Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Saturday announced an annual award named ‘Sarada Prasanna Gitikabita Samman’ in memory of legendary filmmaker late Sarada Prasanna Nayak who passed away recently.
According to reports, the award will be conferred by Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy with an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh in recognition of Nayak’s immense contributions made to Odia cine industry.
Also read: Renowned Odia film director, lyricist Sarada Prasanna Nayak no more
A special dance tribute was offered by the state Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture in association with Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre and Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy on the occasion of his Ekadasaha ritual.
Notably, Nayak started his film career as an assistant director in the film ‘Bhakta Jayadev’ in 1956 and was honoured with the coveted Jayadev Award in 2013 for his contribution to Odia film industry.
As the first Odia director, he made his debut film ‘Lakshmi’ under the pseudonym Siddhartha. The film lasted for 100 days in theatres. Being inspired by Lakshmi’s success, he made several other films like ‘Kaa’, ‘Stree’ and ‘Sansara’. The Odia filmmaker had directed many movies including his national award-winning film ‘Lakshmi’.
PNN
