Veteran art director Budha Maharana passed away on Tuesday evening at the District Headquarters Hospital here. He was 64.
The stagecraft artist of Odia cinema had been hospitalised for over eight months after suffering from brain stroke.
Maharana had designed sets for over 200 Odia films starting from Kanaklata to Thukul.
Maharana hailed from a lord Jagannath servitor (sevayat) family. He considered himself lucky as he hailed from the lineage of carpenters involved in the making and restoration of the Shree Jagannath Temple.
After receiving his basic education in Pattachitra from his father, he started taking interest in designing stages in Cuttack.
It was director Ghanasham Mohapatra, who introduced Maharana to the world of cinema. Maharana designed his first film set in 1973 for the film Kanaklata.