Dhenkanal: There was a time when villagers used to throng at the village end where a white screen was tied to two bamboo poles on two sides to watch cinema in the evenings.
Films like Shree Jagannath, Bandhu Mohanty, Amada Bata, Matira Manisha and Mathura Bijaya were being screened with the villagers watching the movies attentively.
These films were screened under ‘mobile cinema’ programme of the government. But this programme has been stopped since 1995. The thick layer of dust gathered on the reel canes and projector machine at the district information and public relations office in Dhenkanal explains the sorry state of ‘mobile cinema’ programme.
This programme used to be the best medium for both the central and state governments to make people aware about their various schemes and plans. At the same time it used to be best medium of entertainment for people in villages.
There were some documentaries that used to be played at the beginning and at the intervals of the film shows.
But this ‘mobile cinema’ which established a relationship between villagers and the government for as long as 30 years is dying a slow death. The growing popularity of TV, mobile phones and the government using more of folk art forms to disseminate its messages are said to be the reasons.
The ‘mobile cinema’ was launched in the sixties with an aim to make illiterate and semi-literate people in villages across the state aware of various government schemes and programmes. There is a film unit at the information and public relations department and the employees of this unit used to visit villages to put up cinema shows.
Remembering the golden era of ‘mobile cinema’, Lokanath Das, now in his 60s and a retired employee of district information and public relations department said, “I put up hundreds of cinema shows during the period between 1978 and 1995. Films like ShreeJagannath, Bandhu Mohnaty, Amadabata, Matira Manisha, Mathura Bijaya, Krushna Sudama, Sindura Bindu and Dharitri used to be showed then and people are still wistfully remembering those days.”
“To reach some villages we had to travel in boats as then there were no bridges across rivers Brahmani or Ramial. We used to be given a warm welcome by the villagers. Para Jhia Ghara Bhangena was the last film to be showed under ‘mobile cinema’,” he reminisced.
“If the government infuses life into it by using it for the same purpose of making people aware of its schemes and programmes, the ‘mobile cinema’ can get back its lost sheen,” he added.
“The film show used to be the best medium to reach the government’s messages to people living in rural areas. And it has not lost its importance even today because there are such villages where there are no electricity or mobile connectivity. ‘Mobile cinema’ shows can be restarted to cater to these villagers,” maintained Shatrughan Mati, a theatre director.
Seconding him, Debashis Mishra, a serial director, said, “The films shown under ‘mobile cinema’ are the milestone films in Odia cine world. People used to learn many things from these films. Besides, they used to know about the schemes and programmes of both the central and state governments. If the ‘mobile cinema’ is restarted, it will be highly appreciated by the people.”
PNN
