Veteran stage artist Asim Basu passes away

Bhubaneswar: Veteran stage artist, theatre director, and writer Asim Basu on Wednesday passed away at the Capital Hospital here.

He was 18. Basu was ailing since last month. The recipient of the state Sangeet Natak Akademi Award is survived by his son and daughters Atasi, a painter and Bhaswati, an actress.

Basu, a prominent personality in the art fraternity – both fine art and theatre has contributed immensely to Odisha’s cultural scene. He started as a book cover designer when the Odia literary world was immensely active. His art-direction in films like Agni Sanketa (Odia) and Shodh (Hindi) are introduction enough for him.

Basu had excelled in the fields of painting and sculpture and of course set designing, dominating the stage designing scene in Odisha’s theatre since many decades. He had performed in films like Jaga Balia, Dadagiri and many others.

Born in a small village in Balasore, Basu had left home to learn painting in Kolkata.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Governor SC Jamir, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, PCC president Prasad Harichandan and others condoled his death.