Sonepur: Theatre personality, film actor, playwright and Sambalpuri lyricist Atal Bihari Panda will be conferred with the Rastriya Naat Samman during Rastriya Naat Mela that will begin from April 13 at the Bhima Bhoi Kala Mandap here.

Panda, 86, the doyen of theatre in western Odisha, will be honoured for his contribution to the art form in the state. Panda, also a film actor, playwright and Sambalpuri lyricist is known for writing the Sambalpuri-Koshali play Phata Kapal. Panda has worked in more than 100 plays besides writing 60 in Sambalpuri and Odia. He shot to fame with Sala Budha, a Koshali-Sambalpuri movie directed by Sabyasachi Mahapatra. This was followed by Adim Vichar that won him the best actor award at a state film award event. Naat, a local based theatre group, will organise the event.

Naat president Pradyumna Sahu said the festival would be competitive with and seven plays from across the country being staged. "Seven plays in Sambalpuri, Odia, Hindi and Bengali will be staged. Award winning plays and artistes will be awarded," Sahu said.

Sahu said the event would start with the Koshali-Sambalpuri play Night Hospital by the Binapani Natya Kala Sansad, Badkarle, of Sonepur district. The play is written and directed by Sumanta Bhoi. "The opening play will be a Koshali-Sambalpuri play followed by Odia play Jhara Sephali by Jajpur-based theatre organisation Ahwan. The play is written and directed by Biswajit Sahu," he said.

Sahu said the last play of the evening, Sahhedrani Zeenat Begum, would be staged by Rourkela-based Kalika Nrutya Sangeeta Academy. The Bengali play, Gandhojale, by Janhabi Sanskriti Chakra will be staged on the second evening. It will be followed by Koshali-Sambalpuri play Tor Paar Ke Mor Paha by the Abarniguda theatre group of Padampur. The last play of the day will be Patjhad Ke Baad in Hindi by Delhi-based Beyond Imagination.

On the last day, Hindi play Manyabar Gadbhalu will be staged, adapted from the Sambalpuri play of the same name.