People
Odia singers & stars
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଗାୟକ ଓ ତାରକା
Biographies of Odia singers and of web and TV personalities, each written from cited sources. Film actors and directors are in the Odia cinema section.
Singers ଗାୟକ ଗାୟିକା
- Ananya Sritam NandaAnanya Sritam Nanda is a playback singer from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, who came to national attention in 2015 as the winner of the second season of Sony Entertainment Television's Indian Idol Junior. She has since become a regular voice in Odia cinema, singing in more than 50 Odia films, and made her Hindi film debut with "Padhoge Likhoge" in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016).
- Antara ChakrabortyAntara Chakraborty (also spelled Chakrabarty) is an Indian playback singer who works mainly in Odia cinema. Our film database credits her in about 85 Odia films since 2012. She won the Odisha State Film Award for best female singer for 2015.
- Asima PandaAsima Panda (also spelled Aseema Panda) is an Indian playback singer working in Odia cinema and live stage music. Our film database credits her in close to 100 Odia films since the early 2010s. She has twice won the Odisha State Film Award for best female singer: at the 29th awards, for the title song of Mu Khanti Odia Jhia, and for 2020, for "Bahudina Pare" from Romeo Raja.
- Bhikari BalBhikari Charan Bal (25 May 1929 – 2 November 2010) was an Odia vocalist best remembered for his devotional songs to Lord Jagannath, which earned him the popular title "Bhajan Samrat". An A-grade artist of All India Radio, Cuttack, he also sang playback for Odia films and twice won the Odisha State Film Award for best male singer.
- Diptirekha PadhiDiptirekha Padhi (born 17 October 1991) is an Indian playback singer and television actress who works in Odia cinema. She made her film debut with Love Dot Com (2009) and became one of Ollywood's leading female voices through a run of hit songs with composer Prem Anand. She won the Odisha State Film Award for best female playback singer at the 31st awards, and she also played the lead role in the ETV Odia serial Rajakanya.
- Humane SagarHumane Sagar (25 November 1990 – 17 November 2025) was an Indian playback singer who worked mainly in Odia cinema. He came to public notice by winning the second season of the Tarang TV reality contest Voice of Odisha in 2012. His title song for Ishq Tu Hi Tu (2015) made his name, and he went on to become one of the busiest male voices in Ollywood before his death at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
- Jitendra HaripalJitendra Haripal is a Sambalpuri folk singer from Sambalpur, Odisha, best known as the male voice of "Rangabati", the duet with Krishna Patel that became one of the most widely heard songs of Odisha. A self-taught artist who began on All India Radio in the early 1970s, he received the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to music.
- Mantu ChhuriaMantu (Jhasketan) Chhuria is a Sambalpuri singer and percussionist from western Odisha, known for high-energy dance songs. He first became known through Sambalpuri albums and duets with Aseema Panda, and has since sung in more than a dozen Odia films.
- Rituraj MohantyRituraj Mohanty, known on stage as Rituraj, is an Odia-born playback singer and songwriter based in Mumbai. He won the first season of Star Plus's India's Raw Star in 2014 and has sung in Hindi films and series and in Odia cinema, where his work is mostly Sufi-influenced.
- Ruksana BanoRuksana Bano (died September 2024) was a Sambalpuri and Odia folk singer from western Odisha, regarded as a rising name on the region's folk music circuit. She died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar at the age of 27 after several weeks of hospital treatment.
- Sailabhama MahapatraSailabhama Mahapatra (also spelt Shailabhama Mohapatra) is an Odia playback and devotional singer. She won the Odisha State Film Award for best female singer for Hasib Puni Mo Suna Sansar and received an Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for devotional music.
- Satyajit PradhanSatyajit Pradhan is an Indian playback singer working in Odia cinema. Our film database credits him in more than 70 Odia films since the mid-2010s. He won the Odisha State Film Award for best male playback singer at the 29th State Film Awards, and the best male singer award at the seventh Odia Film Fair Awards in 2017.
- Sikandar AlamMd. Sikandar Alam (27 July 1939 – 8 August 2010) was an Odia playback and devotional singer, often called the "second Salabega of Odisha" for his songs to Lord Jagannath. Trained in Hindustani and Odissi music, he sang in more than 50 Odia films, recorded over 2,000 songs and was reportedly the first Odia singer heard on BBC London.
- Sohini MishraSohini Mishra is an Odia playback singer trained in Hindustani classical music who reached the top six of Indian Idol season 6 in 2012. Based in Mumbai, she has sung in more than 60 Odia films and albums as well as in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam, and won the Best Female Singer award at the 4th Tarang Cine Awards.
- Swayam PadhiSwayam Padhi (also credited as Swayam Pravash or Swayam Prakash Padhi) is an Indian playback singer working in Odia cinema. He first drew attention as a software engineer who posted song covers on YouTube, and he was first runner-up in the third season of Voice of Odisha. He has since sung in more than 50 Odia films and won the Odisha State Film Award for best male singer twice.
- Tapu MishraTapu Mishra (11 January 1985 – 19 June 2021) was an Indian playback singer from Sambalpur who worked mainly in Odia cinema. Over a career of more than two decades she sang in well over a hundred films and recorded devotional songs and albums. She won the Odisha State Film Award for best female singer more than once. She died of COVID-19 complications in Bhubaneswar at the age of 36.
- Trupti DasTrupti Das is an Odia playback singer whose film work stretches from Adina Megha (1970) into the 2010s. She won the Odisha State Film Award for Best Female Singer four times between 1978 and 1989.
Web & YouTube stars ୱେବ ତାରକା
- Big DealBig Deal is the stage name of Samir Rishu Mohanty, a rapper born in Puri, Odisha, to an Odia father and a Japanese mother. He raps in Odia, English and Hindi. His 2017 track 'Mu Heli Odia' was reported as the first Odia rap song, and his music video 'Are You Indian?' (2018) spoke out against racism towards people from North-East India.
- Biswa Kalyan RathBiswa Kalyan Rath (born 27 December 1989) is an Indian stand-up comedian, writer and YouTuber from Rourkela, Odisha. He first became widely known through the YouTube series Pretentious Movie Reviews, made with Kanan Gill. He later created and wrote the Amazon Prime Video series Laakhon Mein Ek and released stand-up specials including Biswa Mast Aadmi, Sushi and Mood Kharaab.
- Biswapati SarkarBiswapati Sarkar (born 22 September 1988) is an Indian screenwriter, actor and producer from Rourkela, Odisha. He was a central creative figure at The Viral Fever (TVF), where he wrote Permanent Roommates and TVF Pitchers and played 'Arnub' in the satirical talk show Barely Speaking with Arnub. He later co-founded Posham Pa Pictures and wrote and produced Jaadugar and Kaala Paani.
- Dhiraj TakriDhiraj Takri is an Instagram creator from Chitrakote village in Nabarangpur district, Odisha. He teaches spoken English with an American accent through short videos. Despite failing his Class 12 exams and working with very basic phones, he gained a million Instagram followers in about six weeks around the turn of 2024.
- Mr. GuluaMr. Gulua is the screen persona of Ashish Kumar Das, an Odia comedian and YouTuber from Brahmagiri in Puri district, Odisha. He is known for episodic comedy sketches in the Odia language and for dialogues that have spread widely online, and his YouTube channel has passed one million subscribers.
Looking for actors and directors? See Odia film people.