Bhubaneswar, April 5: The Utkal University of Culture conferred film-maker Manmohan Mahapatra with an honorary doctorate degree today.
Touted as the father of new wave cinema in Odisha, Mahapatra, who has won eight national awards, said it felt good to be recognised and honoured in the land of one's birth.
Mahapatra said he was also happy with the recognition being accorded to the kind of cinema he promoted.
"I am happy that the movement that I started in the Odia cinema 40 years ago is being acknowledged," he said after receiving the degree during the fifth convocation ceremony of the varsity. Though not very happy with the present trends in Odia cinema, he remains hopeful about the future. "Young film-makers are coming up with new ideas. The future is bright," Mahapatra said.
Apart from Mahapatra, Indian playwright and theatre director Ratan Thiyam, educator Rajat Kumar Kar, music composer Gopal Chandra Panda and researcher on folk art and musician Ghasiram Mishra were also awarded.
Delivering the convocation address, Thiyam said: "Culture is a mirror of ethics, range of arts, painting to drama, sculpture to architecture and music to dance. A great artiste dwells upon inexhaustible invention and emotional intensity thus producing a stimulating work."
He further said the budget allocation for art and culture was inadequate in comparison to other streams and that was one of the biggest reasons behind art forms dying out.
Degrees for two academic sessions - 2015 and 2016 - were also conferred at the event. About 59 students were awarded with gold medals and four got PhD degrees.
Vice-chancellor Kamal Kant Misra said the university had plans to start short-term courses in Odissi dance and music during summer and winter months for the NRIs. They will collaborate with Odisha Society of the Americas for the project.
"A number of Indians residing abroad have shown interest to learn the art forms of Odisha. The court will help them get a certification," said the vice-chancellor.
Governor S.C. Jamir, culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda and department secretary Manoranjan Panigrahy were also present at the ceremony.
