Monalisa Patsani
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Debutant director Soumendra Padhi has created a ripple in the film industry with his very first movie ‘Duronto’, which got national award for the best children’s film. ‘Duronto’ is based on the life of Budhia Singh, the child prodigy marathoner from Orissa who created a Limca record at the age of 4 covering 65 kilometres in seven hours and two minutes in 2006. The 33-year-old director told Orissa POST why he chose Budhia as the subject for his first movie.
Q: ‘Duronto’, your first film as a director, has won you the national award. How does it feel? Why did you choose Budhia as the subject for this movie?
A: I am overwhelmed. It came as a surprise. The story was good and the coordinated efforts of the crew have brought us this achievement. When I was planning a film, the one thing I had decided was that it would be based on Orissa. When I was looking for story ideas, I thought what could be better than Bhudia’s life, which is full of ups and down. I myself love sports a lot as I was educated in a Sainik School and Budhia is an athlete.
Q: How did you prepare for the event? What kind of research was involved?
A: Lots of material on Budhia was available in print and electronic media. We met all the people who were associated with Budhia. I spoke with the boy, his mother, a doctor and several other people and constructed the story based on these interactions.
Q: Manoj Bajpai plays Budhia’s coach Biranchi Das in the film. What did you find in Manoj that suited the role?
A: I felt Manoj Bajpai was perfect for the role as he resembles Biranchi structure-wise. And he said yes to the role rightaway. It was the first time I was meeting him. He liked the story as he had heard of Bhudia but did not know Biranchi had been murdered. He is a great actor. Working with him in my first film felt awesome. He even took judo lessons for the movie.
Q: Mayur, that is Budhia of ‘Duronto’, closely resembles the boy we have seen in reports. How did you find him?
A: We auditioned many children in Orissa, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, south India and Mumbai and found Mayur during the Pune audition; we did a screen test and found him perfect for the role. He is very talented and suited the role well.
Q: When will the film be released?
A: We have not finalised the release date of ‘Duronto’, but expect to release the film soon. Some finishing touches and a bit of editing is left. We plan to release the film simultaneously in national and international cinemas. Also, we are awaiting a clearance certificate from the CRPF as serving CRPF personnel have appearances in the movie; we are also awaiting permissions from the animal broad as they have raised questions about monkeys appearing in the film. The board thought we had hired these animals but these were just animals native to the spots where we canned the movie.
Q: Are you also helping Budhia Singh in any way?
A: Budhia and family are very close to me and I am regularly in touch with them. We are planning to help him with education. For his coaching we need support of the government. Right now he is 14, and only after completing 18 he would be able to participate in national and international events.
Q: What impact will the movie have on Budhia Singh?
A: Through the movie I have tried to show his glory after meeting Biranchi and his downfall after the death of his coach. The movie is the tale of a gem that lost its shine in the hands of society. I hope the film will help him to get back what he lost.
