The film is helmed by Odia director Soumendra Padhi who had to visit hundreds of schools and take scores of auditions before zeroing in on Mayur. When asked what led him to select this kid out thousands aspirants, the director quipped he had seen something in Mayur’s eyes and body language apart from the acting skill.
Just to refresh your memory: Budhia was the kid who had shot to fame after running from Bhubaneswar to Puri covering 60 km in just seven hours and two minutes at the age of just four. Born to a poor family in a city slum, Budhia had become a celebrity overnight in 2006 for running marathons at a tender age.
The film, according to the director, depicts different phases of Budhia’s life so far – his rags to riches story, his overnight rise to fame, the blip on his media radar and subsequently his fading out from the public memory.
As the film is based on a strong content with a global appeal, the director has roped in National Award-winning actor Manoj Bajpai to play the role of Biranchi Das, the man who trained the boy for years keeping the child prodigy at his home with an Olympic dream in his eyes.
Apart from Bajpai, the film features a host of theatre actors like Tilottama Shome, who plays Budhia’s mother Sukanti Singh, and Shruti, who plays the role of Das’ wife Gita. The much-awaited film is being produced by Subrat Ray, Gajraj Rao and Subhamitra Sen under the banner of Code Red Films.
Rituraj Mohanty of India’s Raw Star-fame has sung a beautiful song in the film. Now, keep your fingers crossed and wait patiently for the flick to be released.