Filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda next production, Bishwa, see him return to the subject of children, albeit as a producer. The film, which features an ensemble cast that includes Vinay Pathak, Sharib Hashmi, Usha Jadhav and Yagya Bhasin, will also mark the directorial debut of his long-time associate director Anuj Tyagi.
Hashmi shared the first poster of the film on social media on Wednesday, writing, "Presenting the poster of my next feature film #Bishwa currently competing at 4 international film festivals in #spain #mexico #chile and #ukraine Need lottts of wishes. Excitedddd Main Aidda (sic)."
Bishwa is based on the life of a blind boy and how he emerges as the hero of a village near the mesmerizing Chilika lake.
Panda's last children's film was Halkaa (2018).
Bishwa was shot in Odisha just before the lockdown started. The film is all set to open the prestigious Buster Film Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark and the DYTIATO children's film festival in Ukraine.
Speaking about the project, the National award-winning director-producer said, "India is a country with a 28.6% child population, and yet we have very few films that are children-centric or talk about their issues."
He added, "Cinema on children's issues has always been the most important part of my career as I started with I Am Kalam (2011), then Jalpari (2012) and then Halkaa (2018). Bishwa is a tale of a young boy who cannot see, whereas the rest of the world can. His father believes he is cursed with a disabled boy. But Bishwa is never ready to accept this thought and gets agitated when people feel he is disabled. He is determined to prove the idea of vision, that you may not have two eyes, does not mean you are abnormal, and you still can do everything that others can do. He resolves the villagers' biggest fear which others could not. You must come to the theatre to see what it was that he resolved."