Ollywood needs to update itself as per today's audience taste to succeed: Actor Manoj Mishra

A day after Odisha Film & Television Directors' Association lodged a complaint against Manoj Mishra at Cyber police station in Cuttack, the Ollywood actor held a press conference and lambasted the directors on Wednesday.

Accused of passing controversial remarks on movies, the 'Mindgame' actor termed the accusations as baseless and claimed to be the promoter of Odia cinema. 

"Cinema is not my individual business. Enemies of Odisha cinema are my enemies. I will go to any extent to promote good Odia cinema," Manoj Mishra claimed.

"I have always supported good cinemas like Daman, Pratikshya, Karma, Niyati and other good films. I was the one who was first to demand state subsidy for Daman," he added.

He further continued, "I have never made a video on the day of the release of any cinema. Even I did not make any video on the release date of I Love You 2. I only give remarks after the movies are out of theatres. I blast if the movie is not good, but I promote if the film is good and is being appreciated and accepted by the audience."

"Compared to previous days, I'm being offered less price than I used to earn earlier. This proves that movies are not doing well. So, we should update ourselves as per the taste and choice of today's audience. When our youths go to halls to watch cinemas like KGF, RRR, and Baahubali, they will obviously compare it with the quality of content that we produce. So, if Odia producers and Directors want youths to watch their movies in theatres, they should bring such contents and be sound in technicality."

"They are claiming that I should keep quiet as it is the producers who are facing the loss. However, they should understand that if an organisation is in loss, it is the employees whose salary will be reduced. If the producer is in loss, the actors, technicians, spot boy, script writers and everyone will have to bear the loss," he added.

"There is money in cinema. But, these directors are cheating producers and spending Rs 100 instead of Rs 5 (which should be), bringing them loss. So, I will continue to speak because this is not for me, but for our future generation," the actor claimed.

"We either need someone to act like Nawaz (Nawazzudin Siddiqui) or a star like Salman Khan in our industry," Manoj concluded.