Fun and frolic spells films for the fair sex

BHUBANESWAR: It's that time of the year again when most Oriya film producers scramble to get their screen ventures ready for release. Raja, the annual agrarian festival of the state slated to begin from Tuesday, is regarded as the Oriya film industry's most important money-making season. People all over the state, especially women, are in the mood for revelry during the three days of the festival.Traditionally, women do not do any housework or field labour for three days; they dress up in new clothes and play on swings all day long. It's time for unadulterated fun and, in this movie-crazy state, fun is incomplete without a visit or two to the neighbourhood theatre.
This year on Raja, three new movies 143-I Love You', Kiese Dakuchhi Kauthi Mote' and Baisi Pahache Kheliba Mina' are all set to send the box office registers rolling. The movies belong to different genres; while 143-I Love You' is a love story-cum-family drama, Kiese Dakuchhi Kauthi Mote' is a romantic musical and Baisi Pahache Kheliba Mina' a mythology-cum-science drama.
Oriya girls are keeping on the releases and have already made plans to catch as many movies as they can during these three days. "The Raja festival spells unbound fun and frolic for girls. We do not do any work at all and simply spend time dressing up and enjoying ourselves with friends. Going to the movies is a must during the festival. All the three films to be released this week seem interesting. We plan to watch at least one or two films although we have not yet decided which ones yet," said Rimjhim Sarangi, a college student.
Never the ones to miss an opportunity to rake in the moolah, film producers and directors are busy in publicity campaigns and music-launch events, all geared towards attracting people to the cinema halls. Sanjay Nayak of Brajaraj Movies said, "Like all our productions 143-I Love You' is also a complete entertainment package. The music of the film is its special attraction." The lead actors of the film are Babusan, whose love interest is played by Koyal, and Siddhant, paired with Namrata. The film is directed by Ashok Pati and the music is by Guduli Rath. It has already been released at two halls in Jajpur Road and Baripada on Monday.
Kiese Dakuchhi Keunthi Mote' is the debut venture of Manjari Movies, featuring the hit Ollywood pair of Anubhav and Barsha. The film is an out-and-out musical romance directed by choreographer-turned-director Sudhakar Basant. The story and music direction of the film is done by Malay Mishra.
Giving tough competition to these two love stories is Baisi Pahache Kheliba Mina', a Subham Satabdi Films' production. With a storyline based on astronomical predictions, the film is high on graphics and animation, which is quite new in Ollywood. "Since we are touching a religious chord with the predictions of Malika', we are positive the film will be appreciated by the Oriya audience. Moreover, the story is completely original, which is a welcome change from the transcripts of Telugu, Hindi and Bengali stories that the audiences are fed up with," said director Sanjay Nayak. While Punam and Lalit, two new actors, are making their debut in Baisi Pahache Kheliba Mina', Dismant and Priya have a special appearance.