Are camps good for Ollywood?

When Anubhav Mohanty invited the whole of the Odia film industry to feature in his Ollywood version of the Om Shanti Om song, TOI was surprised to notice an absence of Archita Sahu, Sabyasachi Mishra, Arindam Roy and Babusaan from the shooting.
Interestingly, when asked about this, Anubhav told us that those actors were not even on his list of invitees! Moreover, apart from doing back-to-back films like Nei Ja Re Megha Mote, Deewana, Ama Bhitare Kichi Achi, Suna Chadhei Mo Rupa Chadhei, Kie Se Dakuchi Kouthi Mote, Balunga Toka, Something...Something and Matric Fail with Varsha Priyadarshini, Anubhav also had preferred to work under Sudhakar Vasanth’s direction and with a particular team of technicians in his recent movies.His choice has led to a speculation that like Bollywood, Ollywood too has its own campside story. Bhubaneswar Times tries to find out the truth that lies hidden in the industry corridors.
When asked about whether camps exist in the Odisha film industry, veteran director Basant Sahu says, “Earlier, there were many camps in the Odisha film industry. The camps were there as some directors liked to work with like-minded people. But, that didn’t mean the artistes were confined to any particular camp. They were free to work with other people as well. But these days the scenario is a bit different as the artistes associated to a particular camp hardly show interest in other directors. I think, this is a very unhealthy practice.”
“Moreover, unlike earlier times, now the Odia actors have started having camps. They have their own director, cameraman and music director to work with. In my opinion, no artiste should confine himself/herself to a particular camp. For better work, they should do movies with different people. Otherwise, new talents will not get a fair chance in the industry,” he adds.
However, director SK Murlidharan doesn’t agree with him. He insists that a camp actually helps to make a good movie as all the technicians and actors in the project are generally acquainted with each others’ working styles and thereby puts the director at ease. The director finds it easier to explain the demands of the script to those who are tuned to his thoughts. “A camp is where all the like-minded people work and it’s there in almost every film industry in India. I believe, if there are people in your group with whom you can work comfortably, the end product will obviously be good. I find it better to work with people who understand what exactly I want. If I go for some new technicians or cameramen for my film, it will take time for me to make them understand my exact requirements. So, forming a camp is for the betterment of our industry,” says Muralidharan.
He also adds, “But when I come across somebody who, I feel, does better work than the people I have in my camp, I have no other option but to break the monotony and choose the best in the field. I don’t think there’s any harm in doing that,” he adds.
Meanwhile, actor Akash Das Nayak denies the presence of any such camps in the industry and claims that he is free to work with everybody. “As per my knowledge, our industry doesn’t have any camps like Bollywood. There may be some directors or producers who tend to work with their preferred group of professionals, but I don’t belong to such groups. Camps usually generate rivalry. There may be a bit of politics among some directors or producers, but I’m happy to say that there is hardly any rivalry among us actors. So, associating with any particular camp is not good for us,” believes Akash.
Actor Samaresh Routray also shares the same opinion regarding this topic. Though he doesn’t deny the presence of camps in Ollywood, he believes that it’s harmful for any actor’s career if he gets tagged in a particular camp. “Last year I did four films with director Ashok Pati and people in our industry started saying that I belong to his camp. After that I did two movies with director Susant Mani and tongues started wagging that I switched my loyalty from Ashok to Susant. These rumours are simply ridiculous!” exclaimed Samaresh.
Things get more interesting when Susant Mani’s confessions completely contradicts with Samaresh’s claim. The director openly agrees that he has his own camp and Samaresh is actually in it! “I have a camp that includes some dedicated and reputed artistes and technicians from the industry. I have Babusan (actor), Archita (actor), Samaresh (actor), Abhiram Mishra (cinematographer), Birenjyoti Mohanty (editor), Bapu Goswami (dialogue writer) and many more in my camp. They all are very close to me and we always work together to make different kind of films that can bring the educated and elite Odia audience back in the theatre.”
His declaration might clear all controversies regarding whether there are any camps in Ollywood or not. Director Chakradhar Sahu also doesn’t deny the existence of camps. “I won’t deny that I generally prefer to work with people who passed out from Film and Television Institute of India (FTI), as they are very talented and professional. I feel comfortable working with them. So, you can say that I have a camp of FTII graduates,” says Chakradhar.
While people from the Odia film industry may or may not agree to belonging to a particular camp, but the existence of any camps in Ollywood can’t be denied.
The Anubhav Mohanty Camp Actors: Barsha Priyadarshini, Akansha (the newbee who has rumoured to have been replaced Varsha), Ilu Banerjee, Salil Mitra and Satyaki Mishra Director: Sudhakar Vasanth Makeup person: Sanjay Behera (Pintu) Costume designer: Subas Music director: Abhijit Majumdar Scriptwriter: Ranjit pattnaik Cameraman: Ramesh Editor: Chandra Sekhar Mishra
The Susant Mani Camp Actors: Samaresh, Babusan and Archita Scriptwriter: Bapu Goswami Cameraman: Abhiram Mishra Editors: Birenjyoti Mohanty, Sukumar Mani Makeup person: Khirod Panda Costume designer: Neha Gupta (Mumbai) Music director: Anbu Selbom
The Basant Sahu Camp Actors: Various Cameraman: Abhiram Mishra, Makeup person: Khirod Panda Music director: Swaroop Nayak Editors: Ashok Sharma and Rajesh Dash Costume: Yogi Sena Scriptwriters: Ranjit Patnaik, Bijay Mishra and Pradipta Nanda