Bhubaneswar: The dispute among Ollywood stars took a political colour with senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra and OFDC president Kuna Tripathy locking horns on the issue on Saturday.
Speaking to the media on the boycott of Odia film ‘Ram’ in Sambalpur and subsequent 2-year ban by the producers on actor Manoj Mishra for allegedly engineering it, the Congress leader said it reflected the anti-Western Odisha attitude of the Ollywood producers.
Alleging that the people of Coastal Odisha and the state government have always been discriminating western Odisha, Mishra threatened that such discrimination has fanned secessionist sentiment and formation of separate Koshala state.
“From a High Court bench to an agriculture university and now actors from Western Odisha, all are ignored and sidelined by the coastal Odisha lobby. Unfortunately, the government remains a silent spectator to the whole issue and never heeds the demands of Western Odisha. In fact, the government wants western Odisha to remain neglected,” Mishra said.
“It is the coastal people and the government who will be responsible if there is any division of the state and a separate Koshala state is formed,” he added.
Stating that actor Manoj Mishra only wanted to screen Odia movies in Western Odisha, he said if the 2-year ban is not revoked, it will further strengthen the demand for division of the state.
Taking a strong exception to Mishra’s threat of division of Odisha, actor and president of Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC) Kuna Tripathy said, “Such statements are not expected from an experienced person like Narasingha Mishra.”
“It is a matter of our family and we will resolve it. It is not appropriate for an outsider to add fuel to the controversy. The artists’ association will resolve the matter,” he said.
Stating that there should not be any political interference in the film industry, Tripathy appealed to both parties to discuss the matter and resolve it.
Meanwhile, a day after actor Babushaan appealed to the warring actors including Anubhav Mohanty, Jitua Mangaraj and Manoj and Utkal Cine Chambers of Commerce (UCCC) to resolve the issues among themselves, Manoj accused producer Tutu Nayak of the man behind the whole conspiracy.
Reacting sharply to 2-year ban on him by UCCC, Manoj told the media that the film industry belongs to entire Odisha and no individual producer can ban him from working in Odia films. “Producer Tutu Nayak has told media that I have been banned. Who is he to ban me? I am saying that I have banned Tutu Nayak. I won’t act in his films in future,” he said.
Stating that he had not received any letter regarding the ban on him, the actor said, “The film industry is not confined to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. It belongs to the entire Odisha. As an Odia, I will continue to work in the industry,” he added.
