 |
| Biyot Projna Tripathy |
 |
| Ms. Tripathy, Narayan, and Brian. |
 |
| 'Last Bus to Tata' |
 |
| 'Steel City' |
 |
| Ms, Tripathy with DD, Goa camera crew. |
-Brian Mendonca
I first met Projna when I visited Tatanagar in Jharkhand in 2008. I knew her as a documentary film maker. She used to ask me to do the voiceover (VO) for some of her scripts. She had invited me over for a poetry reading session which went off very well. I had gone there from Delhi.
During the visit I had written 'Steel City' 'Last Bus to Tata,' and 'Tatanagar Station' in Tatanagar, the historical name for Jamshedpur. I stayed at her place and enjoyed her gracious hospitality. Her good friends Devdas Chottray and his wife in Delhi even attended our son Dwayne's christening in Holy Spirit church, Alaknanda, Delhi in 2011.
Imagine my surprise when she called me recently and said she was coming to Goa for the 56th edition of the International Film Festival of India - iffi56 - from 20-28th November. She was coming on the invitation of the National Films Development Corporation (NFDC) as a writer. I quickly shared the news of her impending arrival and whether something could be arranged.
I was delighted when Savio de Noronha, anchor and producer, Doordarshan, India asked me to do an interview with her on the sidelines of iffi56. I set about framing my questions.
In the sylvan environs of the Forest Guest House at Campal, Panjim Goa, Projna spoke about her two recent feature films in Odia, viz. Bideha (2025) and Yogini (2021). On her YouTube channel I had watched Khamzamyodan: A Film on Ladakh (2020) and Mahakumbh: The Spiritual Journey (2022). The former is a tale told by a grandmother and her pain in an unrelenting land. The latter is about the fervour of the festival. Hawamithai (2015) is a story told through the eyes of a girl child. It unravels over a train journey to a village.
 |
| At lunch at Kokum Curry, Panjim. |
Projna has deep respect for the divine and for humanity. It is this vision she tries to project in her films. In Goa she visited temples and churches and felt the energy in both. She is a seeker. She has filmed 40 documentaries. 'This land is one,' she feels. 'It may grow a little or become less a little, but it is there for us all.' Such lofty thoughts humble me. 'We belong to each other,' she said with conviction.
I asked whether her short stories influence her films. She said the seed of the film lay in literature, in the act of writing. She is keen to make a film on Goa. A Goa which goes beyond cliches.
----------------------------
Updated 2/12/25.
Comments