Posters of (top) Something Something and Thookool

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 5: The New Year began with empty theatre halls for the Odia film industry despite a new release. First day of the year saw the release of Asish Bhattacharya’s Hey Sakha, but the movie fizzled out much faster than expected. The tinsel town, however, looks forward for a grand year ahead if not a grand beginning. The first month of the year itself has in store back to back release of the most-awaited and star-studded films of the year.

The popularity of actress Gargi Mohanty of television soap Topaye Sindoora could not save Hey Sakha, a mythological saga, from drowning at the box-office. But, the industry is sure to recover from the shock of the year’s first flop with the release of actor Anubhav Mohanty’s first production venture Something Something on January 8.

The newly turned producer has roped in two of his favourites from the tinsel town – director Sudhakar Basant and actress Barsha Priyadashini for the film. The trio will be seen together again after the success of Balunga Toka. Anubhav has left no stone unturned to make his venture a record-breaking hit of 2012. He has some of the best technicians and musicians of the industry in his team that includes Udit Narayan, Ira Mohanty and Prem Anand.

“I am super excited about Something Something. After the success of Balunga Toka, the expectation of the audience has definitely risen and we know that we have to live up to their expectations. Anubhav has been a fantastic producer and gave me full liberty to direct the way I wanted to. It’s a big budget project and we will release the film at more than 50 theatres all over the state. We are lucky to have Rajshri Productions as our distributor,” said Basant.

Within a matter of few days, Odia film lovers will get to see another flick directed by one of their adorable directors and favourite stars, Prashanta Nanda. Thookool, one of the most ambitious projects of Nanda, is expected to release on January 12. The film stars Babushan and Archita and is produced under the banner of Mitra Creative Arts. Shot in the beautiful locales of Muscat, the film has already created hype among the youngsters with its peppy and melodious music.

“Thookool is a high budget film and we are releasing the film at 35 theatres throughout the state. This is Babushan and Archita’s next film after their successful Chocolate and we are expecting the same excitement among the audience,” said production manager of Thookool Deepu.

With two big budget films releasing in January, no other film makers are risking to release their film this month. Big releases such as Chakradhar Sahu’s Kebe Tame Naahon Kebe Mu Naahin, Sanjay Nayak’s Mita Basichi Bhuta Sathire, Sabyasachi- Riya starrer Emiti bi Prema Hue are all slated to release in February. Himansu Khatua’s Matira Bandhan is also competing at the National Award competition next month.