Bhubaneswar, Oct 29: Virtual war among Ollywood stars gradually deepened over the boycott of Actor Manoj Mishra from the Utkal Cine Chambers of Commerce(UCCC).
It took a political turn across the state as senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra and OFDC president Kuna Tripathy locked horns on the issue. On the other hand, ace Producer Sridhar Martha has raised questions over the issue and asked the actors and producers to work unitedly for the development of Odia films and culture.
Speaking to the media on the boycott of the Odia film ‘Ram’ in Sambalpur and the subsequent 2-year ban by the producers on actor Manoj Mishra for allegedly engineering it, the Congress leader said it reflected the anti-Western Odisha attitude of the Ollywood producers.
Responding to Mishra’s remark, actor and Chairman of Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC) Satyabrata(Kuna) Tripathy said, “It is an internal matter of our family and we will resolve it amicably.
It is not appropriate for an outsider to add fuel to the controversy. The artists’ association will resolve the matter, Tripathy added.
However, Tripathy appealed to both parties, the Odia film fraternities to discuss the matter and resolve it through amicable discussion.
Meanwhile, a day after actor Babushaan appealed to the warring actors including Anubhav Mohanty, Jitua Mangaraj and Manoj and Utkal Cine Chambers of Commerce (UCCC) to resolve the issues among themselves.
Reacting sharply to the 2-year ban on him by UCCC, Manoj told the media that the film industry belongs to the entire Odisha and no individual producer can ban him from working in Odia films. Manoj accused producer Tutu Nayak of being the man behind the whole conspiracy. “Producer Tutu Nayak has told the media that I have been banned. Who is he to ban me? I am saying that I have banned Tutu Nayak. I won’t act in his films in the future,” he said.
Stating that he had not received any letter regarding the ban on him, the actor said, “The film industry is not confined to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. It belongs to the entire Odisha. As an Odia, I will continue to work in the industry,” Mishra vowed.
