‘Shrikshetra Ru Sahijata’ Wins National Film Award For ‘Best Art And Culture Film’

‘Shrikshetra Ru Sahijata’ Wins National Film Award For ‘Best Art And Culture Film’

The winners of the 67th National Film Awards were announced on Monday and the great news for all Odias is that Odia filmmaker Ashutosh Pattnaik’s documentary film ‘Shrikshetra Ru SahiJata’ bagged the ‘Best Art and Culture Film’. 

Excited after knowing the news, Ashutosh said, “It is a very big recognition for me and my team. It will boost us a lot to move forward with film making. I have been struggling to present this film on different platforms for the last two years.”

“I was watching the results live, without mentioning anything to anyone. In my mind I had decided if I am getting it then it’s well and fine, otherwise I will go back to bed and sleep (chuckles). Now I can tell it to my friends and relatives who were not understanding what I was doing with my passion,” he concluded showing his love for ‘My City Links’, as we were the first to cover his film last year.

Hailing from the Jagannath Dham Puri, Ashutosh has deep love for the customs and rituals of the holy city. Adding about the concept of the film he said, “ Unlike other places in Odisha where ‘Rama Leela’ (a play on Ramayana) is organised during Rama Navami, residents of Puri stage ‘Sahi Jata’ which involves artistes dressed as characters of ‘Ramayan’ roaming in the streets. Unfortunately, I was unaware of this unique tradition even though I hail from Puri. So when I got to know about ‘Sahi Jata’, I thought to popularise this tradition through my film.”

Earlier, ‘Shrikshetra Ru Sahi Jata’ received a special Jury Mention at Noida International Film festival and the first prize at the third edition of Chitra Bharati film festival in Gujarat. The documentary was also screened at JDCA’s film festival earlier.

Ashutosh’s short ad film ‘The Butterfly’ in Odia, which is about girl child discrimination, was awarded third prize at Kallola Film Festival. His ‘Tara Can’ also bagged the first prize in the 5-minute category in ‘We Care Film Fest’.

The director said he is happy with short films and documentaries and has no plans for making feature films. “I want to make more films on diminishing Odia culture, folk dance and festivals. My next plan is to make a documentary film on Berhampur’s ‘Raja Natak’ or ‘Prahalad Natak’.” Ashutosh signed off.