Odia Filmmaker Sisir Sahu Celebrates Womanhood With Docufilm ‘Rajo’

Bhubaneswar: Odia filmmaker Sisir Sahu is upbeat about his hour-long documentary film ‘Rajo’, which took almost two years to complete.

Confident of drawing attention to this unique festival of Odisha, Sisir is planning to screen the film at various national and international film fests.

“While talking about menstruation is still a taboo across the country, people of Odisha have been celebrating the four-day cycle of Mother Earth with grace and dignity since years. Starting from preparations like Saja-Baja to Pahile Raja, Raja Sankranti and Sesha Raja or Basumati Snana – the agrarian festival is also an ode to womanhood,” said Sisir, whose short film ‘Farchaa’ was screened at 19^th Mumbai Film Festival last year.

Girls wear new clothes and dress up during the festival spread over four days. The film also features popular songs like ‘Banaste Dakila Gaja’ and ‘Rajadoli Katamata Mo Bhai Undare Suna Mukuta’.

“We shot the film in Keonjhar, Angul, Cuttack, Khurda and some interior parts of Odisha, where people still observe the festival with traditional fervour,” he said.

Once a girl begins her moon cycle, she becomes biologically ready for procreation. Similar, the land is ready for tilling and sowing crops after the first shower of monsoon, he added

An alumnus of Cuttack-based Biju Patnaik Film and Television Institute, Sisir chose Mumbai to learn the craft of filmmaking. To hone his skills, he assisted Shyam Benegal and Ashutosh Gowariker. Such stints gave him the confidence to start on his own. He has worked in Hrithik Roshan-starrer ‘Mohenjo Daro’ and a television series, Indian Constitution, for Rajya Sabha TV. “I will be soon working on an Odia feature film,” Sisir confirmed.