Odia filmmaker Ghanashyam Mohapatra to be honored with Jaydev Award
Veteran filmmaker Ghanashyam Mohapatra will be honored with the prestigious Jaydev Award for the year 2019 for his lifetime contribution to the Odia film industry. Odisha Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi had made the announcement on Friday. According to reports, the award will include prize money of Rs. 2 lakh and a certificate of honor. Here's more on the Dhenkanal-born filmmaker.
Mohapatra initially started making meaningful documentaries
The 1933 born filmmaker started his career working as an assistant director at Filmistan Studio in Mumbai after completing a course in cinematography in Bengaluru. He had worked on more than 20 films with that studio. Later, he made several meaningful films based on health and nutrition in women and children. He initially made only documentaries and then he moved on to making features.
Filmmaker mortgaged his land to finance his first feature 'Kanaklata'
Maa & Shisu was his first documentary film that had won the Best Documentary Award in 1975 from the government of Odisha. He ventured into making feature films in 1974 starting with the movie Kanaklata. However, not being able to find any producers for the film, the passionate filmmaker mortgaged his land in Cuttack to apply for a bank loan to finance the project.
Filmmaker Nilamadhab Panda to receive the Best Director Award
Notably, Kanaklata was the first Odia feature film to be selected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York for participating in the Festival of India films. Similarly, filmmaker Nilamadhab Panda has also been selected to receive the Best Director Award for the film Kalira Atita. This film has also won the Best Film Award.
Saroj Parida bags Best Actor, Kavya Kiran bags Best Actress
Saroj Parida, who made a mark with the 2016 released film Mimansa directed by Chakradhara Sahoo, will get the Best Actor Award for his performance in the movie Khusi, while Kavya Kiran will bag the Best Actress Award for the same flick. Kalinga Keshari Nayak won the Best Art Director Award while Chandrashekhar Sharma bagged the Best Sound Recordist.
