Bhubaneswar, Aug 21: Veteran Odia playback singer Pranab Patnaik, whose distinctive voice and musical career spanning more than six decades left an enduring mark on Odisha’s film and music industry, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on Friday. He was 88.

Born on January 20, 1938, Patnaik was among Odisha’s most celebrated playback singers. He was deeply influenced by his father, Late Lal Mohan Patnaik, former Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. He received formal musical training under Guru Kunal Adinarayan and began his playback career in 1958 with the Odia film Maa.

During his illustrious career, Patnaik lent his voice to more than 200 Odia films and worked with several leading music directors. His songs in films such as Shree Lokanath, Suryamukhi, Sindura Bindu, Sesa Srabana, Chinha Achinha and Batighara earned him immense popularity.

He was the only Odia playback singer to have won the State Film Award for Best Playback Singer seven times, including for Sindura Bindu (1976), Astaraaga (1982), Jhiati Sita Pari (1983), Kanyadana (1988), Pratishodha Aparadha Nuhen (1989) and Asha (1993).

His other honours included the Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Jayadev Puraskar, Prafulla Kar Samman, Gangadhar Rath Memorial Award, Big Odia Entertainment Award and Balakrishna Dash Memorial Award for lifetime contribution to Odia music.

Known for his wide vocal range, Patnaik sang across Odissi, folk, devotional, semi-classical, traditional, Hindi and ghazal genres. He also shared the stage and studio with several renowned singers, including Hemlata, Vani Jayaram, S. Janaki, P. Susheela, Nirmala Mishra, Bhupinder Singh, Usha Mangeshkar and Haimanti Sukla.

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