Atal Bihari Panda (1928/9 – 5 June 2021) was an Indian actor, playwright and lyricist, known for his works in Sambalpuri odia Cinema. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including two back-to-back

Odisha State Film Awards The Odisha State Film Awards have been conferred by the Department of Culture of the Government of Odisha, India. The awards were initiated in 1968. The awards are decided by independent juries formed by the Department of Culture. The jury u ...

for best actor. His debut in films came at an age of 83 years. Before his debut as an actor in films, he had already written 60 plays. He also wrote lyrics in many Sambalpuri songs.

Early works

He acted in over 100 plays apart from writing over 65 dramas in the

Sambalpuri language Sambalpuri Odia is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as ''Kosali'' (with variants ''Kosli'', ''Koshal'' and ''Koshali''), a recently popularised but controversial te ...

. He also worked as a playwright in six operas. Initially director

Sabyasachi Mohapatra Sabyasachi Mohapatra (born 27 August 1950 in Subarnapur district, Lehedi, India) is an Indian film director, writer, and producer in Odia cinema. He owns a production house named ''Mohapatra Movie Magic''. Career Mohapatra made his directorial ...

approached him to write dialogue for the film

Sala Budha ''Sala Budha'' () is a 2012 Indian Sambalpuri language, Kosli language feature film directed by Sabyasachi Mohapatra. The film had won awards in seven categories at Odisha State Film Awards including best film and best director. Plot The story ...

. The director was looking for the protagonist for that film but he could not find one so he approached Atal to play the lead role and Panda agreed.

Career

He made his debut in film '

' in lead role and the film was directed by

in 2013. He won the Best actor award for the film

Odisha State Film awards The Odisha State Film Awards have been conferred by the Department of Culture of the Government of Odisha, India. The awards were initiated in 1968. The awards are decided by independent juries formed by the Department of Culture. The jury u ...

. In 2014, he again got the chance to work with the director

in the film " Aadim Vichar", which was a sequel to "

". He appeared again in the lead role in the third installment of

film series titled "''Sala Budhar Badla''" released on 17 January 2020.

Filmography

Awards

Death

On 5 June 2021, Atal Bihari Panda died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), is a public medical college and hospital in Sambalpur, Odisha, India. Established in 1959, it imparts medical education at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. ...

. He was 92 years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panda, Atal Bihari 1920s births Year of birth uncertain 2021 deaths 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors from Odisha Male actors in Odia cinema People from Subarnapur district Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India 20th-century Indian male actors