Sonepur, Nov. 3: Twenty-four years after making the internationally acclaimed film Bhukha, the first feature film in Sambalpuri, ace director Sabyasachi Mahapatra is back with another Sambalpuri film, Shala Budha.
Shooting of the film got under way when Subarnapur district collector Gagan Bihari Swain flashed the mahurat shot of the film in Karnapali near Sonepur on Tuesday.
The unit members of Mahapatra Movie Magic, the production house of Mahapatra have camped in Sonepur for the shooting. Mahapatra said the film would have veteran artistes as well as some new faces in the cast.
Based on a story by Kapileswar Mahapatra, Sabyasachi’s father, it is a tale of the early 20th century tale of the Raj era in Sonepur.
Speaking about his new venture, Mahapatra said that after Bhukha got international recognition, he always wanted to make another feature film in Sambalpuri.
“I had made Bhukha in 1987 and it still remains the only feature film in Sambalpuri dialect. I feel honoured that I am going to make the second one also. It is the story of Maharaja Biramitradaya Singhdeo and his peasants in the early 20th century, when Singhdeo ruled the then Sonepur state,” said Mahapatra.
“All unit members of the production house have been invited from Mumbai for the film. Roughly, the shooting will take around 25 or 30 days,” Mahapatra said.
The film will be shot at exotic locations in and around Sonepur. Benudhar Pradhan, the public relation officer of the film unit said, apart from Sonepur town, the film will be shot at locations like Chetana Udyan in Mahada and Karnapali.
“The locations in Sonepur include the picturesque Rameswar, the confluence of the Mahanadi and Tel rivers, Sonepur College and Gopaljee temple,” Pradhan said.
He also said the cast had been finalised and it would have both veteran artistes and new faces.
“Veteran theatre personalities such as Atala Bihari Panda, Ghasiram Mishra, Gadadhar Barik and Purusattam Mishra would be part of the cast. Similarly new faces such as Pradumya Sahu and some other also have got a chance to act in the film,” said Pradhan.
Produced by Susanta Mahapatra, the film has cinematography by Prakash Mahapatra. Atala Bihari Panda has written the dialogues.