Ashutosh Panda

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 22: Dhoom 3 has gone to break all box office records and Odia boy Ashutosh Panda played a small yet significant role in it.

Working as the first assistant in the film’s cinematography, Ashutosh has come long way and is gradually moving towards creating a name for himself.

When he was in class VII, Ashutosh’s maternal uncle had gifted him a camera, which got him immensely interested in photography. However, he never had the resources to pursue it as a career option. After his graduation in history from Rajdhani College, Bhubaneswar, he went to pursue his masters in archaeology at university of Hyderabad.

At the varsity he took up photography, as it was one of the subjects in his course. After his brief stint in wildlife photography and diploma in camera and lighting from a Noida-based institute, he returned to his alma mater in Hyderabad to do a yearlong diploma in television production.

Finally, his father through a common friend introduced him to Piyush Ghosh, who is a renowned jimmy jib operator in the industry. Ghosh was instrumental in providing Ashutosh his first break in the industry as an assistant cinematographer in the movie Shakalaka Boom Boom, which was followed by Sarkar Raj by Ram Gopal Verma where he worked as a first assistant to the cinematographer Amit Ray. Working under the aegis of Bollywood’s noted cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee brought him recognition. Belonging to the Jajpur district, the 31-year-old cinematographer’s latest project was the multi-starring blockbuster movie Dhoom 3.

“I have been extremely fortunate to learn from Sudeep Chatterjee. After watching the films Dor and Iqbal, I always wanted to work with him,” said the man, who loves to be behind the camera. He worked under Chatterjee for Dil Bole Hadippa, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Guzaarish as well.

“I want to work independently now and if I get an offer from Odia film industry I would love to be part of the project,” said Ashutosh.