‘Pushkara’, An Authentic Odia Film On Big Screen After Years

‘Pushkara’, An Authentic Odia Film On Big Screen After Years

Do you remember when was the last time you visited a cinema hall with your elderly family members to watch an Odia film? Do you remember when was the last time you watched an Odia film with any of your family members? If not, then you shouldn’t miss ‘Pushkara’. Released on the Occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi (September 19), this Odia film is based on eminent writer Sankar Tripathy’s Odia novel ‘Nadabindu’(2004). ‘Pushkara’ has been receiving rave reviews from critics as well as common cine-goers and is running successfully at the theaters all over Odisha and outside the state at places like at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.

Made under the banner ‘Tarang Cine Productions’, starring Ollywood’s ‘Pagala Premi’ Sabyasachi Mishra and one of the young and talented actresses of the O-town, Supriya Nayak, in lead roles the film is a directorial debut of ace Odia cinematographer, Subhransu Das.

Pushkar Yoga/ Pushkar Dosha is a solemn ritual on the tenth day following a person's passing during an inauspicious moment. This dosha is formed due to a combination of a certain ‘var’, ‘tithi’, and ‘nakshatra’. During this poignant event, a chosen individual embodies the departed, stepping into their shoes for a day. The grieving family bestows immense respect upon this person, considering them a cherished member. Gifts flow abundantly, culminating in a symbolic farewell the next morning, as if bidding adieu to a departed soul.

During the covid lockdown, turning this story into a film had already started. Sabyasachi said to My City Links, “In the film, Nilakantha’s, aka Pushkara’s job is to compensate for the sins, being a part of the Odia film industry, we thought of compensating for our sins as artists or filmmakers. So the first thing we did is we tried to make a film from our own literature, which we don’t usually do. Earlier, as per the discussion between the creative head Ranjan Satapathy and the team, we were planning to make it a web-series or present it as OTT content. But after listening to this story and knowing more about it, I felt like this is the kind of story I have been hunting for for the last few years. Ranjan sir was surprised and asked me if I am sure or not to accept such a role where there is no glamor. Then the process of converting a novel to cinema started and it took us more than 9 months to do so.”

“We shot my part as my younger self first. Then I put on some weight of 10-12 Kg and I let my facial hair grow unevenly as per the demand of the story to make the character look mature. There was always a pressure in my mind that if this doesn’t work then there will be a big question mark on the future of both my career and the Odia film industry as well. Through the kind of acceptance we are gathering, we have realized that this is the kind of change our audience is looking for,” he added, talking about the challenges while doing the film.

Subhransu, who is well known for his outstanding work on critically acclaimed films like ‘Filmistaan’, ‘Ram Singh Charlie’, ‘Poorna’, ‘Siya’, ‘The Last Color’, ‘Kaun Kitne Paani Mein’, ‘Atkan Chatkan’, and many others has a wish to direct a film in his mind from a long time. Hailing from Begunia, (a village in Odisha which was then under Puri district, now under Khordha district) for Subhransu, Puri is the first city he ever visited and that was the only city he used to visit more often in his childhood.

He said, “Being busy with work, I was unable to concentrate. But during the lockdown I got the time I needed. First, I told Sanu Bhai (Director Susant Mani) and he was the person who spread my wish in the industry. I got this offer from Tarang and accepted it as the story was exciting. Few people discouraged me by saying that such films don’t work here, this can’t be a commercial film and many more such things. But I took it as an experiment. I am always ready for challenges in work. I am glad that we have succeeded.”

“I have heard of the tradition before. There are few castes in Puri who believe in this custom. Now the tradition is vanishing away gradually. Now people only give them food and some money and have a puja at home. They are no longer allowed to enter people’s homes. I feel this will also vanish entirely in the near future. I always love the work of my favorite directors like Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. I take inspiration from their work as they show the reality of life through their films,” he added.

Notable writer Sankar Tripathy, who has been awarded by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi hails from Puri. In the last 40 years, Tripathy has written 30 Plays and 14 Novels. Along with Nadabindu his other two prominent books are ‘Ahe Nila Saila’ and ‘Nabakalebara’. He said, “I have seen Nilakantha in real life, but the story has been fictionalized by me. That person died long ago, now there is another person who is in the same profession. In today’s era the tradition is still there but people don’t get such Pushakaras to do it.

“As a film, I like Pushkara. Film and literature are two different mediums of storytelling so there is no comparison between them. I was in the story sitting team of Pushkara. We have changed it according to the filmmaking scope and duration,” added Tripathy who has worked as a Program Producer at prominent TV channels of the state like E TV and Tarang TV before.

Subhadra, a college student who watched the film with her friends said, “I just caught Pushkara on the big screen. It's a rollercoaster of emotions and a visual treat. The storytelling is on point, and the performances are top-notch. I love this fresh take on Odia cinema. The film has such an authentic story. After watching this I feel like Odias have so many great stories to be told to the world.”

“This film has such a heartwarming story, the simplicity and depth touched my soul. It's a tale of love and tradition. As an Odia, I felt proud watching the story of my own land. The local touch is beautifully given in this film.” opined Damayanti Mohapatra, who is a retired teacher.

Pratyush Sahoo, a corporate employee termed the film as a refreshing change in the Odia cinema landscape. He said, “The storytelling is powerful, and it beautifully captures the essence of our culture and tradition. A must-watch for some quality entertainment with substance. This film proves the power our Odia literature has.”

“Normally Odia films used to release at Bangalore in 2-3 screens but being a little more ambitious, initially, we have released the film in six cinema halls, and with the love and appreciation from the Odia people there, the demand made us book two more halls to release the screen. They started reducing Kannada film shows and increased ours. A large number of Odias reside at Tirupur of Coimbatore. So we tried to release our film there at the Sri Sakthi Cinemas Multiplex which has 12 big screens. They were not convinced initially but after requesting them and buying more than 400 tickets in advance, they agreed and to their surprise within a few hours of the announcement they got more than 1800 tickets booked in advance. So they increased our show numbers. On the first day we got six show timings and all of them were housefull. With such love and appreciation from my beloved audience in return I can only say, feel my love.” signed off the actor.