You had criticised chief minister Naveen Patnaik when he dropped you as a minister in 2001 in the BJP-BJD coalition government on corruption charges. What then prompted you to join the BJD along with three of your colleagues from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)?

BJP asked Naveen Patnaik to sack me. Else, he could not have done that in a coalition government. Everyone knows I am not corrupt. Political compulsions made us leave the NCP.

Isn’t joining hands with BJD treachery with NCP?

Before joining NCP, we told party chief Sharad Pawar that we would never support Congress in Odisha and oppose the BJD-BJP government. But later, Pawar, without consulting us, made an agreement with Naveen Patnaik to support BJD when the latter’s alliance with BJP was broken. So, we had to accept it. NCP had no identity in Odisha. It was with the BJD’s help that we won four Assembly seats in the 2009 elections. Pawarji asked us to support them on various issues such as Centre’s neglect of Odisha. When Naveenbabu announced he would back NCP leader P.A. Sangma for the presidential elections, we supported him. Suddenly, Pawarji said we could not back Sangma. We are anti-Congress. How could we support the UPA and desert BJD? We were disillusioned and decided to quit NCP.

lBut the timing has been strategic. Four of you joined BJD in the wake of the failed coup by Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra.

We met Pawarji on May 22 and he asked us to wait for UPA’s choice for presidential candidate. Then and there, we decided to join BJD as soon as possible. But Naveen babu was in London and returned to Odisha on May 29 to chaos. After the dust had settled, we decided to join BJD.

lYou are being called an opportunist, a party hopper.

Who doesn’t change parties? If I were an opportunist, I would have accepted Biju Patnaik’s offer for Rajya Sabha membership in 1995. I was a fan of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and so joined BJP. I nurtured it in Odisha with my sweat and blood. Result? BJP members said Prashant Nanda is becoming popular, axe him. The party (BJP) backstabbed me, forcing me to quit.

lDid you ever tell Naveen about the conspiracy?

Why would I embarrass him with clarification when I knew the truth? At that time, he was new to politics. He was trying to consolidate his position as CM. BJP asked him to sack me, what could he have done?

lYou must be happy that the one who sacked you has welcomed you back with open arms. Will you accept a ministerial berth if offered?

I have no expectations, but if Naveen Patnaik, the party president, thinks I am suitable to be a minister, I will accept it.

lComing to films, what future do you foresee for the Odia film industry?

Unless the number of movie theatres increases in Odisha, the future cannot be good. Each of the 314 blocks should have at least one theatre, either with government funding or in public-private-partnership mode. We need to set up multiplexes in major cities to attract people of the upper classes. We lost these viewers in the last 15 years.

lDon’t you think you have lost viewers because of the kind of films being made, with routine plots and borrowed ideas, cheap stunts, vulgar lyrics and skimpy clothes ruling the roost?

When the audience mostly comprises people from the lower strata of society, one has to make a film to suit to their taste and expectations. But if better quality audience comes — for which multiplex-like atmosphere needs to be created first — then better quality films would start being made.

lWhat do you personally feel about the quality of Odia films being made these days?

If you are talking about subject quality, I am not satisfied. There is no originality. They are mostly remakes of other regional movies. Technique-wise, however, we are on a par with any other Indian film. Even our economics has failed.

lYour on-screen chemistry with actress of yesteryears, Mahasweta Ray, sparked rumours of an off-screen love affair. It is said that you ditched her and now you both don’t talk to each other.

(Laughs) I was already married when I brought her into films. I am her guru, she is my disciple. When you cast an actress in so many films, people tend to mistake it for an affair. A director always wants a perfect artiste. And that is the love, the wedding, the biggest attraction of all. Mahasweta is by far the best I have worked with.

lThen why do you avoid talking to each other?

We talk and are in constant touch. Is it necessary for me to hold her hand and move around to prove that we are in touch? The mutual respect is still there.

From reel to real

Creative and imaginative, Prashant Nanda is a popular figure in the Odia film industry. An actor, director, screenplay writer, lyricist and playback singer, Nanda began his acting career at the age of seven, debuting in Dasyu Ratnakar

In 1962, he won his first National Award as best actor for the film Nua Bou. His popularity swelled in the 1970s as he went from strength to strength, delivering back-to-back box office hits and winning several awards at the national and state level. His performance in the films Matira Manisha, Adina Megha and Sesha Sravan was especially lauded. He has also worked in Hindi, Bengali and Bhojpuri films

His directorial pursuits, art of storytelling, powerful dialogues and sense of rhyme and rhythm has won great appreciation

In 2009, his film Jianta Bhoota, a feature film based on the primitive tribe Dongria Kondh, bagged the National Film Award again

He entered politics in the 1990s and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the BJD-BJP coalition government, he was a minister but was dropped in 2001 on charges of corruption. Later, he resigned from the primary membership of the party in 2007 and joined the Nationalist Congress Party. However, he along with three others, NCP legislature leader Amar Prasad Satpathy, Nabin Panda and Ramachandra Hansdah, quit the party to join the ruling BJD on June 6

What would have been your alternative career choice had you not been in films and politics?

Since childhood, my only aspiration was to become a film-maker. I started working in films when I was just seven years old and never looked back. My next aim was to make films and prove that Odia films, too, can be profitable. I was successful on that front. But politics was never planned. Since I was so popular among the people, who showered me with great love and respect, I realised I also had a social responsibility. So, without thinking twice, I entered into politics. It was not a choice but a dream for me