Joshika Bose: A Fresh Face Ready to Find Her Place in Odia Cinema

Bhubaneswar: At 21, Joshika Bose is standing at the threshold of what could be the most exciting chapter of her young career. With the upcoming Odia feature film Back-Benchers, directed by Tapas Sargharia and produced by Surya Narayan Gouda, Joshika is set to make her debut on the big screen, taking her first significant step towards establishing herself as an actor.

The shoot for Back-Benchers is set to begin soon, and for Joshika, the film represents more than just a debut. It is the beginning of a journey she has been consciously preparing for.

“I see this as the beginning of a journey where I hope to keep learning, challenge myself with diverse characters and build a career through meaningful and memorable work in cinema,” she says.

Unlike someone who has arrived in front of the camera without formal preparation, Joshika has invested considerable time in understanding the craft. She trained in acting at Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares in Mumbai, where she developed a foundation in acting, performance and character work.

She later underwent one-on-one acting training with director Sohail Siddiqui, an experience that helped her explore the finer nuances of performance and understand the demands of working for the camera.

For Joshika, acting has been a gradual evolution rather than a sudden career decision. Her fascination with storytelling and the camera began early in life. What started as an attraction towards the creative world eventually became a deeper desire to tell stories herself and create an identity of her own within cinema.

“As I grew older, that fascination became something much more personal — a desire to build my own identity as an actor and find my own place within the world of cinema,” she says.

Her preparation for a career in the entertainment industry has also taken her behind the camera. Joshika worked as an Assistant Director on a show for Colors, giving her an opportunity to understand filmmaking from a perspective beyond acting. The experience exposed her to the functioning of a professional production and the amount of coordination, discipline and teamwork required to bring a project to the screen.

That experience, she believes, has shaped her approach to acting as well. Working behind the camera helped her understand that cinema is fundamentally a collaborative process, with actors, directors, technicians and numerous other professionals working together towards a common vision.

Before entering feature films, Joshika got her first opportunity to face the camera professionally with the music video Mo Thikana Tu Hin Tu, sung by Humane Sagar and directed by Smruti R. The project gave her valuable on-screen experience and helped her become more comfortable with the camera.
Now, Back-Benchers takes her into an entirely new territory.
The film marks an important transition for the young actress—from training and smaller screen opportunities to the demanding world of feature filmmaking. Working under an established director like Tapas Sargharia also presents an opportunity to learn and grow through the experience of making a full-length film.

For Joshika, however, the debut is not about arriving with a predetermined image. She wants to explore.
“I hope to keep learning, challenge myself with diverse characters and build a career through meaningful and memorable work in cinema,” she says.

At an age when many performers are still discovering their artistic identity, Joshika appears to have a clear idea of the direction she wants to take. She sees acting as a continuous process of learning rather than a destination.

Her journey so far—from formal training in Mumbai to working behind the camera, from a music video to her first feature film—has given her exposure to different facets of filmmaking. The next step will be Back-Benchers, where she will finally get the opportunity to translate that preparation into a full-fledged screen performance.

For Joshika Bose, the road ahead is just beginning. And if her debut is the first page of a much longer story, she is entering it with preparation, curiosity and a clear ambition—to find her own voice and identity in cinema.