KORAPUT: While, neighbouring Malkangiri bears the brunt of Naxal attack, Ollywood’s romance with scenic Koraput continues. Oriya, even Telugu, filmmakers, fascinated by natural bounty of Koraput, are making a beeline for the region despite it being Naxal-infested. Several Oriya films like ‘Rakta Golap’, ‘Kiye Jeete Kiye Hare’ and ‘Dora’ and many Telugu films have been shot in this region.
The latest to jump on the bandwagon is NK Media Venture Private Limited. Under its banner, ‘mahurat’ of an Oriya film ‘Soyam Siddha’ was done in Taupadar village near Deomali, the highest mountain peak of Orissa, recently. Interestingly on a day when the Naxals struck in Malkangiri in real life, the film crew was busy filming a Naxal story in reel-life. The film is based on Naxal story, confirmed film’s director Sudhansu Mohan Sahu. He said it’s challenging to shoot the film in a Naxal-prone area and added the flick has a message for the government. The lead pair of the film are Ollywood actor Sidhanta Mohapatra, who is also Berhampur MP, and Yukta from West Bengal. Apart from them around 30 junior and senior artistes are cast in the flick. The camera crew consisting of 50 persons, including art director Budha Maharana, are camping at Semliguda for the shoot. The unit will remain here for another 40 days. Scriptwriter Dillip Choudhury and producer Prabhat Ranjan Mallick are born and bred in Koraput district. The film will be shot at scenic locations like Upper Kolab, Machhkund, Doodhari and Pondi reservoir apart from Deomali.