Veteran Odia actor Bijay Mohanty passes away at 70

Popular Odia actor Bijay Mohanty passed away on the evening of July 20 at his home after suffering from a brief illness. The 70-year-old actor was rushed to a hospital in Bhubaneswar when family members found him to be unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

Odia actor Bijay Mohanty passes away at 70

Towards the end of May, Bijay Mohanty was hospitalised after suffering from a cardiac arrest. According to reports, the actor went to visit his daughter and was hospitalised in the city after he complained of severe chest pain. The Odia actor's family revealed that he was placed under observation in the ICU.

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He was admitted to a Hyderabad hospital and was undergoing treatment for 15 days. Bijay Mohanty later returned to Odisha to his hometown. The Odia actor is survived by his daughter Jasmine and wife Tandra Ray. 

Bijay Mohanty began his career in the Odia film industry with the film Chilika Teerey in 1977. The film narrated the story of a fisherman living on the banks of Chilika lake who takes on the fishing mafia but remains unsuccessful. The film later bagged an award for the Best Odia feature film in 1978 at the National Film Awards.

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Bijay is a National School of Drama graduate and is a contemporary of actors like Om Puri, and Raj Babbar. Instead of moving to Mumbai, the actor stayed back and started his career in the Odia film industry. During his initial years in the industry, the Odia actor mainly portrayed antagonist roles. He was seen in films like  Naga Phasa, Samay Bada Balaban, Danda Balunga, Sahari Bagha, Chaka Bhaunri, and Chaka Akhi Sabu Dekhuchi. 

Bijay Mohanty became a famous name after the success of his film Arati. In 1977, the Odia actor also joined the drama department of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and retired as a professor from there. He started a drama troupe in his native place. The actor later joined politics in 2014 and contested from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket. He gave up on politics soon after. 

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