Young director making waves

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Bhubaneswar, August 9: Bhubaneswar-based Sattwik Mohanty, aged 32, is all set to mark his debut as a director and scriptwriter in the upcoming Hindi movie Ranchi Diaries. Scheduled to release October 6, the film’s teaser and first poster were released recently to huge appreciation from the who’swho of the Hindi film industry. The film, starring Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Soundarya Sharma, Himansh Kohli and Taaha, is about a young aspiring actress and model and her Godfather, who can do whatever it takes to make it big in life. It took just one year to complete the movie and the shooting was done in Ranchi. Sattwik, who moved to Mumbai 10 years ago, was lucky to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Nagesh Kukunoor and Anurag Kashyap among others. He has been into commercial advertisements with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. As a creative person, however, Sattwik always wanted to establish his own distinct identity. Sharing his thoughts about how he developed an interest in film-making, the director said: “I had never planned I would direct movies one day, but I was always interested in animation and comics. During schooldays I was popular for my comic roles. I was also a good storyteller, which creative trait I derived from my maternal grandfather, Kunja Bihari Mohanty, who was involved in the construction of Atharanala Bridge. He was also a good storyteller and used to narrate interesting experiences which would give us a feeling of an Indiana Jones movie.” “I have not seen many movies but art throbbed in our family; initially my family wanted me to join an engineering college or choose other respectable pur
suits like medical, MBA or law. I was almost about to take admission in an engineering college, but my parents were very caring and encouraged me to pursue my dreams,” he said. After completing school, Sattwik wanted to learn automobile designing, but lack of proper information forced him to join an animation institute in Hyderabad. “After completing my course in animation, I shifted to Mumbai and joined Tata Elexi Limited. I was happy doing animation, but I realised that animation is just a part, and story and screenplay are the most important part of a movie. Technicalities come later. I got an opportunity to work in the first animation film in India for which I really worked hard but the response at the theatre broke my heart. Ultimately, I realised that the director and writer are the people who decide the fate of a film.” Sattwik, who has worked with senior directors, started penning scripts during his leisure hours, and the story of Ranchi Diaries is an outcome of his creative endeavours. Dwelling on Ranchi Dairies, he said: “After completing the script, I wanted to make the film,
so I approached various people in the industry and it was a really difficult phase. But then I approached Kher sir, and the rest is history.” “It is a small town story and people residing in small towns can relate directly with it,” he added. Asked about his experience of working with Anupum Kher, Sattwik said: “Anupum Kher is very approachable. He is a down to earth person and does not have the feeling that he is one of the best actors in the industry. He is highly professional. After reading the script he called me to say that the script was good and that we should make the film. He even agreed to produce it.” During the shooting of the movie, he would ask us what needed to be done. He completely surrendered himself to a new director and allowed me to do things in my own way. Maybe that is the reason I could work so well for this film, the director added. Dwelling on his future plans, the young director said: “I have written many stories and I want to make more films. I am planning to start my own production house to be named Phoenix Film Factory.”