Oriya Film Industry (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଆ ସିନେମା) or Ollywood refers to the Oriya language Indian film industry based in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in Orissa, India. The origin of the name is disputed, and is believed to be a portmanteau of the words Oriya and Hollywood.
In 1974, the Government of Orissa declared filmmaking and construction of cinema theatres as industry in the state, and two years later in 1976, it established the Orissa Film Development Corporation, based in Cuttack.
Oriya films have no silent movie like Bengali and Assamese cinema. It started straight way with a talkie. The first Oriya talkie Sita Bibaha was made by Mohan Sunder Deb Goswami in 1936. Drawn from the great Indian epic Ramayana, the story tells about the marriage of Sita with Ram. The actual plot was made from a drama written by Kamala Mishra. Prepared with a purse of only Rs 30,000, the film has 14 song sequences. Despite it being the first Oriya film with several drawbacks in every section of its making, the two-hour-long movie generated great enthusiasm among the people. Released by Laksmi Talkies, the 12-reeled film had in its cast line Makhanlal Banerjee (Ram) who received only Rs 120 for his performance, Aditya Ballav Mohanty (Lakhsman) who got only Rs 35 as conveyance allowance and Prabati Devi (Sita) who was paid the highest amount of Rs 150. This was a landmark film of Oriya Film Industry.
Orissa /ɔːˈrɪsə/ (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା [oˑɽisaˑ], Hindi: ओड़िशा – Oṛiśā), officially spelled Odisha, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE. The modern state of Orissa was established on April 1, 1936, as a province in India, and consists predominantly of Oriya speakers. April 1st is therefore celebrated as Utkala Dibasa (formation day of Orissa). Cuttack remained the capital of the state for over eight centuries until April 13, 1948 when Bhubaneswar was officially declared as the new capital of Orissa, and is the present capital of this state.
Orissa is the ninth largest state by area in India, and the eleventh largest by population. Oriya (officially spelled Odia) is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by three quarters of the population. Orissa has a relatively unindented coastline (about 480 km long) and lacked good ports, except for the deepwater facility at Paradip, until the recent launch of the Dhamara Port (The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) is a 50:50 joint venture of L&T and Tata Steel. DPCL has been awarded a concession by Government of Orissa to build and operate a port north of the mouth of river Dhamra in Bhadrak district). The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta supports the bulk of the population. The interior of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated.Deomali at 1672 m is the highest point of the state. Orissa is subject to intense cyclones. The most intense one, in October 1999, Tropical Cyclone 05B caused severe damage and nearly 15,000 deaths.