Director Manmohan Mahapatra gives instructions to the actors while shooting the Odia film Pratikhya at Bhimpur village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 10: Exploring emotions of people in different situations is his forte and director Manmohan Mahapatra is back with what he does best.

The acclaimed filmmaker plays an observer for his latest Odia film Pratikhya.

Mahapatra sticks to his signature element in this film, neither creating a definite plot nor dwelling on one bizarre chronicle.

He brings in characters that are together since long but are lonely in their personal lives. In Pratikhya, he presents the audience with instances from the lives of four friends in a village.

They are old, retired and forlorn with their children staying far away because of the demands of job or marriage. “They meet everyday under a banyan tree in the village. This tree plays the role of a witness watching quietly all that is going around. One after the other, the friends leave and the tree stands alone as if saying that separation is inevitable,” said Mahapatra.

The eight-time National Award winner has also penned the script for the film, which is being shot in the serene locales of Bhimpur village along the Kuakhai river. Veterans, such as George Tiadi, Arun Nanda, Raicharan Das and Janaki Mishra play the roles of the old friends.

“I’m playing a retired school teacher whose children are working abroad. He shares his emotions with his friends everyday while playing cards under the old banyan tree,” said Tiadi.

Speaking about working with Mahapatra, the veteran actor said he is excited about this project.

“He is an international director and this is the first time I’m working with him despite being in the industry for so many years. He is an excellent filmmaker on psychological subjects and it feels very special to be a part of his crew. He is very patient while shooting and is content with just one perfect scene even if it takes a whole day. This helps us as actors,” Tiadi said.

Dwelling more into his role, he said it is easy at times to play an old parent whose kids live away from him since his daughters also stay away from him for months at a stretch in real life owing to their jobs.

The film also peeps into the lives of two couples – one that gets in touch through Internet and the other that meets in the village. “I’m not comparing the differences in communication of the virtual world and real world and there is no story or plot line. I have dispensed with that since long,” said Mahapatra.

The veteran director said he has used the same modalities as he had in 1976 when he started making movies.

“But today the essence is different. I have started this film with the same shot as my first film and here it ends on the tree. In fact, I realise I’m taking a walk through all my earlier works in Pratikhya. It is not the characters or their tales that will leave an impression on the audience. I’m just observing the moods of people and the audience will come out with a feeling, an experience,” he said.

Pratikhya is in its first phase of shooting now and will be ready this year.