Odia actor Babushaan Mohanty speaks about his struggles shooting for Daman

The film Daman, written and directed by Vishal Mourya and Debi Prasad Lenka, opened in Odisha last year, on November 4, and was declared tax-free. The film also released in Hindi for a larger audience to know about the struggles of doctors in Odisha to eradicate a deadly disease. 

Daman, based on a true incident, traces the journey of Dr Siddharth Mohanty, played by Babushaan Mohanty, who having just completed his MBBS from a government college in Bhubaneswar, is posted in a remote tribal area in the state’s Malkangiri district. How he spearheads a drive to eradicate malaria in the 151 villages in Janbai PHC in spite of many hurdles, forms a moving tale of the film. We caught the celebrated actor Babushaan Mohanty for a quick chat with us. 

Tell us about the character you played in Daman.

I played a doctor. It's based on a real-life story on Daman, which was a programme by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik to eradicate malaria. The movie is all about the struggles of doctors and how they tried to eliminate the deadly disease from the areas in the state which were completely inaccessible.  

How do you feel that it released in Hindi on the big screens?

It's like a dream come true. I've been working here for the last 15 years, having 51 films in my kitty. But my dream always was to take my state, my film industry and place it on a national level. 

So, any plans to venture into Bollywood?

No, I'm happy here, really happy. I love my state and the industry I am working in, way too much. 

How did you prep for the character you played in Daman?

My director and producer really helped me a lot, along with the entire team. We had a shoot schedule of 18 days. I spoke to the doctors. It was quite difficult for us to work there, the area was in the interiors of Malkangiri, Koraput the weather was also not favourable. But the real-life doctors had struggled so much for the well-being of the locals staying there, that I was touched by the subject. 

What plans for 2023?

I don't have any plans right now, but I'm working on some more projects.