Mumbai/Bhubaneswar: Odia film ‘Bou Buttu Bhuta’ emerged as a major winner at the inaugural Indian National Cine Academy (INCA) Awards, sweeping the top honours in the Odia language category.
The film secured Best Film (Odia), while its lead star Babushaan Mohanty took home Best Actor (Odia) for his compelling portrayal of a possessed son, and co-star Archita Sahu won Best Actress (Odia).
In his acceptance speech, Babushaan expressed deep gratitude to the people of Odisha. “I am grateful to the people of Odisha for believing in me, helping me push by boundaries and making me a finer artiste day by day. I feel blessed to receive the award,” he shared, thanking those who have helped him grow as an artist and the inspiring personalities present at the ceremony.
His wife, Trupti Satapathy, the film’s debutant producer under Babushaan Films, was visibly emotional upon winning Best Film. “This is my first award,” she said, reflecting on her journey from being a mathematics teacher to producing a blockbuster.
Archita Sahu, a new mother, delivered her speech in a mix of Hindi and Odia, stating, “I am proud to be representing the Odia film industry here.”
Directed by Jagdish Mishra, with story and screenplay by Mohammad Imran and dialogues by Pranab Prasanna Rath, the horror-comedy thriller stars Babushaan Mohanty as a fish farmer, alongside Archita Sahu, Aparajita Mohanty, and others. Released on June 12, 2025, it became one of Ollywood’s biggest commercial successes, grossing over Rs 17 crore and ranking among the top 10 Indian films of 2025. It marked a new benchmark as one of the first Odia films to cross Rs 10 crore at the box office.
Adding to its momentum, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions acquired the remake rights for Hindi and other Indian and international languages last year, signalling the story’s pan-India appeal.
Acclaimed filmmaker Sabyasachi Mohapatra and Kumar C Dev Mohapatra won the Best Director award for Ananta in the same category.
The star-studded event, held on April 15-16, 2026, in Mumbai, celebrated excellence across 12 Indian film industries, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Punjabi, Assamese, Gujarati, and Odia. Hosted by Bollywood’s Karan Johar and Telugu star Rana Daggubati, it was organised under the aegis of the Producers Guild of India as chief patron, with Kalyan Jewellers as the sponsor. The awards aimed to foster unity and recognise films released in 2025 through a peer-driven, audited voting process.
