Days after some Odia film producers imposed a two-year ban on actor Manoj Mishra and accused him of orchestrating protests against the movie ‘Ram’ in Sambalpur recently, actor Babushaan appealed artistes to put an end to the matter instead of escalating it.
He observed, “The discord among artistes should not be taken forward and ended immediately. The matter should be sorted out mutually at a personal level. I felt hurt after what I saw on social media.”
He said, “Personally, I respect Manoj Dada and also like him. I know he has been hurt emotionally after the issue. I am also hurt. I personally make apologies to him.”
He further added,"If sentiments linked to Sambalpur have been bruised, I also tender my apologies."
Describing himself and his mother Aparajita Mohanty as Sambalpurias, Babushaan said, "The feelings for Sambalpur can’t be hurt by anybody. Sambalpur is within us and all Odias.”
“Again, I make a humble request to all artistes to not escalate what has happened. I also personally request Manoj Babu to initiate efforts to resolve it. As soon as the issue is sorted out, it will be good for the industry,” Mohanty added.
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A few days ago, some cinema producers held a meeting and discussed about a campaign to boycott movie Ram in Sambalpur. The producers claimed that it was Manoj Mishra who engineered a protest against the movie in Sambalpur as Manoj had some differences of opinion with actor Jitu Mangaraj.
At the meeting actor, Arindam Roy alleged that Jitu Mangaraj had spoken against Manoj Mishra before the media. Protesting this, some people threatened the producers not to allow the release of their films featuring Jitu Manjaraj in cinema halls in Sambalpur or western Odisha as a whole.
Later, Sanjay Nayak, president of the Utkal Cine Chambers of Commerce (UCCC), said that Manoj Mishra was responsible for the protest against Ram film in Sambalpur and all producers decided to not sign Manoj Mishra in their future projects for two years.