New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: ‘Pushkara’ was conferred with the ‘Best Odia Film’ honour for 2023 at the 71st National Film Awards ceremony hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday.
OTV Network’s business head Litisha Mangat Panda received the award from President Droupadi Murmu for the Tarang Cine Productions’ film, which was a directorial debut of ace cinematographer Subhranshu Das.
Starring Sabyasachi Mishra and Supriya, the film is based on writer Shankar Tripathy’s Odia novel ‘Nadabindu’. It is a love story, which explores the journey of Neelakantha and evolves from a post-death ritual Pushkara.
Odisha-based cinematographer Prasantanu Mohapatra received the Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal) for Best Cinematography for his work in ‘The Kerala Story’, a highly discussed and controversial Hindi film of 2023, at the grand ceremony.
Another Odia film, ‘Mo Bou, Mo Gaan’, directed by Subash Sahoo, was awarded in the category of ‘Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film’. It shared the award with an English language film.
Likewise, award-winning director Himansu Sekhar Khatua received a Special Mention for his ‘The Sea and Seven Villages’ in the non-feature films section. The documentary delves deep into the harrowing experiences of the Satavaya villages that were swept away by sea erosion.