Bhubaneswar: Often referred to as the ‘face of new wave Odia cinema’ in the industry, actor Partha Sarathi Ray believes that Ollywood is presently in a state of coma. “We need projects that will make the Odia film industry’s presence felt at the national level,” the actor said while speaking about the success of his latest film, ‘Dalcheeni’.
What perturbs the young actor is the fact that people outside Odisha barely know about the existence of Ollywood. “Chhattisgarh’s film industry doesn’t exist. But, some of their independent films are doing good at the national level. The Assamese film industry has been wiped out a long time back. But, a couple of years back an Assamese film was in discussion for Oscar nomination for that particular year. That film was made on a budget of Rs 35 lakh and it has already fetched Rs 7 crore. So, that’s what I want to achieve as an artist through Odia cinema,” he explained.
On being asked if the Odia cinema audience would be able to see the actor cast in a mainstream Odia film, Partha says he doesn’t categorise art. “Every cinema is a complete art form. But, if you speak about commercial Odia films, then I would say where the commerce in Odia cinema is? “A few years back, we were making films with a budget of over Rs 1 crore. But look at what we have achieved over the years. We are not even getting Rs 20 lakh to make a movie. It is a very depressing thing. Nobody cares about the Odia industry. We (Ollywood) lost our credibility a long time back,” he said.
The biggest reason for the debacle of Ollywood, as the actor points out, is the fact that most of the directors and producers lack the basic knowledge of cinema logistics. “By cinema logistics, I don’t mean big budget but it is all about what’s your budget and what you are doing on screen. It is not difficult to write a good script. But if I don’t get the budget to transform it on the big screen, there’s no point,” he said.
The actor insists that in his films like ‘Dalcheeni’ and ‘Charitra’, the makers have tried their best to not compromise on the cinema ethics involving the audio-visual feed.
After ‘Helo Arsi’, the actor’s latest film—‘Dalcheeni’—is being appreciated at the national level. Directed by Sisir Kumar Sahu, ‘Dalcheeni’ was adjudged as the ‘best feature film’ in the national category at the 7th International Film Festival of Shimla. Sources revealed that the film had also been selected for some other national-level film festivals.
In ‘Dalcheeni’, Partha plays the character of a corporate, who is a virgin even at the age of 30. The protagonist—that Partha plays—hires a high-profile escort. And, as the film unfolds, it depicts a forbidden love story between the two. “People from two different worlds meet each other. It leads to a different kind of attachment. The film turns out to be a travel love story,” said Partha.
Though ‘Hello Arsi’ was also a travel-based story, Partha insists that both his films are quite different from each other. “’Hello Arsi” was a metaphoric and abstract film. The film played a lot on the dialogue part. Both the characters of Hello Arsi were metaphysical. But, the characters of ‘Dalcheeni’ are closer to life. Dalcheeni is superior to the other film in terms of its making,” added Partha, who has played a very silent character in the latest film. His target was to give a ‘pan-India feel’ to the film.
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