Khyanikaa – The Lost Idea, directed by Amartya Bhattacharyya, only odia film that has been officially selected into the coveted Indian Panorama section of the prestigious 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from 20th to 28th November 2017. The film has been produced by Swastik Choudhury under the independent banner – Swastik Arthouse. It is the same team which had earlier made the critically acclaimed Odia feature film ‘Capital I’ in 2014.
‘Khyanikaa – The Lost Idea is the ONLY ODIA FILM this year at the Indian Panorama section. The film had earlier garnered critical appreciations from festivals in Russia, Canada, UK and the US.
It is really important to note that a film which has been shot with a DSLR camera and without any industry resources, marketing budget, lab or technicians has now made its presence felt at Asia’s oldest film festival. Definitely it is a matter of great pride for Odisha.
The filmmakers have always stressed that a film begins with an Idea and this call for Indian Panorama in itself is re-establishing the fact that their Idea (style) of filmmaking is not yet Lost.
About the Film
The film is a fantasy driven tale of two men, a poet and a painter, claiming possession over the same Idea, in a rural village portrayed as a wonderland. Idea is personified as a beautiful young lady, free of all bondage.The two men try to justify their claim over their Idea through their forms of art.
Unable to settle the conflict, the two men approach ‘Fate’, personified as a big fat man of authority, to judge their claims. They soon realize that Idea is no one’s possession and it isn’t wise to rely on ‘Fate’ for a judgement. They decide to bury their ‘Fate’and settle the matter in peace. Idea, portrayed as a free spirit, gets impressed by a kid who resides in an alternate world of fantasy and decides to venture into the new creative world.The real world, with all its materialistic obsessions, rigid notions, and prejudices, loses the Idea forever.
Acclaimed filmmaker Susant Misra and Swastik Choudhury play the lead roles as the aspiring painter and poet while Amrita Chowdhury essays Idea. Acclaimed actor Choudhury Bikash Das plays a madman, while Hrushikesh Bhoi (Kansha in Dhanuyatra) plays the ‘Fate’. Anu Choudhury appears in a guest performance. It also involves some native villagers in its cast, who were trained to act on the location itself. The background score has been composed by Kisaloy Roy.
The film has been entirely shot in some of the unique locales available in and around of Bhubaneswar and Puri.