Bhubaneswar/ New Delhi, Aug 16: Babushaan Mohanty-starrer movie ‘Daman’ was on Friday adjudged as the Best Odia Film at the 70th National Film Awards.

The award comprises a Rajat Kamal and cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.

DAMaN is based on a true incident and traces the journey of Dr Siddharth Mohanty, played by Odia actor Babushaan Mohanty, who having just completed his MBBS from Bhubaneswar, is posted in a remote tribal area in the State's Malkangiri district.

How the young doctor spearheads a drive to eradicate malaria in the 151 villages in Janbai PHC in tribal dominated Malkangiri district in spite of many hurdles, forms a moving tale of the film.

Written and directed by Vishal Mourya and Debi Prasad Lenka, the film was released in Odisha on 4 November 2022. The movie was declared tax-free by the State government.

Produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak and Deependra Samal; co-produced by Murlidhar Chhatwani and Pinkis Pradhan, Daman also stars Dipanwit Das Mohapatra and many actors from the tribal community who have acted in a film for the first time.

Notably, the winners of the 70th National Film Awards were announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) today. Feature and non-feature films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, were eligible for consideration.

The winners, including the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, will be honoured by President Droupadi Murmu in October this year, sources said.

Read More Entertainment News