Watch: Teaser Of Much-Awaited ‘Patnagarh 23 Feb 2018’ Released

Bhubaneswar: Teaser trailer of the movie ‘Patnagarh 23 Feb 2018’ based on the parcel bomb explosion in Balangir district, one of the incidents that shook Odisha this year, was released on Wednesday.

Director Rajesh Touchdriver shared the teaser on his Twitter handle, which has also been uploaded on the YouTube channel of Suntouch Productions.

On February 23, a newly-wed couple received a gift parcel that exploded when the groom, Soumya Shekher Sahoo, tried to open it. He and his grandmother were killed in the explosion while his wife, Reema Sahoo, sustained severe injuries.

While a lot of theories did the round, the Odisha Crime Branch finally cracked the case with the arrest of Punjilal Meher, a colleague of the deceased groom’s mother. The motive of the crime was jealousy as Soumya’s mother Sanjukta was made principal of the Jyoti Bikash College at Bhainsa replacing Meher. In a bid to take revenge, he allegedly planned and executed the blast with an aim to eliminate the entire family.

The incident had everyone hooked to the television screens for latest updates. The breakthrough also inspired a few filmmakers to take it up as their next project.

‘Patnagarh 23 Feb 2018’ will be screened in two languages- Odia and Telugu. However, the teaser has been uploaded in three languages- Odia, English and Telugu and it opened with a voice-over reading out a letter posted by Punjilal Meher to Balangir SP stating that the bomb blast was the fallout of a love affair, which proved to be his nemesis.

Produced by Sridhar Mehta under the banner of Range Royal Cine Lab, the investigative thriller was earlier titled ‘Bullest Raja’.

Popular Odia actor Manoj Mishra is essaying the role of Punjilal Meher with Bollywood actor Atul Kulkarni and Yashpal Sharma playing other important characters. The film also features Telugu actor Thanikella Bharani and Odia television actors Chinmay Mishra and Pushpa Panda.

The Patnagarh case was also aired on Sony’s Crime Patrol, which covers major criminal incidents of the country.