Odia classic set for screen return

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 7: One of the most widely acclaimed Odia films Kaa is set to be screened in the city, giving film buffs a rare opportunity to watch one of the classics of Ollywood.

A group of aficionados have come together to screen the film at Jayadev Bhavan on December 10. The screening would be open to all film enthusiasts, and would also include felicitation of members of the cast and crew of the 1966 film.

Kaa was produced by actor-director-producer duo of Gour Ghose and Parbati Ghose, who were the uncrowned rulers of the Odia film industry in the sixties. The film was based on Kanhu Charan Mohanty's novel of the same name, which was immensely popular at the time of its publishing. Depicting the Odisha society, the film went on to win a National Award.

"Ramchandra Thakur, the acclaimed director from Mumbai, popualrly known as Thakur bhai, was invited to direct the movie jointly with Gour Ghose and Parbati Ghose under the pseudonym Siddharth," said Surya Deo, one of the organisers of the screening.

Many artistes were given their first break in cinema through the film. Prominent Odissi dancer Guru Mayadhar Rout turned dance director while legendary danseuse Sanjukta Panigrahi was also seen in the film. Devdas Chotray, who penned the evergreen songs that still remain popular began his career as lyricist with the film.

"The film had comedian Sanat Mohanty and Parbati Ghose's brothers Sudhanshu Naik, Subhash Naik and Swarup Naik playing stellar roles," Deo said.

Actress Manimala was also seen in a prominent role. Such was the film's popularity at that time that the leads Gour and Parbati came to be known as Sunanda and Nandika after their on-screen characters even off-screen.

Bhubaneswar Mishra composed the film's music, while the playback team included some of the biggest names of the erstwhile playback industry such as Sandhya Mukherjee, Nirmala Mishra, Raghunath Panigrahi, Akshaya Mohanty and Pranab Patnaik.

With television channels choosing not to screen classic films as old as Kaa anymore, young film lovers, who do not get any other scope to watch them, are looking forward to the screening.

"I have heard so much about the star couple of Odia films - Parbati and Gour Ghose. It would be a wonderful opportunity to get to see their work," said young short film-maker Sabyasachi Jana.