Odia filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda is a known name. The 41-year-old filmmaker has so far made more than 70 documentaries, short films, television drama series, corporate and advertising films. Panda’s directorial debut ‘I am Kalam’ won a dozen national and international awards. Panda, now working on a documentary film on Jagannath culture with special focus on Nabakalebara, spoke about the film in an interview with Minati Singha
Q: Why did you decide to make a documentary film on Nabakalebara?
A: I think there has never been an attempt to document and project the uniqueness of Jagannath culture properly. So, I along with my team are conducting a thorough and in-depth research on Lord Jagannath and the culture that has so many interesting aspects, a strong history, a mythological storyline and a world of activities and rituals engaging a huge population. I am trying to showcase a holistic picture of Lord Jagannath and along with that, the art and culture of Odisha.
Q: How much progress have you made on the film so far?
A: I started shooting the film in June last year and shooting will continue till next September. After some post production work, the film is likely to be released in March 2016. If everything goes according to plan, then this will be probably the first documentary film to be released in theatres in India.
Q: What did you find interesting about the culture?
A: There are so many things. I cannot describe one in particular. It’s really amazing to know that Lord Jagannath has connections with almost all districts of Odisha. We are trying to cover the maximum ground. We had shot at Patali Srikhetra in Kotsamalei village in Sonepur district where the idol of Lord Jagannath was kept hidden from marauding Muslim invaders for 144 years and also in Koraput and Nayagarh. The whole process of Nabakalebara is so interesting, starting from Banajaga jatra to selection of the sacred wood (daru) and Brahma Parivartan. Making the film is like a divine experience and a spiritual journey for me.
Q: What is the budget of the film and what are your plans for marketing and promotion?
A: The Odisha government has sanctioned Rs 78 lakh for making the documentary film, which is not enough. It is an extensive work, and we want to take the film to a wide audience and to reach out to people across the world. We are planning to develop small coffee table DVDs on different aspects of the culture. Besides, we are also planning to send snippets of the film to different national and international film festivals to get an international platform and market.
Q: Odia filmmakers are doing so well outside, but why is the quality of Odia films deteriorating by the day?
A: The scenario in the Odia film industry has to change. It is high time our filmmakers realized that there is a limit to copying. They must look for new stories, and adopt scripts of our writers instead of making remakes of hits from the south. Odia theatre is doing so well, so why can’t we make good Odia films?
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Director Nila Madhab Panda had a very good personal conversation With:
Prasanta Patnaik ;Chairman AMF NEWS, Partha Patnaik ,Ayush Patnaik and the whole team.
Prasanta Patnaik