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

Sep 29, 2023 03:12 PM IST

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
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.”

Recounting his journey, Panda says: “My native place Titilagarh is culturally very rich and I used to do a lot of theatre there. I had an interest in filmmaking, so I moved to Mumbai in 2009 and worked as assistant director in TV and films. I have also assisted Subhash Kapoor and Boney Kapoor and then started making my own ad films. I independently directed short films which have also gone to film festivals besides Meri Niyaaz Tu (2019) music video with singer Krishna Beuraa. I have completed short films Dheemi Aanch (Paritosh Tripathi and Ketan Singh) and Maalti.”

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.”

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