Hands-on training is better than any learning school, says director Sushant Panda

Fifteen years after he landed in Mumbai, filmmaker Sushant Panda has completed his first feature film Prachand

Fifteen years after he landed in Mumbai, filmmaker Sushant Panda has completed his first feature film. Writer-director of short films Ghumbukudu (2020) and W (2018), he feels that period was his learning phase which helped him in directing a film.

Filmmaker Sushant Panda

“For a person coming from Odisha, it’s not easy to make a place in the industry. I don’t have any cinema background, nor have I been to a training institute. So the time I had spent in Mumbai, in different domains, was my learning phase. From my experience, I can say hands-on training – with trial and error – is better than learning in any institution. Then, what matters most is an individual’s vision and talent!” says the director.

On his debut feature film, he says, “My film Prachand, which stars actors Pitobash, Manoj Mishra and Anant Mahadevan, is based on a very unusual but relevant subject. It’s set on prarabdh (past karma responsible for present) philosophy. I chose this offbeat subject as I strongly believe in this. Prarabdh, deeds and destiny define one’s present. I hope it will release later this year.”

The filmmaker is gearing up for his next projects. “I have four scripts ready. My series Uljhanpur ka Hurdang, a comedy, has been announced. We will be shooting it in Jharkhand but there is another film as well, so it’s undecided which will go on the floors first.”