Bhubaneswar: Akshay Parija Productions’ period drama Paika Bidroha has won the Special Jury Award at the prestigious 9th Mumbai International Short Film Festival 2020. Known as the first war of independence in the Indian sub-continent, Paika Bidroha was an armed rebellion against the British East India Company’s rule in 1817, much before the ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ of 1857.
This film stars NSDians Manoj Mishra as ‘Jayee Rajguru’ and Samaresh Routray as the legendary ‘Buxi Jagabandhu’. The Paikas were alienated by the British regiment which took over the hereditary rent-free lands granted to them after the conquest of Khurda. They were also subjected to extortion and oppression at the hands of the company and its servants that resulted in a bloody revolution.
Nischay Rout and Anuj Tyagi have directed the film while Haraprasad Das has penned the story, screenplay and dialogues. The costumes of this period film have been designed by the film’s co-producer Barnali Rath. The patriotic film had earlier created a buzz by winning four state film awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing as well as the Best Film by Jury.