BHUBANESWAR: A Sense of disbelief prevails in the Odia film industry with the demise of Raimohan Parida. Not only was he the favourite villain of Odia cinema lovers but also popular as an actor who evolved each day of his three-decade-long acting career, be it in films, tele-serials or jatra.
On June 10, the 58-year-old actor’s latest film ‘Biswanath’ had hit the theatres and recently, he finished dubbing for his last film ‘Om Swaha’ which is being directed by Dileep Panda. Born in Keonjhar, Raimohan had no godfather in the industry. Drama was his first love. After graduating from Karanjia Mahavidyalaya, he arrived in Bhubaneswar to pursue a degree from the drama department of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.
But it was his love for negative characters and conviction for the roles that he was offered that catapulted him to being one of the finest villains of the industry after Hara Pattnaik. Raimohan and Ashrumochan Mohanty debuted in the Odia film industry together in a film ‘Sagar’ which was directed by Raju Singh and released in 1989. The film was based on the Chabirani rape and murder case and Raimohan played a small negative role in it. While dubbing for the film at Kalinga Studio, Raimohan was noticed by Raju Mishra who offered him another small villian role in his film ‘Chaka Akhi Sabu Dekhuchi’.
After the two films, Bijay Bhaskar offered him the character of main villain in ‘KotieManisha Gotiye Jaga’ in 1991 which helped him establish himself in a negative role. In fact, the year 1993 came as a turning point in his career when he essayed the antagonist in three back-to-back films including ‘Rana Bhoomi’ and ‘Pathara Khasuchi Bada Deulu’ directed by Raju Mishra.
“Raimohan was the villain in almost all the films directed by Mishra which brought him to the limelight. The only movie where he essayed a positive character was Mishra’s ‘Sata Micha’ (2003) where he played the role of the heroine’s brother and this film got him the Special Jury Award, his only State film award,” said film historian Surya Deo.
Besides, he had played the character of a transgender in ‘Asibu Kebe Saji Mo Rani’ (2010). Also known for his dialogue delivery, one of his dialogues that became an instant hit with the film lovers was ‘Heiti Anani Jyoti Mashtrani’ in the film ‘Ranabhumi’. “There’s an interesting story behind this dialogue. Producer of Ranabhumi had a habit of using the words ‘heiti anani’ and Raimohan picked it up for his dialogue which became very popular,” Deo said.
What also brought him fame was the negative characters that he played opposite veteran actor and his teacher at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya Bijay Mohanty. Films like ‘Sindura Nuhe Khelaghara’, ‘Pathara Khasuchi Bada Deulu’, ‘Janmadata’ that he did with Mohanty were well appreciated.
In his over 30-years of acting career, he did over 90 films including some in Bengali language and in between, he also experimented with ‘jatra’ shows. In 2002, Raimohan entered the thriving ‘jatra’ industry and went on to do nearly 40 shows. Such was his popularity in ‘jatra’ that tickets were sold in his name.