Bijaya Jena (born 16 August in Cuttack, Odisha), also known as Dolly Jena or Bijoya Jena, is an Indian actor, film director and producer.[1] She won the Indian National Film Award (Best director) for the Odia language film Tara.

Bijaya Jena
Bijaya Jena (Dolly Jena)
Born16 August
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Director, producer

Jena played Laila in Razia Sultan and then later proceeded to act in some Odia films. After acting in several films, she went on to direct and write several scripts of her own.[2] She served on the Governing Council of FTII from 1992 to 1995.

Early life

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Jena is the youngest of three children. Her mother came from a Zamindar background and her father, the late B. C. Jena was a Civil Engineer. In her early teens, Jena enrolled in the Film and Television Institute of India and received her Diploma of Film Acting.

Jena participated in an International Transpersonal Association Conference (a science and religion conference). She later attended a course in Erhard Seminars Training.

Acting career

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Jena performed in Hindi and Odia films, television serials like Ek Kahani, Vikram Betaal, Param Veer Chakra and TV plays like Gogol's Inspector General, Mahesh Elkunchwar's Aks Aur Aina. She received the State Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Odia film Jaga Balia. Hindi films include K. A. Abbas's The Naxalites, Kamal Amrohi's Razia Sultan, Ketan Mehta's Holi. She appeared in Hakim Babu which received a National Award for Best Odia Film. Jena also appeared in Ismail Merchant's British film, The Deceivers, directed by Nicholas Meyer.[3][4]

Writing, directing and production career

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In 1992, Jena made her directoral debut with the Odia language film, Tara. She co–wrote the script and produced the film and also played the title role.[5] Tara was based on a short story by Bimal Dutt, who was the main scriptwriter. Tara was completed with a budget of approximately US$20,000, which Jena borrowed from family members and national and state government agencies. The film received the 1992 National Award for Best Odia Film. The president of the jury, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, described Jena as a promising director. Tara screened at the 1992 Festival International du Cinema Au Feminin in Marseilles, France, and at the 1992 Cairo International Film Festival.

Jena's second film, Abhaas (1997) is in the Hindi language.[6] Jena acted, scripted, directed, and produced the film. The film's budget was approximately US$60,000. The film's script advisor was István Gaál. Abhaas was screened at the 1997 Festival International du Film de la Rochelle, France; the 1997 Penang Film Festival, Malaysia and the 1997 Cairo International Film Festival. In 2013, Abhaas was telecast on BBC Channel 4, BBC as part of the "100 Years of Indian Cinema" celebration. It was also shown by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation in October 2014.

In 2016, Jena plans to make a film Danapani ("The Survivor"). Jena wrote the script adapted from the Odia novel by late Gopinath Mohanty. The script was approved by the India National Film Development Corporation.[7]

In 2022, following her stint as part of the international jury panel at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Jena made an English language short film, Winter Interlude[8] with an international crew including the likes of Estonian actor, Ott Aardam and composer Gene Pritsker.

Acting credits

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Bijaya Jena

Awards

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Jury member

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References

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  1. ^ "Bijaya Jena: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday | eTimes". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Bijaya Jena". IMDb. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. ^ Das, Pranab; Das, Ajit; Das, Hemanta; Jaya (1 January 2000), Hakim Babu, retrieved 20 December 2016
  4. ^ "Merchant Ivory Productions". www.merchantivory.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. ^ "An Actor and a Director" The Hindu
  6. ^ Abhaas IMDb.
  7. ^ Indo French co production Archived 29 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine Bollywood Trade website 2016.
  8. ^ "Winter Interlude" – via IMDb.
  9. ^ "Prologue (Abhaas)" – via IMDb.
  10. ^ "Tara" – via IMDb.
  11. ^ "Param Veer Chakra". 1 January 1988 – via IMDb.
  12. ^ "Vikram Aur Betaal". 13 October 1985 – via IMDb.
  13. ^ "Amma". 4 March 1986 – via IMDb.
  14. ^ "Hira Nila" – via IMDb.
  15. ^ "Jaga Balia" – via IMDb.
  16. ^ "Aashar Akash". 1 December 1983 – via IMDb.
  17. ^ "This Odisha-born actress creates social media buzz with her pics! | Sambad English". 29 November 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Bijaya Jena Awards: List of awards and nominations received by Bijaya Jena | Times of India Entertainment". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Cairo International Film Festival (1997)". IMDb.
  20. ^ Sahu, Diana (5 November 2012). "Recognition, much deserved". The New Indian Express.
  21. ^ "Indian films line-up for Fajr Film Festival - Oneindia News".
  22. ^ https://oneindiaonepeople.com/face-to-face-with-bijaya-jena/ [bare URL]
  23. ^ Noorani, Asif (2 July 2011). "Strongest bond: religion or language?". DAWN.COM.
  24. ^ "International Roshd Film Festival". 13 November 2012.
  25. ^ "The members of Jury of 12th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival are fascinated by Armenian hospitality | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency". Armenpress.am. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  26. ^ "Bijaya Jena master-class at Tumo - CP - Fun & Music Videos". Theclassifiedsplus.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  27. ^ "Film Festival India | Film Competitions India | Short Film Festivals | ALIIFF". aliiff.com.
  28. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ "'Nachom-ia Kumpasar' sweeps state film awards | Goa News - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 August 2016.
  30. ^ "Filmfestivals.com - FESTIVALS, Fest. circuit, Red carpet, Ambiance, Travel & acc., Call for entry". filmfestivals34.rssing.com.
  31. ^ "Film director urges centre to encourage short filmmakers". India Today. 3 March 2017.
  32. ^ Baru, Sanjaya (28 September 2017). "Who decides India's official Oscar entry". Financial Chronicle.
  33. ^ Levine, Sydney (5 February 2018). "Women's Jury Awards: Dhaka Film Festival". Medium.
  34. ^ "x.com".
  35. ^ http://www.aiwff.org/home/media/attachments/2018/09/18/full-catalogue-english-2018.pdf [bare URL]
  36. ^ "Rain International Nature Film Festival held in Munnar captivates audience". English Archives. 6 February 2019.
  37. ^ https://rinff.com/images/rinff-handbook.pdf [bare URL]
  38. ^ "Bijaya Jena in KIFF jury". The Times of India. 12 November 2019.
  39. ^ "Iranian director Narges Abyar on panel of Herat women's film festival". Tehran Times. 17 November 2020.
  40. ^ "Jury 2021".
  41. ^ https://rinff.com/images/rinff-handbook-2022.pdf [bare URL]
  42. ^ "Awards of the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival". poff.ee.
  43. ^ https://rinff.com/images/rinff-handbook-2023.pdf [bare URL]
  44. ^ "BIFFES". www.biffes.org.
  45. ^ https://biffes.org/public/assets/images/pdf/15th-biffes-final-book.pdf [bare URL]
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