Odisha: Anupam Patnaik’s ‘Pratikshya’ Wins National Award For Best Feature Film In Odia

Bhubaneswar: Pratikshya, which highlights the dynamics of a father-son relationship, has won National Film Award 2023 for Best Feature Film in Odia.

The winners of the 69th National Film Awards were announced at 5 pm on Thursday.

Directed by Anupam Patnaik, the son of eminent Odia producer and director late Amiya Patnaik, ‘Pratikshya’ has been inspired by a short story written by Sarala Puraskar-winning author Gaurahari Das and some true incidents. The feature film was shot at real locations in Bhubaneswar under the Amiya Patnaik Productions banner. It stars Dipanwit Dashmohapatra, Choudhury Jayprakash Das, Barsha Patnaik, Sreela Tripathy, Roopambika Nayak, Susil Mishra, Abakash Mishra and Sidhant Mohapatra in a special appearance.

The film was released on December 2 last year with an overwhelming response from the audience for advance ticket booking as well as houseful shows in the theatres on the first day.

Earlier in November 2022, ‘Pratikshya’ had bagged best story award in the 11th Annual DC South Asian Film Festival held in Washington DC, USA. Actor-director Anupam Kher had also announced the remake of the film in Hindi at the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI)-2022 in Goa.

Around around 75 Odias and seven to eight Irish guests recently attended the screening of the film with English subtitles at the Scientology Community Centre at Dublin.

The film narrates the story of Sanjay, a boy from a middle class family, on the lookout for a government job. His father, Bipin, is insistent that he find a job, as the family has debts, and he is also diagnosed with a terminal illness. Sanjay then learns about the government’s scheme of compassionate appointment where a family member gets the job of the deceased government employee, and waits for his father’s death.