This December, get ready to look beyond remakes as movie-makers experiment with original ideas to draw the audience back to theatres. One such movie that has been in the news is Nai Separi Kanak Gori.
To be distributed by Rajshree Productions all over India, the film has already been attracting attention for its name and the storyline centered around rural Odisha. In fact, the film name and Rajshree banner reminds one of the classic Bollywood hit Nadiya Ke Us Paar.
However, there is no similarity between the two, informs producer Ajay Mohanty, who is also the writer for the movie. ‘’The film has already got a social status from the Censor Board and will appeal to the Odia audience,’’ he informs.
Giving a brief about the story, he says it is based on a village, Gadamadhavpur, which is still ruled by a zamindaar. A river divides the village into two parts. While the villagers, including the Zamindaar Durjyoti Samanatray played by Minaketan Das and the family of Kanak (Ralli Nanda) live on one side, the other side has a temple and hospital.
The film begins with the zamindaar and Kanak’s father Bibhu, the head clerk in the village, (Mihir Das) being shown as good friends. But the zamindaar has ill intentions towards Bibhu’s wife Lakhmi (Aparajita) that causes things to go terribly wrong. Bibhu gets murdered, due to shock, Lakhmi becomes dumb and their kids get separated. While Kanak and her brother Biju (Pritiraj) continue in the village with their mother, their brother Aju (Samresh) goes to the city with Jagabandhu (Sachi Panda), Bibhu’s close associate and eventually becomes a gangster.
While the film deals with the revenge of Kanak’s family, it also shows how the villagers finally fight against social injustice and atrocities of a zamindaar, thanks to the arrival of an educated doctor in the village, Dr. Abinash, played by debutante Partha Sarthi Ray. According to the producer, besides trying to revive and highlight Odishan culture and traditions through the village activities, the other USP of the film is its soulful music, composed by Mahendra Acharya and Mohanty himself, which also has a rural touch.
While Trupti Das has lent her voice after a long time in the film, there are a few numbers by Chitrabhanu Mohanty, son of late Akhaya Mohanty. The film has been directed by Pankaj Pani. The cinematography is by Gagarin Mishra, who has the experience of working in Hindi films and ads while screenplay is by Debaprasad Das.
‘’I am very happy that my debut comes with an authentic Odia movie and I am particularly excited about the technical output,’’ quips Partha. Renowned actor Minaketan Das feels the audience should come and watch Nai Separi Kanak Gori as it has an original story and is an out-an-out Odia movie.