My main aim is always to bring Odia cinema to center of attention: Manoj Mishra
Actor and producer Manoj Mishra, best known for his work in the Odia industries with movies like Samapaju Ra Raghu, Tumaku Paruni ta Bhuli, Ashok Samrat, and Bhaunri, Abhay among others, is a happy man right now. His movie Mindgame, which was struck in the loop for a long time, was finally released in cinema halls across the state. It has meanwhile received an overwhelming response from the critics and audiences.
In the movie, based on the Patnagarh parcel bomb case, Manoj played the character of Rituraj, the man behind the blast. In the movie, Bollywood actor Atul Kulkarni also played the crucial role of the officer who caught the mastermind of the blast.
Taking to Odia Celebrity, Manoj said, “After a lot of struggle, the movie Mindgame was finally released, and I am more happy because people like this.”
About the journey of the movie, Manoj said, “From the beginning, I always wanted to make an Odia movie which is not only liked by Odia people but also by people from across the country. This movie is one such film that has actors from different regions working together. This includes Bollywood actors Atul Kulkarni Yashpal; Sharma, Rajesh Touchriver, the south director and also actors from Odisha.”
About bringing Atul Kulkarni for the role of the main IPS officer, he said, “The director of the movie Rajesh Touchriver gave me briefing that he needed an actor who is not from Odisha but had to speak Odia. So as I knew Atul from NSD, I approached him. He immediately agreed. He also did justice to the role of Crime Branch ADG Arun Bothra, who was involved in the actual blast case and on whom Atul’s character is based.”
About his role in the movie and how different it is from his other roles, Manoj said, “In other roles, I had to be dramatic, but in this role, which is very realistic, I thought about it mentally and had to internalize it and also watched all the news clipping of the incident” he said
About the delay of the movie release, which was completed in 2018 and had travelled to several film festivals, Manoj said, “Even now, some people are still trying to damage the movie by writing negatively on different platforms, but I know that this movie is relevant. I will try to screen it across the state and to as many people of the state.”
About acting in based incident movies and challenges, Manoj said, “The main challenge is that people have assumptions and ideas about the incident or person. So sometimes they felt the role and acting is not up to the mark.”
Regarding the Odia industry, Manoj said that there is still a lot to improve in the industry. “We need to be practical and must try not to copy and must make content oriented movie.”
Manoj recently worked in a web series also, such as Anthony in Aao NXT. About OTT platform influence, Manoj said that the experience of cinema hall can’t be replaced.
Manoj will be seen next in a Hindi movie, Prachand, directed by Sushant Panda, which also stars Pitobash and Prakruti Mishra.
About the future, Manoj said that his main aim is to bring Odia cinema to center of attention among other states of the country, and he would continue to do that.