BHUBANESWAR: Odia filmmakers Soumendra Padhi and Sabyasachi Mohapatra have been selected for the prestigious National Film Awards.
Announcing the list of awardees for 2015, Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in New Delhi on Monday said Padhi has been nominated for Best Children’s Film (National) and Mohapatra for Best feature film in Odia language for 63rd edition of the award.
Mohapatra’s film ‘Pahada Ra Luha’ chronicles 25 years of life of innocent tribals of Odisha in the backdrop of political transformations and Maoist insurgency. Mumbai-based Padhi’s ‘Duronto’ portrays the story of Budhia, world’s youngest marathon runner, who made headlines in 2006 by running from Bhubaneswar to Puri at a tender age of four in seven hours and two minutes.
While Padhi will get ‘Swarna Kamal’ and cash award of `1.5 lakh, Mohapatra would receive ‘Rajat Kamal’ and cash prize of `one lakh.
Padhi said his film deals with the phase of Budhia’s life when he met his coach Biranchi Das, his rise as a child prodigy and his subsequent downfall. Child actor Mayur essays Budhia’s role while Tillotama Shome plays the boy’s mother Sukanti Singh. A major portion of the movie has been shot in Bhubaneswar, Padhi said and added that during initial filming, the cast of ‘Duronto’ used to get confused between Mayur and Budhia as both of them look similar. “I am very happy for the award. Duronto has been made with an honest intention of showing Budhia’s story to the world,” he said.
An elated Manoj Bajpai, who plays the role of Biranchi Das, said he is eagerly waiting for the film’s release this year to know people’s response to the story.
Similarly, Mohapatra was excited for being chosen for the award. This will be his second National Film Award in the Best Odia Film category. Last year, he had bagged the coveted award for his film ‘Aadim Vichar’ which is based on a 100-year-old story penned by Mohapatra’s father Kapileswar Prasad.
“Aadim Vichar was based on tribal culture and ‘Pahada Ra Luha’ also revolves around the same issue. I had started working on the story of ‘Pahada Ra Luha’ 25 years back and even today, the plight of tribals has not changed much. They are still forced to put up with Maoism and urbanisation and in the process, they are losing out on their land and traditions,” he said. “Pahada Ra Luha” is slated to hit the theatres next month.
In the non-feature film category, Bhubaneswar-based independent filmmaker, Amartya Bhattacharya’s documentary ‘Benaras - The Unexplored Attachments’ has been chosen for Best Cinematography. The Awards will be presented at New Delhi on May 3.