The Story of Odisha Boy Baji Rout- India’s Youngest Martyr

The Story of Odisha Boy Baji Rout- India’s Youngest Martyr

Lesser known hero of Odisha, the youngest martyr of Indian independence movement, Baji Rout and his brave tale of how he refused to ferry Britishers across the Brahmani river and braved a bullet for it has been a legendary tale told and retold since generations. He is an epitome of patriotism and love for one’s country, barring his tender age of 12.

Director Chinmay Das retells the same story with a visionary storytelling short film titled, Baji-The Immortal Boat Boy. The story of the youngest martyr of the freedom struggle from Odisha, Baji Rout, released the short film on MoTV on the eve of 1st May 2021. Under the banner of Prelude Productions, Satyabrat Sanu Ratho produced the movie to bring the story of the youngest martyr of the freedom struggle of India.

“My vision of making the movie on this wonder boy is to bring the brave tale of heroism, born of our Odisha soil, to the limelight. Not many people outside Odisha are aware of his story,” shared the director.

“We wanted to do a film based on Odisha which connects to all age groups and also has global appeal. The film has been excellently treated by the Director Chinmay Das and team,” said Satyabrata Ratho.

A special  screening of the movie was arranged at the Chief Minister’s Office in the presence of the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, himself, on the death anniversary of Baji Rout, 11th October, 2019. The CM watched the movie and applauded the movie and suggested that it should be screened in schools to enlighten the students of Odisha about the brave boy, Baji Rout.

This short film has won awards like ‘Best Editing’ at 6th Noida International Film Festival 2019,  ‘Honourable Jury Mention’ at 9th Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival 2019 and has been officially nominated for 8th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival 2019

Baji Rout was born October 5, 1926, at Nilakanthapur in Dhenkanal district. He was courageous enough to face the rifles of the brutal British force. He faced the furious British force who shot him for having the audacity to disobey their orders. At a very young age where he was supposed to play and enjoy his life, he protested against injustice and fought for the freedom of his land. He became a part of the elite group of freedom fighters whose name we should always remember. But Baji’s name, his bravery, and his sheer willpower at the age of only 12, as he was the youngest fighter who is now inspiring the younger generation. The story is important for the young generation and inspires them to be patriotic.

Scripted by Sumit Panda, the story and screenplay is done by Chinmay Das and the Director of Photography is Soumya Mohanty. Arijeet Mishra, portrays the role of Baji Rout along with the other starcast – Pranab Prasanna Rath, Partha Sarathi Ray, Bhaswati Basu, Vikas Choudhary, Nisikant Nayak, Jagannath Rath, Deepanjali Mohanty and Vicky Vijay. The movie has been shot in many spectacular locations of Odisha.