Legendary Odia music director Shantanu Mohapatra passes away at the age of 84

Legendary Odia music director Shantanu Mohapatra passed away on Tuesday night at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Mohapatra left for his heavenly abode yesterday midnight and was said to be suffering from acute pneumonia as well as other ailments due to his old age. The late legend had been a prominent part of the Odia music industry for almost six decades.

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Shantanu Mohapatra passes away at the age of 84 

On December 29, 2020, the heartbreaking news of veteran music director Shantanu Mohapatra's death left the entire Odia music industry aghast. The music maestro was reportedly suffering from age-related ailments before he succumbed to pneumonia and breathed his last in a private hospital in Orissa's capital city, Bhubaneswar.

Soon after the shocking news of his demise broke, a larger number of people visited his residence in Palaspalli to pay their last respect to the late legend. A lot of Odia celebrities and dignitaries also expressed their grief about Shantanu Mohapatra's demise by condoling his death on social media.

Among the many who mourned the loss were Odisha's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh's Governor B B Harichandan, Odisha's Governor Ganeshi Lal, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odia singer Antara Chakraborty and polyglot actor-director Nandita Das. 

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While the Firaaq director Nandita tweeted writing, "Another great loss. We came from the same town, Baripada. So many evenings of singing, stories and warmth. Pity, amazing artists in diff parts of the country go unnoticed by the rest of the country...world. Music director Shantanu Mohapatra no more", singer Antara shared two throwback pictures with the late music maestro and wrote, "Rest in peace legend #shantanumohapatra".

Take a look:

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About Shantanu Mohapatra's music 

Shantanu Mohapatra has been a part of the Odia music industry for around a whopping 60 years and his contribution to the music industry stays remarkable till date. The music director has over 1900 compositions, which include 53 films, 60 dramas by All India Radio, 10 Jatras and 10 dance dramas to his credit. He has also received the highest number of accolades as an Odia music director with more than an astonishing 80 awards.

In addition to that, throughout his illustrious career spanning six decades, Mohapatra has worked with other musical legends including Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi, Manna Dey, Usha Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadekar, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Usha Uthup to name a few.

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