Many youngsters from Odisha have brought laurels to the state in beauty pageants, TV reality shows and short filmmaking, among other fields. However, there are few leading actors and actresses in the Hindi film industry from Odisha. To find out why, Orissa POST interacted with a few Mumbai-based Odias who have excelled as technicians or crew members.
“Odia actors Sadhu Meher, Pitobas Tripathy and directors Sisir Mishra and Nilamadhav Panda have earned fame in the Hindi film industry. But it’s true that we don’t have a leading Odia actor in Bollywood,” says cameraman Sitanshu Khamari, who has worked in ‘Fukrey,’ ‘Fukrey Returns,’ ‘Highway,’ ‘Zanjeer,’ ‘Bheja Fry’ and ‘Joggers’ Park’ as an assistant/associate cameraman.
Sitanshu says that although Bollywood respects talented persons irrespective of their origin, he finds that Odia actors face a problem because of their accent. He said, “In the Hindi film industry, you get work on the basis of your talent. If you have talent, nobody can stop you and if you don’t have talent, references will not work beyond a point. We don’t have an Odia actor in the frontline. I think our accent is a problem. People from all the states are treated equally when it comes to assigning work. But North Indians think the Odia accent is close to Bengali. I think this accent issue does not go down well with the directors.”
Sitanshu added, “Some Odias have the right Hindi accent but they are certainly not on par with the north Indians.”
Manoj Mishra from Bolangir is a well-known cam operator in the Hindi film industry. So far, he has worked in a number of blockbusters including ‘R…Rajkumar’ and ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana.’ He does not have a specific explanation for the absence of leading actors from Odisha in Bollywood. “Odias command special respect here. But it is not because they are Odias, it is because of their talent. Of course, we don’t have a lead Odia actor in Hindi films. However, behind the cam, Odias have a huge presence. Name any technical department including audiography, camera, editing, art direction and graphics, and you will find Odia people in the forefront.”
Many present Odia films are copies of South Indian films. Manoj said, “An actor is born when he acts in a realistic film. Like in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,’ Farhan Akhtar researched the life of Milkha Singh to perfect his acting. In films like ‘Sanju’ and ‘Padmavat,’ the audience appreciated the work of Ranveer Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. But what can an actor learn if he is acting in a remake film of some other industry?”
Mumbai-based Odia actor Debtosh Darjee feels an actor has to struggle a lot to get a foothold in Bollywood. “The struggle to get established as an actor in the Hindi film industry is very tough. It is tough for everyone irrespective of your state of origin. It depends entirely on your talent and patience. Of course, family background is a big factor in becoming a top actor in Mumbai, but it is not the only thing. Even Abhishek Bachchan, son of the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, is yet to reach the top, while actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Irrfan Khan have carved a niche for themselves though they do not hail from film families.”
Himanshu Guru, OP
