Shailendra Parida and (right) the action director explains a stunt scene to Bollywood actor Mukesh Rishi. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, July 19: Look closely when the audience starts applauding the hero’s on-screen stunts. There’s an unseen force behind him.

The unsung hero has taught the actor how to take on 10 “villains” at once. Out-of-the-world jumps and flying kicks have jazzed up the Oriya cinema scene during its 75-year long journey. Action scenes have been an integral part of Oriya films.

Today, action sequences involve even more amazing stunts, thanks to action director Shailendra Parida. He has introduced fresh ideas to the action plots.

Parida, who holds a black belt in taekwondo from a martial arts school in Kalimpong, once nurtured the ambition to become a hero in Oriya films. When he approached various directors and actors, however, they told him that the industry had an urgent need for a stuntman. Earlier, they had been using the resources of stunt artists from Mumbai and Chennai. As Parida fit the bill, they urged him to become a “fight master” instead of an actor.

“I began assisting fight masters from 1992 and worked under the likes of Judo Ramu, Rashid Mehta and R Raju, who were from Mumbai and Chennai,” says Parida.

Soon he began receiving offers from the film industry in Chhattisgarh, Bhojpuri and Bengali films.

“A large section of viewers — especially in these industries — love watching action scenes. The stories also demand action. So, I try to make the sequences long. But I also try to make the scenes appear as close to reality as possible. So, I avoid using computer graphics as far as possible,” he says.

Parida began with the Oriya film Janma Data. So far, he has directed action sequences for 17 Oriya films, 35 Chhattisgarhi films, five Bhojpuri films and five Bengali films. The “fight master” has already worked with the leading stars of Oriya films like Sidhant, Anubhav, Arindam, Tanmay, Akash and so on.

He has also directed stunts for Bollywood actor Mukesh Rishi and Bengali actor Tapas Pal.

Aila re Odia Pua, which released last year, got a rave response from audiences because of its stunt scenes.

“I arranged the fights manually, without any computer gimmicks. In the scene, Tanmay fights a group of gangsters while riding a motorcycle. The scene received great response from both the audience and other directors from the industry,” he adds.

Talking about being the first fight master from Orissa, Parida says that the technical understanding of filmmakers has increased today and they now trust local technicians in every department of film production.

“Earlier, starting from camera to editing to any other technical part of film making, the Oriya film industry depended on people from the South, Bengal or Mumbai. Today, we are more self dependent in filmmaking,” he says.

Actors who have worked with Parida say he is very patient and knows how to explain the stunts to actors.

“I enjoyed myself every single time I worked with him. I have already worked with him in five movies. The best part about working with him is that he makes tough stunts appear simple,” says actor Sritam Das.

Anu Choudhury, who plays a police officer in Pahili Raja — currently running in theatres — thanks Parida for the action direction.

“It (performing stunts) was a huge challenge for me since this is the first time I performed stunts in a film. But Shailendra instilled confidence in me by being co-operative and patient. He took care that I understood the technical part of the firing sequence that is shown in the film,” she says.

Currently, Parida is busy with Tu Thile Mu Jauchhi Rusi, in which Arindam has performed a motorcycle stunt.

“Such stunts are dangerous but Arindam is well trained in martial arts. He gave an amazing shot. I have only used rope, which needs to be erased (from the final print). Again, there’s no graphics involved,” Parida explains.

The fight master, who has a team of 20 assistants being trained under him, feels that the remuneration today is quite good. “Depending on the budget of the film, I get close to Rs 50,000 per fight for a film,” he says.