Mohapatra, an alumnus from FTII, Pune, had 8 national awards in the regional film category to his credit
Odisha’s legendary filmmaker Manmohan Mohapatra, known for his new wave cinema in 1970s and early ’80s, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Monday. He was 69.
He is the only auteur from Odisha to have won consecutive national awards.
Mohapatra, an alumnus from FTII, Pune, had 8 national awards in the regional film category to his credit. After completing his course from the Pune Film Institute, Mohapatra’s ‘Sita Raati’(winter night) was the first Odia film to be screened at an international film festival in 1982. The film tells the love story of a young couple divided by boundaries of class.
After Sita Raati, which was his first movie, he won national awards for Nishiddha Swapana, Majhi Pahacha, Neerab Jhada, Agni Beena, Klanta Aparanha, Andha Diganta, Kichhi Smruti Kichhi Anubhuti and Bhinna Samaya. His films also won many state awards. Some of his films have been screened in the Indian Panorama section of other editions of IFFI and were shown abroad in festivals in the USA, Italy and Germany.
His last film Bhija Matira Swarga won six awards at the 30th Odisha State Film Awards in 2018.
Mohapatra also directed a few Hindi films. Recently, his Odia movie, ‘Bhija Matira Swarga’ had won six awards in different categories at the 30th State Film Awards. Mohapatra also won the best director award for the film.
Mourning the passing away of the director, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the filmmaker’s contribution to the Odia film industry is immense.
Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan also condoled the death of Mohapatra. BJP national vice-president Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda said Mohapatra’s death was an irreparable loss to the Odia film industry.
Recalling her association with Mohapatra, veteran actress Maheswata Ray Mohapatra said he had a unique style of filmmaking. Veteran actor Bijay Mohanty said while starting a new era in the Odia film industry, Mohapatra treated everyone equally and he made films for the common man.
Prasanta Patnaik