An emotional story of a man who values relationships more than his life - that's how actor Anubhav Mohanty describes his latest film, 'Agastya'. The Ollywood superstar says the film derives its name from sage Agastya, who had a tremendous control over his anger.
"My character also goes by the name Agastya, who has a lot of control over his anger and does not get agitated even under most difficult circumstances in life. He is a person who is silent, reserved, talks less and someone who can give his life for people who have helped him at some time or other. In fact, Agastya's silence speaks more than his words," says the actor, without revealing much about the story. "You will have to watch the film to know the story," he says with a smile.
Apart from Anubhav, 'Agastya' stars Akash Dasnayak and Jhilik in the lead. The film, produced by Akshya Parija and directed by K Murali Krishna, will be released during Rajo. Stating that both Akash and Jhilik have very strong roles to play in the movie, the actor says the film is a remake of a Kannada film that was released two years back. "To be honest, I had loved the script and the character of Agastya. During filming of this movie, I felt as if I was working on my first film 'I Love You'," he says. The actor, whose first release this year was 'Gote Sua Gote Sari' where Barsha played his love interest, says he was toying with the idea of 'Agastya' for a very long time. "I had approached many producers and directors to make a film on the story, but none of them approved of it till Parija ji stepped in," says Anubhav, who is currently busy promoting the film outside Odisha.
Booking theatres in the State for the film's release, though, has been a problem, he admits. "We have not got many theatres as yet and the bookings are still on, but I can assure you that the number of theatres will increase after the first week of Agastya's release," he says and claims that a film of this genre has never been tried in Odisha before. "Agastya might be a remake but we have not compromised on anything. A lot of detailing has gone into every aspect of the movie, be it the outdoor shoots, look of the actors or the production," he says.
His next project for the year is 'Buxi Jagabandhu - The Forgotten Legend', a period film that would depict the story of warrior Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bhramarbar Rai, popularly known as Buxi Jagabandhu or Paika Buxi. The film was announced earlier this year by Anubhav and AK Parija, who will be producing it. "The film is currently in pre-production stage. Since it deals with a historical subject, we do not want to compromise on the research aspect.
After the release of Agastya, I will sit down with my director and script writer to finalise the story and other details," says the actor-turned-politician. The film will be directed by Manmohan Mohapatra. To a query if a period film would click with the Odia audience, Anubhav says his aim would be to make the film interesting without compromising with its story.
'Buxi Jagabandhu' will release in 2017, which marks the 200th year of Paika Rebellion.