Veteran Odia Cinematographer Ashok Swain No More

Bhubaneswar: Veteran Odia cinematographer Ashok Swain passed away due to cancer in Cuttack on Saturday. He was 70. He is survived by his wife, one son and two daughters. He was awarded the Jayadev Samman for his lifetime contribution to the Odia cine industry in 2016.

He also won a National Award for the documentary film ‘The Empliments’ directed by Ghanasyam Mohapatra. His work in other documentaries such as Odissan Handicrafts, Odisha Tourism and Shree Jagannath had won accolades. His tribal film, Soma ‘O’ Buda’ on the BONDA tribes was also screened at various film festivals. He has also won the Chitrapuri Subarna Jayanti Samman along with the best cameraman award for his first colour film, ‘Mu Tume O Se’ in 1989.

After completing his Diploma in Cinematography from SJ Polytechnic, Bengaluru, Swain honed his skills in various studios like AVM studios in Chennai and RK Studio in Mumbai. Later in 1973, he joined as a camera person in Doordarshan.

He began his career by working as an assistant cameraman for an Indo-Russian children’s film, “The Black Mountain” with Russian Director, Alexander Zagurdi and Indian filmmaker MS Sathyu in1970. It was shot in the Karapur Forest of Karnataka. His other works include ‘Sesha Pratikshya’, ‘Subarna Sita’, ‘Batasi Jhada’, ‘Para Jhia Ghara Bhangena’, ‘Nala Damayanti’, ‘Jayadev’, ‘Sahari Bagha’, ‘Hisab Kariba Kalia’, ‘Chha Mana Atha Guntha’, ‘Sankha Sindura’ and many more. Not only that, he had proved his mettle for short features like ‘Phata Kapala’, ‘Salbeg’, ‘Rratri’, ‘Bana Phula’ and a film on the tribes of Odisha called ‘Goti Pratha’.