The lights, cameras and action are set to return to one of Odisha’s most historic landmarks of cinema. The iconic Kalinga Studio in Bhubaneswar has received a major new lease of life, with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurating the redeveloped studio complex on Monday, October 5, 2026. After years of decline following the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone, the historic studio has now returned in a completely modernised avatar, offering a new generation of filmmakers, technicians and artists a much more advanced filmmaking environment.
A New Beginning for Kalinga Studio
The redevelopment of Kalinga Studio has been undertaken at a reported cost of around ₹164 crore. The revamped complex has been designed to provide facilities not only for shooting but also for several important stages of film production and post-production.
According to reports, the new Kalinga Studio includes a new shooting floor, sound recording room, dubbing room, audio-visual room, sound control room, animation workstation, movie editing room, soundproof room and photography zone.
The studio has also been developed with a range of ready-made environments and sets that can help filmmakers recreate different locations without having to travel outside Odisha.
These include settings resembling an airport, railway station, palace, village, shopping mall, forest, snow-covered mountains, haunted house, Amazon rainforest and river.
One of the major attractions is also the newly developed Snow World, which is expected to appeal both to filmmakers and visitors.
From a Historic Film Studio to a Modern Filmmaking Hub
Kalinga Studio has a special place in the history of Odia cinema. The studio was established in 1980, with commercial operations beginning in 1982. It was created at a time when filmmakers in Odisha had limited access to advanced production and post-production facilities within the state.
Its arrival played an important role in strengthening the infrastructure of the Odia film industry. During the 1980s and 1990s, Kalinga Studio became an important destination for filmmakers. Numerous popular Odia films shot their indoor and outdoor sequences at the studio, making it a familiar part of the filmmaking landscape of that era.
It was not only Odia filmmakers who used the facility. Earlier reports have noted that filmmakers from other parts of eastern India also came to Kalinga Studio for their work.
The 1999 Super Cyclone Changed Everything
The story of Kalinga Studio, however, also has a painful chapter. The 1999 Super Cyclone caused extensive damage to the studio. Over the years that followed, the facility struggled with ageing infrastructure and a lack of modern equipment.
The once-busy studio gradually lost its prominence and eventually remained largely unused. For an industry that had once relied heavily on the studio, its decline represented more than the deterioration of a building. It also reflected the changing infrastructure requirements of modern filmmaking. As filmmakers increasingly travelled to other cities for advanced production and post-production facilities, Kalinga Studio was no longer able to compete with newer film hubs.
The Road to Revival
The effort to transform Kalinga Studio into a modern filmmaking destination has been underway for several years. A redevelopment project was formally initiated with a foundation-stone ceremony in 2021, with the objective of giving the historic studio a major facelift and bringing modern infrastructure to Odisha’s film industry.
The transformation subsequently included facilities such as an entrance plaza, indoor shooting areas, village settings, community facilities, water bodies, green areas and other themed environments.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also reviewed the transformation work during his tenure and directed officials to accelerate the process of turning Kalinga Studio into a modern, world-class facility.
A Studio Designed for Today’s Cinema
Modern filmmaking is no longer limited to cameras, sets and actors. A production may require sound recording, dubbing, editing, animation, visual effects, controlled shooting environments and several other technical facilities.
The new Kalinga Studio has therefore been designed with a much broader filmmaking ecosystem in mind.
Its upgraded infrastructure is expected to allow filmmakers to carry out more stages of production within the studio itself, potentially reducing the need to move to other cities for certain production requirements. For Odisha’s filmmakers, this could become particularly significant as the regional film industry continues to adapt to changing technology and audience expectations.
More Than a Film Studio
The new Kalinga Studio is also being positioned as a tourism and entertainment destination. Visitors will reportedly be able to experience attractions such as the Snow World, themed environments and other entertainment facilities by paying an entry fee. This gives the redeveloped complex a dual identity. It is intended to serve the film industry, while also becoming a place where ordinary visitors can experience aspects of the world of filmmaking and entertainment.
CM Talks About a World-Class Future
At the inauguration, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state government has plans to develop Kalinga Studio into a world-class facility. He also indicated that the government is working towards a new policy for the movie sector by 2027 and is considering holding an international film festival in Odisha. The inauguration was attended by Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh and actor-turned-politician Sidhant Mohapatra, among others.
A New Chapter for Ollywood
For generations of Odia filmmakers, Kalinga Studio is more than simply a production facility. It represents a period when Odisha’s film industry was building its own infrastructure and establishing a stronger identity. Many artists, technicians, directors and producers have memories associated with the studio. Now, after years of decline, the same location is ready to welcome a new generation.
The challenge ahead will be to ensure that the new infrastructure remains properly maintained, technologically updated and genuinely accessible to filmmakers. If that happens, Kalinga Studio could once again become an important centre for Odia cinema and potentially filmmaking beyond Odisha. The historic studio has already witnessed several chapters of Odia cinema.
Disclaimer: This article has been prepared using publicly available reports and information concerning Kalinga Studio and its redevelopment. Details such as project cost and facilities are based on reports available at the time of publication and may be updated as further official information becomes available.
