Shooting for the Odia remake of Devdas titled ‘Nayaka Ra Naa Debdas’ had been wrapped up on July 7. The production team may soon announce the movie's release date. But, all's not hunky dory between the lead actor and the director. According to sources, actor Asit Patra, who is playing Devdas, and director Mrutyunjay Sahoo are not on the friendliest of terms. The actor has also maintained distance from the movie's promotional events. "I will not attend the premier or any promotional event. I am not happy with the unprofessional attitude of the director. He couldn't dig out the best out of me," Asit says in an interview to The City Express.
The epic Bengali novel, Devdas, by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been made into films for at least 13 times in Indian cinema in seven different languages. With the release of ‘Nayaka Ra Naa Debdas’, it will be the 14th adaptation of the novel into a film. This will be Asit’s second movie in Ollywood after ‘Bhairab’. The actor says Devdas is a dream character for him. But, Asit reveals how he faces rejection in Ollywood because of his skin tone and looks. Convincing the producers for grabbing the role of Devdas wasn’t an easy exercise. “Several producers in Ollywood refused to offer me the role of a hero. They felt I could never be the on-screen lover boy because of my looks. They thought I am fit to play de-glamourized roles only. So, when I approached the producers for Devdas, I was asked to bring another producer if I wanted the role and my father (Kirtan Chandra Patra) had to invest in the film. The budget of the movie touched `1.5crore mark,” he adds.
Besides Odisha, the film has been shot in Madhya Pradesh (Chitrakoot) and Rajasthan. The concluding part of the movie was shot in the 300-year-old Chomu palace of Jaipur in Rajasthan. Interestingly, movies like Bhul Bhulaiya and Bol Bachchann were also shot in the palace. In Odisha, the palace of KP Singh Deo in Dhenkanal town was also used as the set. All these locations have one thing in common. “Bhul Bhulaiya was a huge hit at the box-office. Similarly, Babushan’s Sundergar re Salman Khan, which was shot at Dhenkanal palace, turned out to be successful. So, I guess there are some cosmic connections for these locations. I am keeping my fingers crossed,” Asit adds.
The actor believes that director Mrutyunjay pulled the perfect casting coup by roping in teenage actor Bhumika and Anu Chowdhury for the characters of Paro and Chandramukhi respectively. “When I was in college, I used to admire Anu madam. She looks gorgeous. I remember how I woke up at 5 am one day while I was studying in college to scrap a poster featuring Anu madam from a wall. I preserved the poster. And, Bhumika is a wonderful actor. She may be young but she is very talented. I used to feel envious of her skills,” Asit adds. The film also features veteran actors Bijay and Aparajita Mohanty as Devdas’ father and Paro’s mother respectively.
From K L Saigal, Dilip Kumar to Shahrukh Khan, each actor who played the character of Devdas has set a benchmark. This was the real challenge for Asit. “I tried to be myself while playing the character and not follow Shahrukh or Dilipji. I must confess I failed in one of the scenes. My director couldn’t guide me properly. He was sounding confused as to what he wanted in that scene. Thus, I ended up mimicking Shahrukh. In fact, the costume and frame of the camera are same as used in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas for this scene in which Devdas confronts his father in an inebriated state after Paro's marriage,” he regrets.
However, Asit claims that the movie will be slightly different from the other versions. “It is closer to the literature. Some extra scenes, which the other films don’t contain, have been included in this one,” he says. The actor also shares how he trained himself to look unhappy for Devdas. “I stopped meeting friends or family members. I avoided films, outings or feats during the shooting days as I wanted to look sad in the movie,” he adds.
Fast fact: At least 4,000 candles were used daily for the film’s shoot.