City boy snips his way to success - Inspired by actor Bijay Mohanty, 28-year-old Birenjyoti turns chief editor of Bollywood film Luck

(Top) Birenjyoti Mohanty and (above) poster of the film Luck, which he edited. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 5: From acting aspirations to becoming an editor of Bollywood films, Birenjyoti Mohanty feels he is living a dream.

The 28-year-old, who was the chief editor for 2009 release Luck, is ready to prove his mettle with a number of upcoming projects.

Mohanty, who hails from Kendrapada, is a graduate from the drama department of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.

“I was always attracted towards films since childhood and wanted to be an actor. But the drama course was a revelation for me and I understood that there are a lot of intricacies involved in filmmaking and acting,” says Mohanty who is currently settled in Mumbai.

As he was interested in the technicalities of filmmaking, Mohanty took up a course in multimedia.

“I did not think of editing for films until my teacher and veteran actor Bijay Mohanty guided me and asked me to assist editor and now director Susant Mani. This was the best thing that could happen to my career,” Mohanty says.

Assisting Mani, he soon picked up the nuances of editing and later even handled the editing of many projects individually.

“Mani bhai taught me everything I know today. I then moved on to edit major projects for Oriya cinema, albums and serials ,” he says.

After the success in regional industry, Mohanty aimed at the Hindi film industry that he had always wished for. “It was tough initially. But I soon found a lot of work as an assistant editor for serials and films,” he reminisces. Mohanty had worked for serials Doli Sajake, Nagin as online editor, India Calling and Twinkle Beauty Parlour as associate editor and Pyaar Vyaar and All That, Vicky Aur Vetal, Thodi si Zameen Thoda Aasmaan as chief editor.

It was however the online editing project for Hollywood film First Fear that helped him get notice of established editors.

“It was great working under editors such as Steven Bernard, Aseem Sinha and Sanjay Sankala for different films after the Hollywood film,” he says. After working as an associate editor for films such as Sunday, Golmaal Returns, Ramchand Pakistani and many more, Mohanty’s luck finally smiled on him. “Working as the chief editor for Luck was a dream come true for me as seniors in the industry appreciated my work,” he says.

“My parents, teachers and friends always that I grow in life and I’m happy that I’m on the right track,” adds Mohanty. “I love films. All my free time is also dedicated to watching world movies or researching on films through books or sites,” says the young editor who has recently edited a number of ad-films, corporate films and music videos, Bipasha Basu’s fitness music video being one of them.

“Currently a couple of big projects are in my hand and I’m excited. I aim to do bigger projects in the future,” Mohanty signs off.