Diptirekha Padhi

Early life and education

According to Wikipedia, Padhi was born on 17 October 1991 in Bhubaneswar. A 2019 OrissaPOST profile describes her as Cuttack-based, with a family village in Bhadrak district. It names her parents as Raghunath, a government employee who has since died, and Lakhmipriya Padhi, a homemaker.

She began studying Hindustani classical music when she was in Class II. Her teachers included Guru Pradip Kumar Das, Guru Bijayananda Nayak and Guru Chaitanya Mohapatra, and she is a graded artiste of All India Radio.

Music career

Padhi's playback debut came in Love Dot Com (2009). Over the next few years she sang for only a handful of films, and she was better known for television acting. Her breakthrough came in 2016, when composer Prem Anand brought her in for Bhaina Kana Kala Se. Her song "Chal Kariba Thia Pala" from that film became a hit.

Her association with Prem Anand continued through a series of popular soundtracks, often in duets with Humane Sagar, Ashutosh Mohanty or Abhijit Majumdar. These included Tu Mo Love Story, Hero No 1, Romeo Juliet and Kabula Barabula (all 2017), and Prem Kumar: Salesman of the Year and Ole Ole Dil Bole (both 2018). OrissaPOST reported in 2019 that she had recorded more than 500 songs. Our film database lists her in more than 70 Odia films up to 2026, including Kabita Banita Lata 2 (2025), Aafaa (2026) and Diary (2026).

Beyond film work, she sang the theme song of the Odisha Election Watch voter-awareness campaign, "My Vote My Country: My Vote not for Sale". She has performed at events such as the Khandagiri Mela in Bhubaneswar and the Dola Yatra celebrations at India Gate, New Delhi. In March 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared her devotional video "Durgati Naashini Maa" on X during Chaitra Navaratri.

Notable songs and albums

Songs credited to her include "Chal Kariba Thia Pala" (Bhaina Kana Kala Se), "Tu Mo Love Story", "Tike Tike Achinha Tu" and "Jadi Ae Jibanare" (Tu Mo Love Story), "Tu Mo Darling" (Hero No 1), "Bele Bele" (Romeo Juliet), "O Sajana" (Kabula Barabula), "Jhumka Tike" and "First Time To Pain" (Prem Kumar: Salesman of the Year), and "Bula Kukura" (Ole Ole Dil Bole). Kalinga TV also named "Hai Toh Premara Gazal", "Hai Toh Premara Rangoli" and "Lal Gulabi" among her hits.

Other work

Padhi played the lead role of Purbi in the ETV Odia serial Rajakanya, which ran from 2014 to 2017. In 2024 she appeared as Debaki in the Zee Sarthak serial Sandya Ragini.

Awards and honours

At the 31st Odisha State Film Awards, announced in November 2021, Padhi was named best female playback singer for the song "E Keun Rutu E Keun Rasta". Wikipedia states that these awards were for the year 2019 and were presented in 2023. Wikipedia also lists a Tarang Music Award in 2017, at the ninth edition of those awards.

Personal life

Padhi married Soumyaranjan Satpathy of Khordha at a hotel in Bhubaneswar in December 2020. Family members and colleagues from the film industry attended, among them composer Prem Anand.