BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday inaugurated the revamped and modernised Kalinga Studio, which has been equipped with modern facilities to meet the changing needs of the Odia film industry.
The chief minister also launched a dedicated archive and museum at the studio for preserving Odisha’s cinematic heritage, including old films, posters, photographs and historical documents.
Speaking at the inauguration, Majhi said Odia filmmakers will no longer need to go to other states for technical and post-production work as the renovated studio has been equipped with several world-class facilities. More advanced facilities would be added in the coming days, he said.
The upgraded studio has been developed as a self-contained ecosystem with indoor shooting floors, a snow house, chroma floor, tech zone, sound recording and dubbing facilities, besides editing and post-production infrastructure.
Recalling the history of Odia cinema, Majhi said films such as Maa, Amadabat and Matira Manisha in the 1950s and 1960s had established a close relationship between cinema and Odia literature. He urged the state’s young filmmakers to draw on original stories, folklore, history and Odisha’s cultural heritage while creating films.
He said the state’s youth were already making their mark in acting, direction, cinematography, animation, sound design and storytelling for digital platforms and Kalinga Studio will provide them a platform to realise their ambitions.
Industries, Skill Development and Technical Education minister Sampad Chandra Swain said the revamped facility has been developed as a modern film studio complex offering facilities ranging from production to post-production. He said the film industry is not merely an entertainment sector but a large economic ecosystem capable of generating huge employment and economic activities.
Majhi also unveiled the new official portal of the Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC) on the occasion.
BJP MLAs Babu Singh, Sidhant Mohapatra and Akash Das Nayak, Industries department additional chief secretary Hemant Sharma and Kalinga Studio managing director Surendra Kumar Panda were present.
