Māyā Miriga (1984) was Nirad Mohapatra’s first and only feature film. The film witnesses the crumbling down of the joint family system even as the patriarch agonisingly realises the family bond he held on to was a mere mirage.

This singular contribution, made in Odia, soon garnered national and international acclaim, being selected for the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Best Third World Film at the Int’l Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, receiving a special jury award at the Hawaii int’l Film Festival.

Years on, it was on the verge of vanishing when it was resurrected, funded, and restored by the Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata lab, with digital restoration done by Digital Film Restore Pvt. Ltd. and scanning at Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd.’s Post – Studios in association with the family of the Director, Nirad Mohapatra. The film premiered in 2024 at IL Cinema Ritrovato 2024 – Cinemalibero to a full house.