Must Watch: Saswat Joshi-Antara Chakrabarty’s Musical Tribute To Akshaya Mohanty

Bhubaneswar: Singer Antara Chakrabarty and Odissi danseuse Saswat Joshi have come up with a cover of the popular song ‘Chandramalli Hase as a tribute to the legendary Odia singer, composer and writer Akshaya Mohanty.

The digital version of the song was released by Soulful Odisha marking the World Music Day, on Thursday.

Antara has rendered the song while the video has been directed by Saswat. The editing has been done by Srikant Panda. This is the first-ever music video to have been shot abroad.

“The objective of making this video was to pay tribute to one of the evergreen songs of Akshaya Mohanty. What could have been better than such a lyrical and soulful music,” said Saswat.

The complete video was shot at various places in Russia. It depicts the short story of a couple who meet while on a trip to Russia. “Shooting in -4 degree temperature in Moscow was the most challenging task. Another challenge was dealing with officials and taking permission to shoot there. It took 4-5 days to shoot the whole video. We have tried to showcase the most important places of Moscow,” said Saswat, who has been popularising Odia culture across the globe.

“I have been listening Akshay Mohanty’s songs since childhood. I am aware of some stories related to many of his songs. Chandramalli Hase…is one of my favourite songs. The whole idea of recording a cover song was Saswat ji’s. He came up with the idea after hearing me sing at a stage performance,” said Antara, who has carved a niche for herself in the Odia film industry with her magical voice.