Anurag Basu interested to shoot in Orissa

Popular Bollywood Director Anurag Basu (Barfi fame) was in Bhubaneswar recently. He attended Xavier Institute of Management’s annual festival. During interaction with media, he shared his views about Odisha.

How do you find Odisha?

I spent my early years in Rourkela. Rangabati was one of my favourite songs, back then. I grew up in Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), which is just a few hundred kilometers away from the Odisha border. Again, Puri is like second home to any Bengali. In fact I have visited lot of places in Odisha like Sambalpur, Kendrapara, Kantabanji, Rourkela etc. Unfortunately, I had fewer chances to visit Bhubaneswar. I also believe that Bengali cuisine finds its roots in Odisha.

How do you see Odisha as a shooting destination?

It’s fantastic. It’s actually untapped and untouched. I am also thinking of writing a script that will require me to shoot in Odisha. It’s high time Bollywood filmmakers should explore shooting locations in Odisha. It will also promote tourism here.