Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Thursday announced the winners of the 35th and 36th State Film Awards for 2023 and 2024, recognising achievements across 30 categories each year.
The awards were announced by Odisha’s Minister for Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Suryabanshi Suraj, at Sanskruti Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. The awards presentation ceremony will be held June 26.
Veteran filmmaker Shyamalendu Bhattacharya has been selected for the prestigious Mohan Sundar Dev Goswami Award for lifetime contribution to cinema for 2023, while actress Namrata Das will receive the honour for 2024.
In the Best Film category, Pushkara and My Sweet Housewife jointly won the award for 2023, while Ashram was adjudged Best Film for 2024.
Harihar Mahapatra was named Best Actor for 2023, while Babushaan received the honour for 2024. Naina Dash Tiwari and Supriya Nayak jointly won the Best Actress award for 2023, while Debjani Dehury was selected as Best Actress for 2024.
Peenakee Singh and Sisir Kumar Sahu will jointly receive the Best Director award for 2023. Ashok Pati was named Best Director for 2024.
Congratulating the winners, Suraj said the State Film Awards would continue to encourage the creation of quality Odia films rooted in social relevance and cultural values. He expressed confidence that the awards would contribute to the growth of the Odia film industry.
The winners were selected by a jury committee headed by filmmaker Pranab Das. Senior officials of the Culture Department were present during the announcement.