The story of portrait artist Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia, who cycled from India to Sweden in the late 1970s to meet the woman he loved, is soon going to be the subject of a film, reported The Tribune.The film will be scripted and co-produced by Mahanandia’s children.
Kumar, born into a poor Dalit family in a village in Odisha, made a name for himself as a portrait artist in Delhi after a long period of struggle. “Charlotte heard about Pradyumna Kumar and drove all the way from Sweden to have her portrait drawn,” the publication said. “They both fell in love and got married according to tribal traditions. But soon it was time for Charlotte to leave and Kumar decided to stay back and join her later once he was able to establish himself.”
After writing letters to each other for about a year, Kumar decided to go to Sweden but did not have the money to buy flight tickets. He sold his belongings, purchased a bicycle and pedalled through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey for five months to reach Europe, The Tribune said. The couple got officially married in Sweden.
“A lot of producers—both and Hollywood and Europe—have evinced interest in a film on my parents,” Emelie Mahanandia Von Schedvin, Kumar’s daughter, said. However, she and her brother Siddhartha have decided not to sell the rights of the story to anyone. The name of the director is yet to be announced.