Bhubaneswar, Dec. 9: The 24th State Film Award for 2012 announced today by tourism and culture minister Maheswar Mohanty left the Odisha film fraternity a little disappointed.

The jury panel refused to award anyone in the ‘best film’ and ‘best director’ categories, as they the films lacked social message and were not culturally rich. Awards for the best screenplay and art direction will also be not given this year.

But the Odisha television industry has much to cheer about, as the culture department will be felicitating the best in their field in the first-ever Odisha State Tele Awards.

The jury members for the film awards included filmmakers Gadadhar Puty and Himansu Khatua, artistes Geeta Pattnaik and Kumkum Mohanty, littérateur Pratibha Ray, former bureaucrat Sanjeeb Chandra Hota and cine critic Pradosh Patnaik.

The jury members unanimously decided not to award any film or director as they were not up to the mark.

Maheswar Mohanty, too, complained about the obscene lyrics in the films and called for strict censorship.

But there were deserving winners as well. Raj Gopal Mishra, eminent director, cinematographer and musician, will be felicitated with the Jayadev Award for his lifetime achievement. Several of his films have won national awards and he was in the jury panel of this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

“It is a matter of great pleasure,” said Mishra, who is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India and has directed over 25 films.

There were merely nine films that had sent their nominations. Sabyasachi Mishra won the best actor for Emiti Bi Prema Hue. This is the second time he is getting the best actor award. “I got one for my debut film Pagala Premi and it has been five years since then. It is the most prestigious award and it is dream of every actor to win it,” said the actor whose brilliant portrayal of a destitute youngster got him the award. Barsha Priyadarshini won the best actress award for Prema Sabuthu Balaban.

While the likes of Sabyasachi found the news of not awarding a film and director as “hard to digest”, Raj Gopal Mishra welcomed it stating it was a strong message for the current crop of Odia filmmakers who rely on remakes of Telugu and Tamil films.

Among the nine television serials, Maati Baikuntha won the best tele serial and Kahani Nuhe won the best tele film. Cast of the soap Gayatri, Lawrence Behera and Neetu Singh won the best actor and best actress award respectively. The film and tele-awards will be handed over at Utkal Mandap on December 18 and 19, respectively.