanhu Charan Mohanty’s renowned novel ‘Kaa’ but destiny had other plans for him. Instead of ‘Kaa’, he stumbled upon yet another novel of Kanhu Charan, ‘Abhinetri’ and got determined to make it into a film. Amit Mitra wrote the screenplay while the dialogues were given by Gopal Chhotray. Amar Ganguly took charge as the director and interestingly Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was the choreographer for this timeless piece. Bimal Gosh, Dr. Hrudaya Ranjan Mohanty, Dr.Rajani Kumar Mohanty, Umakanta Mishra, Jharana Das, Manimala and Laxmipriya played the lead roles. This was the first movie that introduced the concept of double roles in the industry. Ollywood veteran Jharana Das played the characters of Chaya and Maya. This movie was released on September 15, 1965.
Kaa
This Odia classic by Kanhu Charan Mohanty inspired producer cum director Gour Kumar Ghosh who took a loan from a film finance corporation and gave the charge of producing the film to his wife, Parvati Ghosh. While Parvati’s brother Sarada Prasanna Nayak directed the film, both Gour and Parvati played the lead roles in the film which also starred renowned actors Geeta, Manimala Devi, Chandana, Purna Chand and others. One of the major highlights of the film, which released in 1966 and bagged the President Medal in the regional film category, was a six-minute performance by world famous Odissi dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi. This film dealt with the subject of female infertility and maternal death.
Malajanha
Considered one of the best contributions to Odia film industry, ‘Malajanha’ has an interesting story behind its production. It was renowned film director Nitai Palit who decided to make the film based on Upendra Kishore Das‘ classic novel by the same name. But the project required a lot of money and Palit was unable to arrange the same despite sincere efforts. It was then that Prince Sarat Deb and his brother Banbihari Deb came to Palit’s rescue and the film finally saw the light of the day on December 12, 1965, being released in Cuttack’s Pravat Cinema Hall. Way ahead of its time, the film was based on the relationship between a married woman and a young man. In the film, the protagonist was forced into marriage with a rich old man but after marriage, she fell in love with a young boy who was her neighbor, something ‘unusual’ at that time.
The film was so lively that novelist Upendra Kishore Das had been quoted post its release, “I’m overwhelmed by the representation of my novel in this film.” Importantly for the first time, legendary music director Akshaya Mohanty had lent his voice to this film which starred Jharana Das, Manimala Devi, Laxmipriya, Akshaya Mohanty and Bheem Singh. The film had bagged silver medal from the President.
Hakim Babu
Based on Bibhuti Pattanaik’s novel film ‘Hakim Babu’, this film was directed by Pranav Das. It was produced by Amiya Pattanaik and had actors like Bijaya Mohanty, Ajit Das, Jaya, Netrananda, Debu Bose and Asit Pati. The lyrics were written by Saroj Pattanik. The film was released on 2nd May, 1985 and bagged the national award for being the best film. Depicting a powerful story line, the film depicted the journey of the protagonist, who gets into an administrative job, rising from the lower echelons of the society and then gets so enamoured by the high society that he distances himself from his family, friends and fiancée. However, he later realises his mistake and returns to his own people. The movie had received both appreciation and accolades from the critics as well as the audience.
Matira Manisha
It seems having produced classics like ‘Amada Bata’ and ‘Abhinetri’ weren’t enough to satisfy the creative appetite of producer Babulal Doshi! And, therefore following the success of ‘Abhinetri’, he decided to make a film based on Kalindi Charan Panigrahi’s novel ‘ Matira Manisha’. But Kalindi Babu was not keen to let his novel take the shape of a film unless a director like Satyajit Ray or Mrunal Sen picked up the project. Doshi did not give up and roped in Mrunal Sen for the film since Satyajit Ray was busy with other projects. Gopal Chottray wrote the dialogues for this film.The music was given by Shree Kumar while Kali Charan Pattanaik penned the lyrics. Akshaya Mohanty lent his soulful voice to most songs in the film. With talented actors like Master Ramchandra Mania, Sarat Pujari, Prasant Nanda, Dukhiran Swain, Bheem Singh, Bhanumati and Sujata, the film was able to strike the right chord with the audience. The movie was based on the stories of two brothers with different ideologies, Gandhian and Marxist.
The plot revolved round the family of Shama Pradhan, a rural farmer and his two sons. The movie portrayed the disagreements between the two brothers over their ancestral property after their father’s death. The movie released on 6 May, 1967 and became the first Odia movie to be showcased outside India. The film bagged the best regional film award in 1967.