Maya Miriga is Nirad’s gift to Odia cinema

BHUBANESWAR: Filmmaker late Nirad Mohapatra, director of Maya Miriga, had always dreamt of enriching the Odia cinema, said his wife Sabita Mohanty who played an important role in making of the iconic film .

Recalling the struggles of Mohapatra during the session ‘Miya Miriga: The Restoration of a Cultural Treasure’ at Odisha Literary Festival-2024 here on Saturday, Mohanty said the renowned director completed his studies in FTII Pune but didn’t prefer to stay in Mumbai and always had a desire to make Odia films.

“Though he had thought of making Maya Miriga from a very young age, funding was a major obstacle. We also didn’t have a complete written script for the movie,” she said.

Mohanty said Mohapatra had to seek a loan of Rs 4 lakh from the National Film Development Corporation which he repayed gradually. The 1984 production was made with a new cast. “The cast was picked on the basis of real life characters which Mohapatra observed in his surroundings,” she said.