BHUBANESWAR: Legendary music director, singer and lyricist Prafulla Kar passed away at the age of 83 in the Capital city on Sunday. Kar was ailing for the last two days and suffered a cardiac arrest at around 9.30 pm, family sources said.
Born on February 16, 1939, Kar started singing in his college days but made debut as a professional singer in the Odia film industry in 1962 with ‘Shri Shri Patita Pabana’. Thirteen years later in 1975, he began his journey as a music composer in the film ‘Mamata’ and went on to become a household name. Having directed music for over 60 Odia and four Bengali movies, Kar was honoured with the Padma Shri in the year 2015 in the field of art.
Besides the prestigious Jaydev Puraskar in 2004, the State government had conferred him with the Best Music Director Award on six occasions for his outstanding contribution to the Odia music industry. The six films are ‘Mamata’, ‘Sesa Srabana’, ‘Bandhu Mohanty’, ‘Sati Anasuya’, ‘Sita Labakusa’ and ‘School Master’. He had also composed music for numerous Odissi dance dramas and music CDs for the Government of Odisha.
In 2009, the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi’s highest honour - Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja Award - was conferred upon him. Apart from singing and composing songs, Kar had also played small roles in two Odia films ‘Mukti’ and ‘Thukool’. People from different walks of life condoled his demise. Family members said the mortal remains will be consigned to flames at Swargadwara in Puri on Monday.