Ollywood actor and director Hara Patnaik, who ruled the hearts of cine lovers in Odisha for over two decades, breathed his last at a private hospital here in early Tuesday afternoon. He was 55. Patnaik had been admitted to the Sparsh Hospital after the killer cancer relapsed to him and he had slipped into coma and eventually died. “We had released him from the hospital and sent him home on Monday evening after realising that the end was near. But he was brought back to the hospital at 8.15 am after his condition deteriorated. He was admitted to the ICU where Dr Sujit Swain and his team tried their best but could not save him. The end came at 12.40 pm,” said doctor of the hospital.
The doctor said Patnaik’s condition had been deteriorating for the last one-and-a-half years, during which he spent most of his time in the hospital. He was not responding to treatment lately. His family was advised to nurse him at home as it was better to spend the last days at home. The veteran actor, whose blood group was the rare-B, needed frequent doses of blood platelets during the last one and a half years, he said.
Patnaik, the ace reel villain, had earlier been undergoing treatment at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore with an advanced stage of blood cancer detected in April 2008. After successfully battling the cancer, Patnaik was back in films with a bang. Om Sai Ram was his first film since his recovery in 2012. As a director, he gave several upcoming actors their first breaks in cinema. Among those who made it big in Ollywood after getting a break under him are megastars Aanubhav Mohanty, Babusan and Sabyasachi.
This is an irreparable loss to the Odisha film fraternity. He (Patnaik) directed many marvellous movies like Daiba Daudi, Thank You Bhagban and I love You. As an actor and director, he has left his indelible mark on everybody,’’ Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, PCC president Prasad Harichandan, BJP State president KV Singh Deo deeply condoled Hara Patnaik’s demise.