Renowned Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay leela Bhansali and acclaimed production house Warner Bros from Hollywood are planning to make a film on the love story of Odisha-born Pradyumna Kumar (PK) Mahanandia and Swedish Princess Charlotte.
Mahanandia, who fell in love with Princess Charlotte during her tour to India about 35 years ago and married her, had gone to Sweden by his bicycle to meet her.
Talking to the OdishaDiary in New Delhi, Mahanandia said, “Sanjay leela Bhansali and Warner Bros are now planning to make a film on it (the love story). On a recent tour, Bhansali met us and disclosed his plan to make a film on this topic.” He added that Warner Bros officials also are in touch with him to produce the film.
PK Mahanandia was born in 1949 in an Odia weaver family in Kandhapada village of Athmallik sub-division in Dhenkanal district. He did his schooling at the Mahendra High School, Athmallik, and then wanted to join the Visva Bharati in West Bengal to study art. Despite his selection at the art school, it was not possible for him to pay the fee and he had to return home. He later joined the Khallikote Autonomous College, Brahmapur, to study art. Then, he joined the College of Art, Delhi in 1971 to study Fine Arts.
Mahanandia is an expert in making portraits. While studying in Delhi, he shot into fame as portraiture by drawing a portrait of Indira Gandhi. He sought permission from the authorities to sit under holy fountain at Connaught Place and draw portraits.
It was here that he met Charlotte, who was a student in london and had driven all the way to India by a van in 22 days to visit PK, to make a portrait of her. Making of that portrait changed the life of both as they fell in love with each other and married.
While returning to Sweden, Charlotte asked PK to come with her, but he decided that some other day he would go on his own. PK decided to go to Sweden by a bicycle as it is the only way of transportation that doesn’t need fuel to run. So, he sold all his belongings and bought a secondhand cycle to embark on his journey in 1977 to Sweden. Starting from Delhi and passing through Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark, he reached Gothenburg in Sweden on May 28, 1977. Charlotte came from her home town Borås to Gothenburg to claim him as her life’s partner.
From New Delhi, PK on his journey to Sweden had reached Amritsar, where he drew portraits of Europeans, Australians and Americans and earned valuable money. His bicycle broke down many times and he hitchhiked by cars and trucks and after four months and three weeks, he reached Gothenburg on the west side of Sweden.