Bijaya Jena

Indian actress

Bijaya Jena (also known as Dolly Jena or Bijoya Jena, born 16 August in Cuttack, Odisha, is an Indian actor, film director and producer. She won the Indian National Film Award (Best director) for the Odia language film Tara. 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. She served on the Governing Council of FTII from 1992 to 1995.

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.

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.

In 1992, Jena made her directoral debut with the Odia language film, Tara. She cowrote the script and produced the film and also played the title role. 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. 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.