‘Savdhaan India’ Showcases Odia Calibre

‘Savdhaan India’ Showcases Odia Calibre

While we all run after opportunities to prove ourselves, it’s rare to see an opportunity coming over to you by itself. Something similar happened with the Odia actors recently who have ever dreamed of working with the Mumbai industry. The co-founder of Full Focus Entertainment, Arjya Patnaik and team are currently in Odisha. They are shooting for Star Bharat’s Savdhaan India, the show that deals with real-life crime stories with Odia cast and crew. The theme for this season is ‘Criminal Decoded,’ which will provide viewers a peek inside the minds of criminals. The first episode with Odia artists has been aired on 2nd of December and the others are in the pipeline.

Having previously worked with prominent TV channels like Zee, Sony, and Viacom18, Arjya is the eldest daughter of the legendary actor and filmmaker Hara Patnaik. Carrying forward the legacy of her father, who was well known for creating work opportunities and a godfather for newcomers, Arjya has grabbed this project and dedicated it to her state and its artists. 

She said, “My father has started the ‘Odisha Motion Pictures Technician Workers Association’ to create that smooth circle of workflow. I have even launched Zee here with the main objective to create more job opportunities in my own state. During the worst phase of life, while my father was battling with Cancer, it’s the people of my own state who came forward and joined hands and gave him an extra three years of life. So there is always a soft corner for my state to do something for my people here.”

“This project will be of 19 episodes in Odisha. We are working for 2 days to make one episode. My core team, the director, DOP, creative director, and HOP are from Mumbai. Apart from them, everybody else on the set is Odia. Generally, the ‘Savdhaan India’ shoots always take place out of Mumbai so that they can capture different parts of India. But they have never done an outdoor shoot in Odisha before as it is very far off. In these outdoor shoots, what they do is, they carry their own cast and crew from Mumbai, and they shoot with them. As Odisha is my own and I have worked here before with Zee, that is why I suggested that we should work with Odia cast and crew. And my point was, if we have our own artists and crew in our own state, then why should we take it from Mumbai? Young people are comfortable with Hindi and the minor accent is manageable as every region has its own accent. There is a lot more effort and a lot more sleepless nights going into it, but that’s ok. We need to cultivate and get more worthy people on board to keep things going on here,” she added.

Renowned Odia actor Usasi Misra, who has been associated with Hara for a long time, has earlier appeared in a few Hindi projects. She said, “Arjya has created her own niece, and I am proud of her. Usually, wherever we have auditioned and succeeded in getting a chance in any project in Mumbai, they don’t give us such primary roles. But being Odia, Arjya has taken the risk of shooting here, and the team has given our Odia artists this great opportunity. I couldn’t say they are technically much sounder than us, but definitely the style of making is different.”

After successfully proving herself in music videos, films, and web-series for budding actress B M Baisali, this is her debut on TV. While talking about her character in the episode she acted in, she said, “ I have never played a negative psycho character like this before, so that was something very challenging and interesting for me at the same time. It was great working with Arjya didi also for making this happen. This platform for a national channel may become a blessing for someone like us, and he/she may get another opportunity from other national platforms.”

One of the popular TV faces of the O-town Raj Rajesh has got his first breakthrough Arjya, with the TV show ‘To Aganara Tulasi Mun.’ Remembering that, he said, “Again she has trusted me and has given me this break. I felt the team working for this project is very creative and at the same time very fast too. I have always wished to get the opportunity to work with Hara sir, unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. Thankfully the turning points of my career are being carried out by his daughter, so it’s a surreal feeling.”

Newcomer actor and content creator Sarthak Bharadwaj Behera, who is currently residing in Mumbai to pursue his dream in acting, has also got a chance in this series. He said, “I think it was kind of long due for our artists to showcase what they are capable of, their potential on a national level platform, and this kind of opened the gates, and it was a great opportunity. Special thanks to Arjya Mam. I really enjoyed that part. It was kind of layered. I had a really fun experience playing that part. Also, I was very excited on sets. As a curious kid, I was behind the director, behind the DOP. I wanted to learn how they approach scenes, and it was kind of a pretty cool experience. Also, the production was rooted in Odisha, so they kind of had fun. They learned a lot about our culture. Maybe it's a step towards igniting people to realize that our part of the country, our state, has a lot of authentic stories that should be told on a national level, and I'm damn sure they love Dahibara-aludum. Because that's what we're getting for snacks in the evening. So yeah, that's about it. I loved the experience.”

According to Arjya, the only industry that is short of flourishing in Odisha is the TV industry. “There are many Artists here who kind of wish to work in Mumbai, and they are also worthy of that. But unfortunately, they may be struggling here. I hope this opportunity can take their wish forward as they can show it in their portfolio. So it’s a kind of win-win for everybody. I feel like there are a lot of young talents which we are not able to tap, so we are working with famous faces only. So there must be people who know Hindi very well and could do a good job. I hope My City Links can help us with it, and we could explore more talents from our state,” she signed off.