The awards that keep film fraternities across the country wait with bated breath were announced yesterday and Odisha had much to cheer about. Odia film Hello Arsi won big at the 65th National Film Awards, bagging the coveted award in three categories straight. It won the Best Odia Film Award along with actress Prakruti Mishra winning Special Mention in the film and Best Dialogue. Unfortunately, the director and dialogue writer of the film, Sambit Mohanty , succumbed to brain stroke a few months ago. He had conceptualised, written the story and screenplay of the film. Such is the brilliance of the film that while announcing the awards, Shekhar Kapur , the head of the jury for feature films, said, “If I try to make this film, I will fail.”Winning the National Film Awards for Hello Arsi is not only a great achievement for Odia cinema but it also brings to fore the troubles of industrialisation and land acquisition. “The film has an unusual take on industrialisation and land acquisition. It’s surreal, has an abstract concept and is presented so metaphorically that while watching the film one would transcend into a different sphere. Arsi means mirror and true to its name, the film holds a mirror to society,” said Partha Sarathi Ray , the actor of the film.Actress Prakruti Mishra, who has been a popular name in the Odia film industry, couldn’t believe her ears when she heard about the news of getting a special mention for her role in the film. “The feeling is yet to sink in. My team members informed me first and outside the team, you are the first person to congratulate me,” the actress told us.In this hour of celebration, Prakruti misses her director the most though she is happy for the film’s fate. She thanked him for believing she could essay the role. “Had our director been present, it would have added to our celebrations. It is difficult for me to describe the experience of acting in such a film, which is one of its kind. I haven’t done something like this before. While I play the protagonist, there are only two actors in the film whose stories start and end in a car,” she said.It’s a story of a girl from Rourkela. She turns into a sex worker undergoing the turmoil of industrialisation and land acquisition. The film, which was shot in Rourkela, uses a lot of metaphoric depiction of how she did what she did for survival. The male lead has a mysterious layer to his character and his interactions with the female lead have been portrayed in the film.Renowned sound designer Subash Sahu is the sound recordist while Prasantanu Mohapatra is the cinematographer of the film. Ajay Routray , who has co-produced the film, said they were expecting a National Film Award. “The way the film has been shot, it should be in the league of world-class cinema. The story has a local flavour. We got three awards, which proves the kind of work we have put into making the film and the brilliance of director Sambit Mohanty,” he added.

Stay updated with all the Latest Bhubaneswar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.