The state of Odisha has always remained an obscure identity across the national landscape, despite its significant contribution to the country over the past several decades. Unknown to many people outside the state, quite a few Odias have immensely contributed to national growth and been wonderful ambassadors of the country on many occasions.<\/p>\n
The following is a list of such personalities who are successful in their respective field of specializations and more importantly, celebrate their roots.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer<\/strong>: The information contained below has been curated mostly from Wikipedia and other resources, and therefore, is limited to the authenticity of the primary sources. This article\u00a0enlists\u00a0personalities who have been acknowledged on \u00a0national platforms, and by no means, is a definitive source. If you believe some personalities should be included in this list, feel free to let us know in the comment box below this post.<\/p>\n Mira Nair:\u00a0<\/strong>The Indian filmmaker and actress based in New York, Mira Nair was born on October 25, 1957 in Rourkela, Odisha, and grew up with her two older two brothers and parents in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.<\/p>\n Nandita Das:\u00a0<\/strong>The Indian film actress and director Nandita Das was born to noted Indian Oriya painter, Jatin Das and a Gujarati Jain mother, Varsha who is a writer.She was born in Mumbai and brought up in Delhi.<\/p>\n Sona Mohapatra:\u00a0<\/strong>Sona Mohapatra is an Indian singer, music composer and lyricist born in Cuttack, Odisha. Sona is BTech engineering graduate from the College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar in Instrumentation & Electronics Engineering.<\/p>\n Nila Madhab Panda:\u00a0<\/strong>The award-winning director of I Am Kalam, Broken Hills and Kaun Kitney Pani Mein, Nila Madhab Panda was born in Sonepur, Odisha.<\/p>\n Krishna Beura:\u00a0<\/strong>Krishna Beura is mostly known for his hit song “Maula Mere” from the film Chak De India, “Rabba” (Musafir) and “Soniyo from the Heart” (Raaz-2). He can sing in 22 languages including his mother tongue Oriya. Krishna Beura is originally from Kusupangi, Banki, Cuttack, presently residing in Mumbai.<\/p>\n Pitobash Tripathy:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Deuli, Nayagarh and brought up in Bhubaneswar, Pitobash Tripathy is known for his role in the movies I Am Kalam and Shor in the City.<\/p>\n Sulagna Panigrahi:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Berhampur, Odisha, Sulagna Panigrahi is a popular television and film actress. She has actored in popular Bollywood movies including Murder 2, Ishq Wala Love and Guru Daskhina. She is also popular for her roles in TV serials including Amer Dhara (Sony), Bidai (Star Plus) and Do Saheliyaan (Zee TV).<\/p>\n Pratichee Mohapatra:\u00a0<\/strong>Selected among thousands from India’s first ever reality music show-Channel V Popstars, Pratichee “wowed” the jury members and the country with her voice and personality. Her Musical journey which started with the band- VIVA still continues in full throttle as a solo artiste as she tours around the world and country spreading her love for Music and entertaining her audience with her power packed performance and unique voice.<\/p>\n Sniti Mishra:\u00a0<\/strong>A trained vocalist in Hindusthani classical music who appeared for the first time in the Zee TV musical reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar, Sniti Mishra is born and raised in Balangir, a district in the western part of Odisha.<\/p>\n Ananya Sritam Nanda:\u00a0<\/strong>Ananya Sritam Nanda, the winner of Indian Idol Junior Season 2 hails from Bhubaneswar, and a student of DAV School (Pokhariput). Ananya has won Pranab Sangeet Pratiyogita in 2010 and a Hindustani vocal competition organized by Bhubaneswar Musical Circle in 2015.<\/p>\n Rajasmita Kar:\u00a0<\/strong>Born and raised in Rourkela, Rajasmita Kar has won the title of Dance India Dance, a dance reality television show telecasted on Zee TV.\u00a0 In the grand finale Kar (Geeta Ki Gang) stood number one with 48,89,030 votes and became the winner.<\/p>\n Mandakini Jena:\u00a0<\/strong>Dancer and choreographer Mandakini Jena, who was one of the top 20 performances in reality show Dance India Dance (DID) season one, is now successfully running her own dance academy M-Zone. Mandakini\u2019s talent has taken her places. Now, a regular member of Terrence Lewis\u2019s dance troupe, she had the opportunity to display her talent at several events in New York, Bangkok and Dubai. <\/p>\n Arundhati Garnaik:\u00a0<\/strong>A student of Mandakini Jena, Arundhati Garnaik has had a successful journey at DID Season 4. She has born and raised in Bhubaneswar.<\/p>\n Padmini and Debasish:\u00a0<\/strong>Padmini and Debashish are the dance couple who have participated in India\u2019s Dancing Superstar, a realty show in Star Plus. Their performances, agility and exhilarating fusion of different dance styles wowed the judges and the audiences alike. (Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n Rituraj Mohanty:\u00a0<\/strong>Born and brought up in Nimapara, Puri, Rituraj Mohanty is the winner of India\u2019s Raw Star, a singing competition show in Star Plus. He learnt Hindustani classical music at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar. And in the course of time he left for Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood music industry. He also got some break in the same, but it was mostly the show that brought this blessed singer and his mellifluous Sufiana renditions to the lime light.<\/p>\n Harihar Dash:\u00a0<\/strong>Berhampur based, Harihar Dash who has won the second season of India\u2019s Got Talent, a reality show telecasted in Colors, is a master of many dance styles apart from Locking and Popping. He has also acted in Airtel ad. Recently, he has released a dance video shot at Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n Debasis Mohanty:\u00a0<\/strong>Debashish Mohanty is a former Indian cricketer who played in two Tests and 45 One Day Internationals from 1997 to 2001. He was a right-arm medium-fast bowler who coupled pace to his naturally lanky frame. He found success in the limited overs format, averaging under 30 and taking over one wicket per game. There was a period when Mohanty formed a strong new ball partnership with Venkatesh Prasad. Beginning at 1999 Cricket World Cup, he was the second highest Indian wicket taker despite playing four games fewer than the leading Indian wicket taker – Javagal Srinath. Mohanty played 17 ODIs and picked up 29 wickets at an average in the early 20s and climbed into the top 20 of the ICC ODI World Rankings. However, with the return of Ajit Agarkar, his opportunities dwindled and he played only another seven games. Mohanty, along with Harvinder Singh was instrumental in winning one of the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan in Toronto in the 1990s.<\/p>\n Pragyan Ojha:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Bhubaneswar, Pragyan Ojha is an Indian cricketer who represents the national cricket team as a slow left arm orthodox bowler. He also plays for Bengal cricket team in domestic cricket and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. His earliest pursuit in cricket was at the age of 10, when he went to Sahid Sporting Club for a summer camp in Bhubaneswar under Sasang S Das, while studying at D.A.V Public School in Chandrasekharpur. Three years later, he moved to Bhavan’s Sri RamaKrishna Vidyalaya (BSRKV) in Sainikpuri and carried on his cricket coaching under the guidance of T Vijay Paul.<\/p>\n Dilip Tirkey:\u00a0<\/strong>Hailing from Sundargarh, Odisha, Dilip Tirkey is a former Indian hockey player and his playing position was of full back. He was best known for his penalty corner hit. Dilip was one of the most difficult defenders (because of his tight marking skill near goal post) to beat in the world. He was an ex-captain of Indian hockey team.<\/p>\n Dutee Chand:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Jajpur, Odisha, Dutee Chand is an Indian professional sprinter. She is being supported by Anglian Medal Hunt Company, a foundation that supports Indian athletes. She is the current national champion in women’s 100 metres event.<\/p>\n Anuradha Biswal:\u00a0<\/strong>Anuradha Biswal is an Indian track and field athlete from Odisha who specializes in 100 metre hurdles. She holds the current national record of 13.38 seconds for 100 m hurdles. Anuradha set this record on 26 August 2002, during the DDA-Raja Bhalendra Singh National Circuit meet held at the Nehru Stadium in Delhi.<\/p>\n Srabani Nanda:\u00a0<\/strong>Hailing from Kandhamal district of Odisha, Srabani Nanda is an Indian woman sprint runner athlete from Odisha specialized in 4x100m relay, 100 metre and 200 metre sprint events.<\/p>\n Padmini Rout:<\/strong> Born in Barambagarh, Odisha, Padmini Rout is an Indian chess player who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She won the World Under-14 Girls’ Championship in 2008 and the Indian Women’s Championship in 2014. She has also won five Asian and four national titles.<\/p>\n Katulu Ravi Kumar:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Berhampur, Odisha, Katulu Ravi Kumar\u00a0 is a weightlifter who won a gold medal in the Men’s 69 kg (152 lb) weightlifting category, at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n Valena Valentina:\u00a0<\/strong>Born in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Valena Valentina is an Indian woman Karate player who has bagged a gold medal at the National Karate Championship in New Delhi in Women\u2019s Kata division and in women\u2019s kata event at the South Asian Karate Championship at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in New Delhi in June 2014. (source: 1<\/a> and 2<\/a>)<\/p>\n Bibhu Mahapatra:\u00a0<\/strong>Rourkela born, Bibhu Mohapatra is an Indian-American fashion designer and costume designer. He has earned a Masters in economics from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University in 1996, then moved to New York City to enrol in the Fashion Institute of Technology. Mohapatra has designed a collection of hand woven silks to help the traditional weavers of Orissa.<\/p>\nBollywood<\/h2>\n
National Television\/Reality TV Shows<\/h2>\n
Sports<\/h2>\n
Fashion Industry<\/h2>\n