Cinematographer Ashok Swain gets Jayadev Puraskar

Bhubaneswar: Cinematographer and producer Ashok Swain was conferred with the Jayadev Puraskar for 2015 for his lifetime achievement at the 27th State Film Awards held at Utkal Mandap here on Monday.

The award that carried Rs 1 lakh cash reward, a citation and a shawl was given to Swain in recognition of his contribution to the Odia film industry. Besides films, Swain has shot documentaries on the state’s art and tourism. The State Film Awards were given away in 27 categories. While ‘Kehi Nuhe Kahara’, directed by Susant Mani, was awarded in seven categories, ‘Isq Tu hi Tu’ received five awards including the Best Story award for Tapas Sargharia. ‘Pahadara Luha’ of Sabyasachi Mohapatra got the Best Jury Award.

Besides, Soumya Ranjan Dash was conferred with Best Actor award for the film ‘Antarleena’ while Barsha Nayak bagged the Best Actress award for ‘Tulasi Apa’. Goutam Giri and Antara Chakraborty got the Best Playback Male and Female awards, respectively.

Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda, Law Minister Arun Sahu, MP Prasanna Patsani and MLAs Bijay Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra attended the programme, among others.