Although the production was scheduled only for four days, Varman went on to shoot for almost 15 days. “I can’t discover and document the entire state in just four days. I am the director, cinematographer and co-producer; so with more than 12 cameras, we explored different places every day, rehearsed the shots and filmed them.” Since he had already visited the state a few times and had shot several other clips, it was easier to film the anthem. “Luckily, I shot interesting activities like the Odisha Hockey games back in 2018 and was able to use those as well. You can’t discover a place in a single visit. Only when you explore the state multiple times, you can find its culture and treasures.”
The lyrics in the music video are from the Odisha anthem ‘Bande Utkala Janani’, written by the late Odia poet and freedom fighter, Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra. “Those lyrics were our first choice. It was written by a classic poet and is very patriotic. I wanted to use that and talk about the state’s tourism. In general, we don’t want to tell the story, we want the lyrics to do that. In this video too, the lyrics drive the narrative.”