Popular Odia actor Pintu Nanda passes away

Bhubaneswar, March 2: Popular Odia actor Pintu Nanda passed away during treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He was 45. Nanda, who had been suffering from liver-related ailments since long, breathed his last on Wednesday night, family sources said.

He was first admitted in a private hospital in Bhubaneswar and later, shifted to New Delhi's Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for liver transplantation, the family sources said.

However, the actor was shifted to Yashoda Hospital in Hyderabad from New Delhi due to unavailability of the organ donor, the family members informed.

A pall of gloom descended on the Odia film fraternity following Nanda's death.

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, Union Minister Darmendra Pradhan and many senior leaders of the state mourned the death of the Ollywood actor.

Nanda was very popular in Odia cinema and television for his roles as hero, villain, character artist and comedian.

He began his acting career from a Doordarshan programme. Nanda made his debut in the film 'Koili' in 1996. Some of his popular films include 'Dosti', 'Hata Dhari Chalu Tha', 'Rumku Jhumana', 'Wrong Number', 'Prema Rutu Asigala', among others.