Bhubaneswar: Come November and the one thing we are all excited about, is the festival of ‘boita bandana’, Bali Jatra, during which the bank of the Mahanadi in Cuttack is decked up for a beautifully-lit fair.
For Odias living in another country, it becomes one of the most nostalgic and sobbing moments as they miss out on all the fun. Bringing that feeling out and portraying the dilemma of living abroad and missing their home town during Bali Jatra, US-based choreographer Anupam Z has come up with yet another music video.
The video ‘Naja Gori Balijatra Dekhi’ opens with his wife, Amrita, asking him to take her to Bali Jatra fair and gets upset when he refuses.
“Naja gori, is already a popular song in Odisha and Balijatra is next month, so I thought of making a visual presentation of the same,” Anupam said.
He has dedicated this song to all Odia people in India and America. “My team and I shot this music video in Brooklyn, New York and Capital area of Hartford. I chose a few locations in Brooklyn, where Bollywood movies like ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ and ‘Sanju’ were shot,” he added.
Shooting a music video in New York City was not easy. “My team arranged all the permits and passes to shoot the Bali Jatra video,” he said.
Singer Sangram Mohanty has lent voice to the piece written by Arun Mantri. The music is by Anup Mohanty and choreography by Anupam. Other people involved in the making of this video are cinematographer Karunakar, assistant videographer Rakesh and assistant director Sananda.
Seeing US citizens swaying to the beats of Odia songs is what brings a smile to Anupam’s face.
He has already made a mark with Odia video songs in his Zumba classes and winning international acclaim as choreographer and contemporary dance instructor. He had recently released an Odia bhajan, ‘Abasista Jeevana’.
His other two videos, ‘Halijaaye America’ and ‘Toka Mu Odia’, had gained immense popularity. Besides, he had also released ‘Jaiphula’, ‘Damera’, ‘Sagadagadi’ and ‘Mana Udi Jaye’, which he had used for his Zumba classes.
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