First look of Odia film ‘Baghuni’ unveiled at 78th Cannes Film Festival

Cannes (France): Odia feature film Baghuni (Dance Like a Tiger) has been officially unveiled at the ongoing 78^th Cannes Film Festival, France. This marks a significant cultural milestone, as Baghuni becomes the first-ever international co-production of its kind from Odisha to be announced at the prestigious global platform.

As part of the official program of the Bharat Pavilion at Cannes International Film Festival, hosted by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, the first-look motion poster of the film was released on Wednesday in the presence of numerous national and international film industry leaders, celebrities, and dignitaries, including the director-producer of the film Jitendra Mishra and producer Partha Panda, internationally acclaimed filmmaker and festival Director of International Film Festival of India, Shekhar Kapur, National award winning filmmaker Rima Das, Sreerag M, OSD (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, Gautam Bhanot GM - Film Promotions and International Participation, NFDC, Vineeta Mishra, Head of Programming, NFDC FilmBazaar, among others.

Written & directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jitendra Mishra, the film is a co-production among National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Glocal Films UK Limited (founded by Odisha-born, London-based producer Partha Panda), and Jitendra Mishra’s Cinema4Good Pvt. Ltd.

The film features the superstar of Ollywood, Sabyasachi Mishra as lead actor, and boasts a crew that includes multiple national award-winning industry professionals. The other prominent faces include: Subash Sahoo as sound designer, Sukant Panigrahy as production designer, and Prem Anand as the music director. The script is written by national award winning filmmaker Shankhajeet De, Dr. Sulagna Mohany and Utpal Borpujari whereas dialogue has been written by acclaimed filmmaker Susanta Mani.

The film is set to be shot entirely at various locations across Odisha and London during the months of September and October this year. The multilingual film will be produced in Odia, Sambalpuri, Koshli, and Hindi.

The filmmakers stated, “This is an inspiring story of resilience and unstoppable courage. Through this project, we aim to showcase Odisha’s rich art, culture, and heritage values on a global stage. It is also a sincere effort to create international opportunities for local stories and talent. We are proud to have collaborated with the prestigious National Film Development Corporation for our dream project”

Prakash Magdum, MD, NFDC said: “At NFDC, we are proud to support Baghuni, a path-breaking Indo-UK co-production that powerfully amplifies the voice of regional cinema from Odisha. The film reflects the richness of India’s diverse storytelling and its growing resonance on the global stage. This collaboration highlights our continued commitment to promoting cultural heritage, supporting unique narratives, and creating meaningful international opportunities for Indian talent.”

Founder of Cinema4Good Jitendra Mishra was associated with the production, distribution and promotion of more than 50 national and international films in different categories. The Last Color, Buried Seeds, Desires of the Heart, Human Oak, I am Kalam, Barefoot Empress are a few recent films among others.