Odia Films ‘Puskara’ and ‘The Sea and Seven Villages’ Win Big at 71st National Film Awards

Bhubaneswar: Two Odia films — Puskara and The Sea and Seven Villages — have earned national recognition at the 71st National Film Awards.

Puskara, directed by Subhransu Das, bagged the award for Best Odia Feature Film. Based on the Odia novel Nadabindu by author Shankar Tripathy, the film traces the life of its protagonist Neelakantha and his transformation into Pushkara, exploring themes of identity across childhood, youth, and death.

In the non-feature category, filmmaker Himansu Khatua’s The Sea and Seven Villages received the award for Best Odia Film. The documentary spotlights the environmental struggles of residents in Satabhaya, a coastal village in Odisha’s Kendrapada district, grappling with the harsh realities of climate change and rising sea levels.

Congratulating the filmmakers, CM Majhi expressed hope that the accolades would inspire more original and impactful storytelling in the Odia film industry. He called on filmmakers to continue pushing creative boundaries and bringing Odisha’s rich culture and pressing social issues to the national stage.