BHUBANESWAR: The Odia film industry lost yet another gem with the demise of veteran actor Mihir Das on Tuesday. He was 64. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law. His wife Sangita Das had passed away in 2010.
The actor was suffering from kidney ailments for the last one year and hospitalised recently after his condition deteriorated. He was on ventilator support at a private hospital in Cuttack for the last few days. Born and brought up in Cuttack, Das was associated with amateur theatre groups since his college days. He had no formal training in acting.
Debuting in the Odia film industry with ‘Ramayan’, directed by Govind Tej, Das began his film journey by playing a small role of ‘Satrughana’ in the film that was released in 1980. Five years later, he again worked with Tej in ‘School Master’ which gave his career a head start.
In 1987, he did Manmohan Mohapatra’s ‘Majhi Pahacha’ which won the National Film Award for Best Regional Film. His acting was appreciated by both public and critics. Several other films like ‘Kanyadaan’, ‘Akashra Aakhi’, ‘Sagar’, ‘Pua Mora Bhola Sankara’, ‘Subhagyabati’, ‘Abhimanyu’, ‘Rakhi Bandhili Mo Rakhiba Mana’, ‘Sakhi Rahila Ae Singha Duara’, ‘Kiese Dakuchi Kouthi Mate’, ‘Je Panche Para Manda’ followed.
Counted among the few versatile actors in the industry, Das started his career with lead roles and went on to play supporting characters, villain and even did comedy. In a career spanning four decades, he is credited to have done over 150 films and kept acting till his health condition deteriorated last year.
During the journey, many State Film Awards for both best actor and best supporting actor came his way, the first being in 1996 for ‘Pua Mora Bhola Shankara’. He kept winning the state awards for the years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006 for his films ‘Soubhagyabati’, ‘Laxmi Pratima’, ‘Vidhata’, ‘Rakhi Bandhili Mo Rakhiba Mana’ and ‘Pheria Mo Suna Bhauni’ respectively. He also acted in an art film ‘Bhija Matira Swarga’ directed by Manmohan Mohapatra that won six awards in the 30th Odisha State Film Awards in the year 2019 including the Best Actor Award for Das.
Political leaders, members of the film industry and people from all walks of life condoled the demise of the legendary actor. While Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal said Das will always be remembered for his superlative acting skills, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the impression that the actor left behind in Odia cinema will immortalise him. “His demise is an irreparable loss to the Odia cinema,” Naveen tweeted while expressing his sympathy for the bereaved family members.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Das was a fine human being and a household name in Odisha. “His performances won millions of hearts. An elder brother to me, Mihir’s passing away is a personal loss,” Pradhan tweeted. BJP National Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda said an era in the Odia film world has come to an end. His mortal remains will be consigned to flames with full state honours at Cuttack on Wednesday.