It is unusual for someone who trained to become a veterinary doctor to end up in the entertainment industry. Elli Padhi, who holds a veterinary degree, is one of those rare few. After completing Class XII from Bhadrak College in 2009, Odisha, Elli joined the five-year veterinary course at Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. One of the greatest things she found in college was self-confidence and how to face life, “I learnt how to weigh options and make choices and give attention to priorities,” she says.
Quite a familiar face in both films and television in Odisha, she started out as a child artist in the soap Tulasi, one of the most popular serials of 2005 and played the female protagonist in her debut movie Ei Milana Yuga Yuga Ra (2008). Despite having entered the Odia film industry, she came back to the small screen, as it was her comfort zone. Dhumavha Swapna and Raasta are two more movies to her credit; the latter premiered for the first time in Australia. Elli, however, made her mark in serials like Sindoor, Appa and Abujha E Mana. She received State-level awards for her acting in Abujha E Mana, a serial aired on Tarang channel. She is also active in the Southern movie industry; a Telugu movie, Pramadam Chau 100%, in which she stars was released recently.
Recollecting her proudest moment in college, Elli says she can never forget the moment she was selected as President of the Drama Club; she remembers fondly her days performing a number of shows in college. Most people do not know that Elli is a trained tablist, singer and dancer too. She bagged the Best Dancer Award at a State-level competition held in Delhi. However, Ellina knows that her celebrity status won’t last forever but her knowledge will totally hold her in good stead. At times when she had to stay away from college owing to shooting, she couldn’t spend enough time with friends. But she got all the help she could. “I was a good student, so the teachers accommodated my absence in classes.” Everyone liked the bubbly girl with the cool attitude; she had no rift with anyone in college or among friends.
Sharing her most embarrassing moment, Elli says she was once caught talking about a friend behind her back. “To my horror, I realised the person was around. Red faced, I came back home and felt very bad,” says Elli. Though she didn’t bunk classes a lot, at times she did prefer to hang out with friends in the canteen instead of attending lectures. Apart from acting, Ellina was good at sports. She was an athlete and won first prize in the State-level Junior Red Cross in 2007.
“I feel very lucky when my teachers feel proud of me and introduce themselves as my teacher; same with my friends. I feel that way because I had to struggle a lot to reach this place in life,” she signs off.
— prachitara@newindianexpress.com