Kalinga Studio to be Relaunched in a New Avatar by Year-End

Bhubaneswar: A review meeting of the Odisha Legislative Assembly Standing Committee was held Thursday regarding the development of Kalinga Studio, located in Bhubaneswar, followed by an on-site visit to the studio.

During the visit, a discussion was held in the conference hall of the studio on its renovation, restoration, modernization, and other developmental projects

Present in the meeting were Standing Committee Chairperson and Khandapada MLA Shri Dushmant Swain, MLAs Shri Chhabi Mallik, Shri Aravind Mahapatra, Shri Pratap Chandra Pradhan, Shri Satyajit Gamang, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries Department) Shri Hemant Sharma, OFDC Chairman IAS Samarth Verma, and other senior officials of the Industries Department.

The Committee Chairperson Shri Swain inquired about the completion timeline and handover of the studio. Responding to this, Shri Hemant Sharma said that all works of the studio will be completed by year-end and subsequently handed over to OFDC (Odisha Film Development Corporation). He added that OFDC will outsource cleaning and security responsibilities of the studio to a private third party through tendering, and even editing, graphics, and studio management will be handled by such private partners.

A meeting will also be organized with OFDC stakeholders, including the Producers’ Association, Distributors’ Association, Executives’ Association, directors, and artistes to discuss the matter. Additionally, new plans will be framed to attract producers from other states to shoot in the studio. The studio will have two segments — one for film shooting and the other as an amusement park. Tickets will be introduced for the amusement park, where visitors can enjoy leisure activities while also witnessing shooting arrangements. This will help generate revenue, said IDCO Managing Director Shri Prashant Kumar Reddy.

Participating in the discussion, senior actor Sritam Das raised concerns about how shooting could be conducted smoothly in the presence of the public inside the amusement park. Responding to this, IDCO Chairman Shri Prashant Kumar Reddy clarified that visitors entering the amusement park will be restricted from accessing shooting spots. To avoid any disturbance during shooting, separate pathways will be created — allowing visitors to move along one side while shooting continues on the other.