Bhubaneswar, Oct. 9: The making of Rangabati, one of the most popular songs of the state, is now a documentary.

Directed by debutant Raj Rajesh, the documentary features original singers Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel along with other musicians who have recently rendered the song on national platform.

"In the age of social media, the new-age artistes have taken the music industry by storm. The cover version of this song has become hugely popular among the youngsters, but we should not forget the original singers and composers who made this song. The documentary is a tribute to them," said Satyabrat Sanu Ratho, co-founder of Prelude, the organisation that produced the documentary. The documentary showcases the circumstances and the challenges faced during the making of the song.

"Through this documentary, we aim to tell the present generation about the history of our folk music that still inspires the current trend of music," said Rajesh.

The documentary was screened at the Press Club of Odisha, recently, in presence of Odia film fraternity members. The original singers of the song were also felicitated on the occasion.

Reminiscing the making of the song, Haripal said: "During those days, we had very little technological support. I had never thought that the song would be such a huge hit. This song changed my life."

A number of Odia musicians, filmmakers and musicians including Prasant Nanda, Srikant Goutam, Gopal Pradhan, Nila Madhab Panda and Sona Mohapatra have shared their thoughts on the song in the documentary.

The documentary is available in YouTube and Facebook. It has been made available in the social media to popularise Odia folk music and its singers.

"The youth is interested to know about the story behind the song. The idea behind its making is very inspiring and encouraging," said Raj.

The 11-minute video features opinions from youngsters on how they connect to the song. It also features foreign artistes performing on the song and people grooving to its beats.

The song was first recorded for All India Radio in the mid-1970s and following its popularity a record company from Calcutta had recorded it in 1976.