Notwithstanding the prolonged criticism that the Odia film industry has been taking for lack of originality in scripts, this man from South has completely taken over the box office by giving as many as eight consecutive hits and all of them remakes! Choreographer and actor-turned director from Chennai, Sudhakar Vasanth, makes no bones about the fact that he makes Odia movies inspired from the south.
His latest movie Mo Dunia Tu Hi Tu running in theatres now also has an ‘inspired’ storyline and, if the collections are any indications, is already a big hit. “It was never a conscious decision to make remakes. But the problem is that most producers in the industry are not ready to buy a new subject. They want to play safe. So, many a times, there is no choice for movie makers. But then, I never copy paste. I always add a freshness to the script and mould it so that it appeals to the Odia audiences,’’ explains this multi-faceted man while adding, one of his films was not even a hit down South, but was a paisa vasool in Ollywood.
Having started his career as a choreographer down South, assisting his father Vasanth Kumar, Sudhakar went on to work with big names, including P A Salim, B H Tarun Kumar, Prabhudeva and Chinni Prakash. He settled as the assistant to Chinni Prakash for about six years. While working with him, he also got his break in Bollywood and Gupt was his biggest hit.
Vasanth, however, had no plans to limit himself to one role and so he ended up acting down South too and gave some decent hits as a hero in movies like Innisai Mazhai (Tamil), Ingane Oru Nilapakshi and Rapid Action Force (Malayalam) while doing considerable job as a villain in movies like Thoothukudi and Veeramum Eeramum (Tamil). He also produced and acted in Malayalam movie Narakasuran.
His tryst with Odia film industry began when director Gopal Jogesh, who came to Chennai to shoot a song for one of his movies, Solah Sukravaar. Vasanth was asked to do the needful. Gradually, he started choreographing for quite a few Odia films. “One fine day, music director Prasant Padhi suggested I should start directing. Since I had the advantage of working in the industry in different roles, I decided to take up the challenge and Mitta re Mitta happened in 2009 with Padhi in the team and Anam Charan Sahoo as the producer,’’ he recalls.
Since then, there has been no looking back. Without being remotely concerned about the language barrier, he has been making films although today he has mastered Odia.
“I am as much an Odia today,’’ he points out.
Presently he is working on his next venture, Om, which has Sambit Acharya and Prakruti Mishra in the lead. “Although the story deals with the gangrape of a woman and is again a subject I had chosen from South, but with the Delhi gangrape shocking the entire nation, I have modified the subject and have a lot of expectations from it,’’ he informs.
Om apart, Vasanth is now all excited about his forthcoming movie Ganja Ladhai which has an original storyline based on cock fights that take place in Khordha. Sudhakar Vasanth, till date, has worked in 42 films and several mega serials as an actor while choreographing as many as 1,200 songs.