Bhubaneswar: The glittering 58th Banichitra Samman 2026 turned Rabindra Mandap here into a celebration of Odia cinema on Monday, with actor Sabyasachi Mishra and Archita Sahoo walking away with ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’ award respectively.
The festival got off to a grand with the ceremonial lamp being lit by former finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, eminent poet and lyricist Rabinarayan Senapati and plastic surgeon Dr Unmesh Kumar Jena. Banichitra editor Bhaskar Jena was also present on the dais.
Then the spotlight was shifted to felicitation ceremony. Actors, actresses, directors, producers, technicians, were showered with accolades across 34 categories.
Veteran actor Asit Pati was awarded with the prestigious ‘Parikshita Jena Banichitra Smruti Samman 2026’. Actor Sabyasachi Mishra received ‘Best Actor Award’ for his film ‘Ananta’ while actress Archita Sahoo bagged the ‘Best Actress Award’ for her film ‘Pade Akasha’.
The evening turned into a star-studded affair with the industry’s junior and senior artistes and technicians came together under one roof to celebrate cinematic excellence.
Here is the complete list of awardees:
1.Best Film: Ananta
2. Best Film (Critic): Lahari
3. Best Popular Producer: Ramesh Barik (Ajira Rebati)
4. Best Debutant Producer: Debashish Pattanayak (Ladhei)
5. Best Director: Sabyasachi Mohapatra/Kumar C Deb (Ananta)
6. Best Director (Jury): Ashwini Tripathy (Delivery Boy)
7. Best Story: Dr Badri Mishra (Ajira Rebati)
8. Best Screenplay/Dialogue: Shankar Prasad Tripathy (Shree Jagannathanka Nabakalebara)
9. Best Actor: Sabyasachi Mishra (Ananta)
10. Best Actress: Archita Sahoo (Pade Akasha)
11. Best Actor (Jury): Subhashish Sharma (Rangasur)
12. Best Actor (Jury): Sujit Paikaray (Bhai)
13. Best Actress (Jury): Suryamayee Mohapatra (Rangasur)
14. Best Actress (Jury): Sheetal Patra (Ajira Rebati)
15. Best Popular Actor: Shailendra Samantaray (Chhi Re Nani Chhi)
16. Best Popular Actress: Shibani Sangeeta (Chhi Re Nani Chhi)
17. Best Newcomer Actor: Lohitaksha Pattanayak (Ladhei)
18. Best Newcomer Actress: Rupashree Panda (Mishiri)
19. Best Character Actor: Prithviraj Nayak (Ajira Rebati)
20. Best Character Actress: Jyotirmayee Panda (Ananta)
21. Best Supporting Actor: Babi Mishra (Challenge)
22. Best Supporting Actress: Sushree Sangeeta Mohapatra (Challenge)
23. Best Comic Actor: Sushant Dashmahapatra (Motorcycle)
24. Best Villain: Udit Guru (Bou Buttu Bhuta)
25. Best Villain Actress: Pushpa Panda (Ajira Rebati)
26. Best Music Director: Gourav Anand (Bou Buttu Bhuta)
27. Best Singer (Male): Shashank Shekhar (Pade Akasha)
28. Best Singer (Female): Subhashree Jena (Bou Buttu Bhuta)
29. Best Lyricist: Dr Nirmal Nayak (Ananta)
30. Best Newcomer (Male): Bharat Pushparag (Darpan)
31. Best Choreographer: Girish Mohanty (Chaaridhaam)
32. Best Cameraman: Subrat Kumar Khatei (Chaaridhaam)
33. Best Public Relations, Marketing (Odia Film): Sthita Pattanayak
34. Best Child Artiste: Adyasha Panigrahi (Ajira)
Apart from the film awards, 13 special awards were also presented and the recipients were Sarita Mohanty, Asima Sahoo, Er Dr Sanjay Kumar Panda, Meera Seth, Sanghamitra Padhi, Dr Chittaranjan Panda, Nibedita Samantaray, Swagatika Mohanty, Uttam Beura, Anupama Samantaray, Sitakanta Das and Ajit Mohanty.
