Talents of Odisha

Here are the talents of Odisha, that make us feel proud to be an Odia. Journey starts from Prince Dance Group to Ananya Sritam Nanda.. and still continuing.

1.Prince Dance Group (Winner of Indias Got Talent 2009, Colors TV)

Prince Dance Group, a dance troupe based in Berhampur, Orissa, India led by T. Krishna Mohan Reddy. It has won a reality show India's Got Talent on an Indian TV channel "Colors" Colors (India TV channel). The group is unique that the members are from a remote part of India and most of them are from disadvantaged sections of different parts of Ganjam district. Two of them, Padmanabha Sahu (24) and Telu Tarini (13) are physically challenged.They have won the hearts of all Odiyas, including chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and even outsiders with their performance in the programme "India's Got Talent". Prince Group also performed in Sardotsav- annual winter festival in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) on 06 November 2014. After winning Rs50 lakh (Rs five million) prize money and a auddi car from the Colors channel, a pleasant surprise lay in store for them. The Orissa government announced a cash prize of Rs two crore (Rs twenty million) and four acres of land for the group to build a dance academy.

Confirming the news, Krishna Mohan Reddy, the choreographer of Prince Dance Group said, "We have heard that our government has announced a prize for us. We feel honoured. I am very happy that our efforts have paid off". The group, which is from Berhampur, Orissa, consists of 20 members. Krishna leads the team and the rest are labourers from a construction site. It was their Krishna act which earned the group accolades from the viewers nationwide and they also became a favourite with the judges. Commenting on their future plans, Krishna added, "I am a choreographer and want to grow in this profession. With the land provided to us by the government I want to build a dance academy and take this art forward. I would also want to perform on an international platform".

2.Sonali Majumdar and Maraju Sumanth (Winner of Indias Got Talent 2012, Colors TV)

Two young dancers Sonali Majumdar and Maraju Sumanth from Kolkata's Bivash dance academy were crowned winners of the fourth season. The Season 4 of the show started airing from 22 September 2012. The show was judged by model-actress Malaika Arora Khan, actress Kirron Kher and Director Karan Johar. The position of the third judge of the show was later taken by Farah Khan.

Sumanth and Majumdar walked away with the maximum votes defeating singer Deepraj from Gangtok and Jharkhand-based trapeze artistes Mukesh and Tanya.

3.Rashmita Kar (Winner of Dance India Dance 2012 , Zee TV)

Rajasmita Kar (born 1991) is a dance reality show contestant from Rourkela, Odisha, in India. She won the title of Dance India Dance, a dance reality television show telecasted on Zee TV.In the show, her mentor was Geeta Kapoor. She was named as the dark horse by Mithun Chakraborty.In the grand finale Kar (Geeta Ki Gang) stood number one with 48,89,030 votes and became the winner.

4.Rituraj Mohanty (Winner of India's Raw Star 2014, Star PLUS)

Rituraj Mohanty was born at Belapada (Khatuapada), Post; Nayahat in Nimapada in Puri district of Odisha. He is the elder son of Sri Chakradhar Mohanty and Pravati Mohanty. Sri Chakradhar Mohanty is a musician (Tabla) by profession and singer in small time jatra dunia. The cousin elder brother Sri Sumanta Mohanty was a reputed music director in oriya classical music industry.

He learnt Hindustani classical music at Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar. He left singing after meeting an accident. He then left for Mumbai seeking for a job and met his family during the show. Mohanty was trying to get a break as a professional singer. In 2014, he sung the song "Sahib" in Bollywood movie Bhoothnath Returns. He won as one of the three contestants of the "India's Raw Star" and won the competition. Before that he also sang a song named Aam Ke Aam Honge on Satyamev Jayate (Season 2), then he also got some break in bollywood industry.

5.Ananya Sritam Nanda (Winner of Indian Idol Junior 2015, Sony TV)

Odia sensation Ananya Sritam Nanda has won the Indian Idol Junior 2015. The 14-year-old girl from Bhubaneswar was declared winner in the grand finale which was watched by millions across the country.

Ananya, who pocketed Rs 10 lakh as prize money besides a host of other rewards including a contract, beat co-contestants Nahid Afrin and Nithyashree Venkataraman in a gala finale which was telecast by Sony TV. A Standard IX student of city based DAV school, Pokhariput, Ananya garnered maximum audience votes throughout the contest and stood first among four grand-finalists. She also was among the favourites of the judges.

"I am feeling blessed and happy. Thanks to great support I received from the people of my State, my parents and schoolmates all through the contest. The finals were tough as all contestants were very competent," said Amrita conveying Ananya's message to The Express. "Ananya’s performance was unique which has made every Odia proud. I wish her a bright future," CM Naveen said in a statement. Trained in Hindustani Classical, Ananya started her musical journey at a tender age of five and was trained under Hindustani exponents Guru Nilamani Ojha and Chitta Ranjan Pani. She is a big fan of Shreya Ghoshal.