Bhubaneswar, Jan. 25: Four towering personalities have been selected for Padma Shri awards this year.
Odia actor and director Sadhu Meher, Odissi dancer Aruna Mohanty, singer Jitendra Haripal and a leading transplant surgeon Mukut Minz.
Talking to The Telegraph, Meher spoke about the not-so-happy condition of the Odia film industry. "Earlier, people who were involved in the film industry were genuine lovers of art. Nowadays, film-making has become a commercial business that offers no scope for quality," said the 77-year-old actor.
Meher began his acting career in Hindi films, which include Bhuvan Shome, Ankur and Mrigaya, and gradually moved to Odia films. He believes film-makers should be responsible towards society. "There are good actors, technicians, filmmakers and scriptwriters in our industry. All we need is vision and dedication," he said.
Lamenting that film-maker Manmohan Mahapatra had not received national recognition, he said: "Earlier, people with talent never got recognition, but this has changed over the years. Recognition for him might come late, but he is deserving," said Meher.
He admitted that he was still hungry for filmmaking. "Given a chance, I will try my hand at an Odia film again. She is presently working on choreographing recitals that connects past to the present and are more relevant in daily lives.
"Earlier, it was felt that only the 'elite' people comprise the audience but nowadays youngsters are considered to be one of the biggest appreciators of art forms. I want that culture to fly," said the dancer who has dedicated the award to her ailing father and guru.
the we used to create haveHe retired as the former head of the department of renal transplant surgery, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh last year and is presently associated with Fortis Hospital, Mohali.
He started a special intensive care unit (ICU) and operation theatre (OT) dedicated to transplant patients in late 90s. In 2005, the centre was converted into a department of renal transplant surgery in which he played an instrumental role.
He completed his MBBS from VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla and joined the PGIMER as junior resident in 1980. He has performed 3,400 kidney transplants in his career and also went to Sweden in 1991 to learn cadaver transplant.
