Drawing a parallel between Sriram Panda and Christopher McCandless, the 24-year-old athlete who, Sean Penn immortalised in his film Into the Wild, may seem far-fetched but they have two things in common. Both quit everything when the world was right at their feet. And both headed north.
McCandless, within days of getting his graduate degree, kicked the prospects of a bright career by donating $24,000 to charity and, declining a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society membership, headed for the mountains of Alaska. Panda headed up north to Bihar when he could have ruled Oriya filmdom. He did not.
He burst on to the Oriya film scene in 1972 like a whiff of fresh air. Tall and lanky, he had a gait many imitated. He was in the company of the formidable duo actor-cum-filmmaker Prashanta Nanda and superstar
Uttam Mohanty along with the
inimitable Bijay Mohanty. He
romanced the top actresses of his time and girls drooled over him.
Such was his charisma that Panda was ambassador for Cavendar’s cigarette. Years later, he would acknowledge that it was his popularity with the tobacco ad that prompted his decision to quit everything and look for spirituality. Panda, who made his entry into Oriya cinema with Nitai Palit, and directed Dharitri in 1972, tasted instant success.
In a career over 20 years, he acted in about 30 films, some of which were massive hits and propelled him into the top league.
In 1992 when he was still at top, Panda was gone leaving behind his actress-turned-teacher wife Tripura Mishra and their two children. There was speculation why he quit and where he was, but the actor would not return. He had proceeded to the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger where he took to spirituality.
Sixteen years later, he appeared again. His head shaven and in saffron robes, the actor had long metamorphosed into Swami Nitya Chaitanya who taught Yoga at the Munger school. What took him away from the world of glamour and glitz?
“Back then, I used to endorse the Cavendar’s brand of cigarettes only to learn later that my image had drawn many into the habit of smoking. I felt guilty and decided to change myself and others through spiritual ways,” he said. Like Emile Hirsch (who played McCandless in the 2007 film) Panda could have said: “You are wrong if you think the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God’s place is all around us, in everything and anything we can experience. The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences.”
— sibamohanty@epmltd.com