Veteran Odia Actor-Director Sadhu Meher Passes Away At Mumbai Residence

Bhubaneswar: Veteran actor, producer and director from Odisha, Sadhu Meher, passed away at his residence in Mumbai on Friday. He was 84.

Mourning his death, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that Meher has left an inedible mark with his flawless performances in both Hindi and Odia cinema. “He had received laurels for his brilliant acting skills. He is the first Odia actor to be honoured with the National Film Award. His demise is an irreparable loss to the film industry,” he said, while expressing condolences to the bereaved family.

A native of Gudvelipadar village near Palsagura in Boud district, Meher is known for his serious acting chops in ‘Ankur: The Seedling’ (1974), ‘Abhilasha’ (1983) and ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ (1993). He had also acted in critically-acclaimed Odia movie ‘Bhukha’.

He began his career with Hindi films like ‘Bhuvan Shome’, ‘Ankur’, and ‘Mrigaya’ before shifting focus to Odia cinema. He gained prominence in parallel cinema in the mid-1980s. He acted in Byomkesh Bakshi’s episodes – ‘Aadim Shatru’ and ‘Chakrant’ as Anadi Haldar and Bishupal respectively. He also featured in Anil Kapoor and Kajol starrer ‘Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hai’.

His other popular Hindi films include ’27 Down’, ‘Nishaant’, ‘Manthan’, ‘Inkaar’, ‘Safed Haathi’, ‘Debshishu’, ‘Shesha Drushti’ and Sabyasachi Mohapatra directed ‘Jai Jagannath’ that was made in 15 languages.

His directorial ventures include ‘Abhimaan’ starring Uttam Mohanty, ‘Aparichita’, ‘Desire’, ‘Abhilasha’, ‘Babula’ (first children’s sci-fi Odia movie), and ‘Gopa Re Badhhuchhi Kala Kanhei’.

Meher had won National Film Award for Best Actor for ‘Ankur’ in 1974. He was conferred with Padma Shri in 2017 for  his lifetime contribution to the field of entertainment. He was felicitated by the Odisha government with Jaydev Samman in 2011.