A still from Jai Hind. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 19: Director Ranjan Mishra is going to turn to history for his next film Jai Hind.

In his forthcoming venture, Ranjan, who has been a cameraman for films such as J.P. Dutta’s LOC and Rajiv Rai’s Asambhav, is going to adapt an endearing tale that took place in Odisha and somewhere got lost in the history books.

Steering clear of the trend to replicate a successful Telugu or Tamil movie in Odia, Ranjan has labelled his upcoming production Jai Hind as Odisha’s first period film that tries to blow the dust off “Raktatirtha Eram”.

The story revolves around the bloodbath that took place at Eram, located 16 km from Basudebpur in Bhadrak.

The place is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on one side and two rivers on the other.

Almost inaccessible to police, the site used to be a hub of freedom fighters. Leaders of the freedom movement used to hold peaceful public meetings at Eram that had an open field with boundaries and only one gate. Even legendary leaders such as Gopabandhu Das and Harekrushna Mahatab had used the platform to discuss and disseminate the ideals of freedom and sovereignty.

On the unfortunate day of September 28, 1942, cops led by the then deputy superintendent of police Kunjabihari Mohanty marched towards the field.

In a manner reminiscent of General Dyer, the man behind the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Mohanty open fired at the morning gathering. Since there was no escape route, 29 people died and 56 suffered injuries.

Pari Bewa, considered to be the only woman martyr of the state, also laid down her life there. Since then, the place is known asRaktatirtha, the pilgrimage of blood.

The film stars actors Dipan, Amrita, Dharitri and Saroj Das. Veteran actors Minaketan and Choudhary Bikash Das would also be seen in significant roles.

Made under the banner of Swaraj productions, the screenplay has been written by producer Prabhati Mahapatra. Sanchit and Ashutosh Barik have penned the dialogues, while Panchanan Nayak and Jatin Pradhan have written the lyrics.

The music has been scored by Shantiraj Khosla, while Ajit will be in charge of cinematography.

Ranjan believes that the film would be challenging and he had taken a calculated risk. “There are many stories in Odisha waiting to be unearthed and highlighted,” said the director.

Another film One Way Traffic had its mahurat held on Sunday at a city-based hotel. The film is the first production venture of Sun Music owned by noted music composer Srikant Gautam. The film would be directed by Suresh Pattnaik.