(Top) Varsha Priyadarshini and Gopal Ghosh will receive awards at the event

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 29: The Odia Film Fair Awards will honour the best of the Odia film industry for their performance this year.

The awards are going to be hosted by Dots Eventica, a unit of White Canvas Foundation and 4s Audio and Lights, in association with The Telegraph. The event, where awards in 33 categories will be given, will take place on January 4 at Utkal Mandap.

Nonagenarian, Gopal Ghosh, eminent actor, director and producer, will be bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Actor Sabyasachi Mishra and Varsha Priyadarshini seem to have hit purple patch, as they will be seen collecting the best actor and best actress awards for the flicks Mun Eka Tumara and Hata Dhari Chalutha respectively.

The best director award will go to Chandi Parija for Anubhav and Varsha starrer Hata Dhari Chalutha. Amlan Das and father Mihir will both walk away with best debutant and best negative role trophies. There will also be awards like “Personality of the year” for artistes involved in charity work and the “Craziest artiste of the year” for a zany portrayal. While Akash Dasnayak bags the former for being a good Samaritan, Arindam takes away the latter for his “Ashok Samrat” avatar.

“The awards aim to appreciate and felicitate the deserving names on the basis of performances and talent. We believe in honesty and shun any kind of favouritism and nepotism. From the lowest rungs to the highest echelons of the industry, all the worthy performances have been awarded,” said Ullash Behura, founder and director of White Canvas, an event management company. Through the White Canvas Foundation, the company keeps itself involved in many charity works such as cancer treatment, blood donation and environmental issues.

Behura’s team consisting of Prasanta Mohanty, Ashok Das, Soumyajeet Parida, Chintu Mishra and Utkal Keshari Singh is busy making all the efforts to ensure a smooth show on Saturday.

Several performances are lined up for the celebration night. Dance performance by Padmini Pattnaik of India’s Dancing Superstar fame and songs crooned by Aryan Das of Indian Idol Junior fame would regale the audience.

Many other group dance items and a fashion show promise to take the night fever a few notches higher.

Cine lovers of the city can collect free entry passes for the event from Brand Factory, BMC Bhawani Mall and Utkal Mandap.