Odisha’s Pride! Jitendra Mishra & Sarika Panda’s Film Wins 71st National Film Awards for the Silent Epidemic

“The Silent Epidemic” (Hindi), produced by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jitendra Mishra and social entrepreneur Sarika Panda Bhatt through their respective organizations—Cinema4Good Pvt. Ltd. and Raahgiri Foundation—has won the most prestigious 71st National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values. Presented by the National Film Development Corporation of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, all the awards were announced on 1 August 2025 to honour the best of Indian cinema in 2023.

Inspired by the true stories of four road accident victims from different walks of life in India, The Silent Epidemic was previously selected for the prestigious WHO Health for All Film Festival, the 18th Mumbai International Film Festival, the Indo-Iranian Film Festival on Disability, and the Indo-German Film Week. The film had also earned a special mention at the International Purple Fest in Goa, hosted by the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in association with the Directorate of Social Welfare and Entertainment Society of Goa, and received recognition at the National Road Safety Short Film Festival organized by the State Transport Authority, Govt. of Odisha, the National Short Film Festival on Disability Issues, and several other esteemed platforms. Directed by Delhi-based filmmaker Akshat Gupta and assisted by Akash Basu, the film is being presented by Sarika’s Raahgiri Foundation and Jitendra’s production house Cinema4Good in association with Wheeling Happiness, co-founded by Padma Shree Awardee Dr. Deepa Malik and Devika Malik. The film powerfully highlights road safety through compelling storytelling.

Born in Bhawanipatna, Odisha, Sarika is the Director in Nagarro and founder trustee of Raahgiri Foundation and is leading the Raahgiri Day movement in Haryana. She is also helping other cities to replicate this hugely successful concept. Having about 20 years of experience in the field of urban development, transport, environment, and architecture, she is also leading the non-motorised transport work and Vision Zero programme to reduce road accidents in many cities in India. Sarika was selected as one of the 60 global women leaders in the world who are making a change in how we move in our cities. The recognition came from TUMI, Germany. In 2019, Sarika was selected as the bicycle mayor of Gurugram by BYCS, Netherlands. She has been formally trained as an architect and urban planner and has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master’s degree in Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. She also has a Master’s degree in Sociology.

Hailing from Titilagarh, Odisha, Jitendra Mishra is one of the few Indian film producers and promoters who have set a global benchmark in alternative approaches to film production, distribution, and promotion. Deeply committed to socially relevant cinema, he has been involved in over 110 films across various genres and roles—many of which have received international acclaim. Notable recent works include The Last Color, Buried Seeds, Desires of the Heart, Human Oak, and The Saint of Brooklyn. Jitendra has earned numerous national and international awards and has been the festival director of Smile Int’l Film Festival – SIFFCY, a distinctive film festival and forum initiated by the Smile Foundation. He currently serves as the elected president of CIFEJ (International Center of Film for Children and Youth)—one of the world’s oldest and largest global media networks—established under UNESCO in 1955 in Brussels and now based in Athens, hosted by EKKOMED, the Hellenic Film & Audio-visual Center – Creative Greece. A member of the Cannes Producers Network, Jitendra has also been invited to serve on the jury of over 60 international film festivals and forums around the world.