Bhumi Pednekar steals spotlight at 5 Star Film Awards in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar stole the spotlight at the seventh edition of the 5 Star Film Awards, adding a touch of Bollywood glamour to a glittering celebration of Odia cinema and its artistes in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday evening.

Organised by RR Events and Cine Production, the awards ceremony at the Rail Auditorium brought together leading names from Ollywood, with Pednekar emerging as the major attraction of the evening. The event also recognised veteran actress Namrata Das with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contribution and lifelong dedication to Odia cinema.

The evening began with a Shiv Tandav dance performance and featured a series of cultural programmes and performances by Ollywood artistes.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra attended the ceremony as the chief guest, while Koraei MLA Akash Das Nayak was the guest of honour. BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, Supreme Court advocate Abani Kumar Sahu, senior administrator Partha Sarathi Mishra, Indalzer Managing Director Sukirti Patnaik, senior journalist Kishore Dwibedi and producer-director Ramesh Barik were among those present.

A special audio-visual presentation tracing Namrata Das’s cinematic journey was screened during the ceremony. The veteran actress received a standing ovation as she accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.

‘Bou Buttu Bhuta’ emerged as the Best Film, with Babushan Mohanty winning Best Actor and Jagadish Mishra receiving the Best Director award for the film. Sheetal Patra was named Best Actress for Ajira Rebati, while Aparajita Mohanty won the Most Impactful Performer of the Year award for Bohu Butu Bhuta.

Indian Idol winner Jyotirmayee Nayak was honoured with the Pride of Odisha Award.

Among the other major winners, Sabyasachi Mishra won Best Actor (Jury Choice), while Archita Sahu was named Best Actress (Jury Choice) for Pade Akash. Choudhury Bikash Das won Best Impactful Actor for Lahari, while Ardhendu Sahu was named Best Action Star.

Subhashish Sharma and Prakruti Mishra were honoured as Style Icons in the male and female categories respectively. Pushpa Panda won Best Supporting Actress for Ajira Rebati, while Sritam Das was named Best Supporting Actor for Sri Jagannathanka Nabakalebara.

The Best Promising Actor/Actress awards went to Shailendra Samantaray for Delivery Boy 2 and Bhumika Dash for Operation 12/17. Papu Pom Pom won Best Entertainer for Dustbin.

Sujit Paikaray (Bhai) and Prachi (Dustbin) were honoured as Best Newcomers, while Abhishek Panda (Ghamaghot) and Trupti Mirambika received Emerging Artist honours.

Producer Jhilik Bhattacharjee won the award for Best Story and Screenplay for Lahari. Shyama Prasad Mishra received Best Dialogue for Ajira Rebati, while Poonam Mishra was given a Special Award for Acting.

In the music categories, Gaurav Anand won Best Music Director for Bohu Butu Bhuta. Satyajit Pradhan and Antara Chakraborty were honoured as Best Playback Singers, while Swayam Padhi and Diptirekha Padhi received Popular Singer honours.

Navpreet Arora won Best Villain for Sri Jagannathanka Nabakalebara, while Ankita Dash was named Best Villainess for Bastaba. Amit Nayak won Best Choreographer for Dunguthili and Bohu Butu Bhuta, while Rudrakant Singh received the Best Cinematographer award for Bohu Butu Bhuta.

The ceremony also witnessed the launch of the music of the upcoming film ‘Game Over’, featuring the popular Ardhendu-Supriya pairing.

The evening concluded with cultural performances by Ollywood actors and actresses to evergreen Odia film songs. The programme was hosted by Shubham and Manasi.

The 5 Star Film Awards, initiated in Bhubaneswar by producer Ramesh Barik, has previously been organised in international destinations including Dubai and Singapore.