Nila Madhab Panda | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 October 1973 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, director |
| Years active | 1998 – present |
| Spouse | Barnali Rath Panda |
| Children | Aatman Panda |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2016) |
Nila Madhab Panda (born 18 October 1973) is an Indian film producer and director. Panda has produced and directed over 70 films, documentaries and shorts[1] based on social issues such as climate change, child labor, education, water issues, sanitation and many other developmental issues in India.[2] Most of his films draw inspiration from his own life, having won several awards and critical acclaim for his films which have been received as entertaining yet socially relevant.[3][4]
Panda hails from Dasharajpur Village, in Subarnapur District of Western Odisha, the youngest of five siblings. Education in a rural Indian village meant a school with no building, and walking 4-9 km daily. In 1995, after failing to graduate, Panda left Delhi and landed the job of a camera attendant. There he learnt the intricacies of filmmaking. He is stated to have studied Entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore.[5]
Nila Madhab Panda is an Odia director and producer involved in making mainstream and parallel Hindi films, documentaries, short films and public service advertising campaigns.[6] He has served on the juries of national and international film festivals, such as International Film Festival of India (IFFI).[7] He started his career by assisting director Robin Romanov and producer Barbara Broccoli.
His first feature film I Am Kalam became an iconic film winning 34 international awards along with a national award.[8][9] His second feature film Jalpari (Desert Mermaid) received the MIP Junior award at Cannes.[10] He continued making path breaking films like Babloo Happy Hai (Babloo is happy) and Kaun Kitne Paani Mein (In troubled water). His project Kadvi Hawa (Dark wind) was highly rated and critically acclaimed globally and received a national award.[11][12] This is one of the first films that brought climate change into Indian cinema. His feature-length documentary God's own people narrated by Amitabh Bachchan connects between people's faith with tree and God.[13]
Halkaa (Relief) was his production - a musical film with children. The film narrates a story about the Swachhata Abhiyaan (Clean India Mission) and the importance of sanitation. It won Best Film at the Grand Prix in Poland.[14] In February 2021, Panda announced that his First Odia language film Kalira Atita had been submitted to the Oscars 2021 in the General Category and was available for Academy screening.[15] However, the film did not make the cut for Oscar nominations.[16]
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Writer | ||||
| 2002 | Swajaldhara | Yes | Yes | Documentary | [17] | |
| 2005 | Climates First Orphans | Yes | Yes | Documentary | [17][18] | |
| 2010 | I am Kalam | Yes | Yes | [19] | ||
| 2012 | Jalpari | Yes | [20] | |||
| 2014 | Babloo Happy Hai | Yes | Yes | [21] | ||
| 2015 | Kaun Kitne Paani Mein | Yes | Yes | Yes | [22] | |
| 2016 | God's Own People | Yes | Documentary | [23] | ||
| 2017 | Kadvi Hawa | Yes | Yes | Yes | [24] | |
| 2018 | Halkaa | Yes | Yes | [25][26] | ||
| 2019 | Biju Babu | Yes | ||||
| 2020 | Kalira Atita (Yesterday’s Past) | Yes | Yes | Odia film | ||
