Prominent film historian and critic of Odisha, Surya Deo has lamented the decline of originality in Odia cinema and said this was because it was not based any more on the literature of the state and survives on remakes.
Deo, who was speaking at a memorial lecture on Tuesday, said Odia films and literature were interlinked in the 1960s primarily because writers then like Gopal Chhotray and Bijay Mishra also understood cinema.
“Some of the films which were based on novels or short stories were originally written by Odia authors were critically acclaimed and commercially successful,” Deo said in his Ganeswar Mishra Memorial Lecture held to mark the renowned litterateur’s seventh death anniversary.
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The trend continued in the 1970s. But in the 1980s cinematic adaptation of Odia literature slowly decreased as commercial success became elusive. "Due to commercialisation of Odia films the effect of literature on cinema dwindled. What the audience wishes to see has become very important during the process of adaptation,” Deo, who recently got a national recognition for his work as a film historian, said.
Visualisation of a filmmaker is and has to be inherently different from that of a writer when a film is adapted from literature. “One has to embrace the differences between film and literature because of the different perspectives of the filmmaker and the writer,” he said.
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Speaking about the influence of Odia and Bengali literatures on Odia cinema, Deo stressed on the importance of the elements of culture and tradition of Odisha during adaptation.
Well known translator Jatindra Kumar Nayak underlined the importance of documentation which, he said, creates roadmaps for deeper study and research.
Noted translator and academic Arun Kumar Mohanty said Bijay Mishra had emphasised the humanitarian aspects and in the process created a special place in the peoples' heart because of his simplicity.
Ganeswar Mishra’s 'Srujana Samagra' Part 6, a collection of translated works, was released on the occasion.
