Dukhiram Swain

Dukhiram Swain (Odia: ଦୁଃଖୀରାମ ସ୍ଵାଇଁ) was one of the most popular villains of Oriya Cinema. He was a National Film Awards winning actor (Shesha Shrabana) and played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist in many Oriya films, as well as roles in television serials and various roles in the small screen. He was considered to be one amongst the club of natural actors. He was honoured with the Jayadeva Purashkar (Highest State Award for Excellence in Art & Literature) from Orissa State Film Awards and several "Best Villain" awards from State Film Awards and Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi.^[1]

Life and career

Late Dukhiram Swain was born in Daraba, Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha. He was a linguist and could speak several languages fluently. He started his acting Career from Annapurna Theatre (Cuttack ). His first movie was Sri Lokenath (1960). He was mostly offered negative roles and over the years he developed a cult status in this genre of acting. On contrary to the villainous characters he portrayed in his films, he was very social & generous and was also member of various organizations. Matira Manisha, Jajabara, Shesha Shrabana, Phula Chandana, Paradeshi Chadhei and Rana Bhumi are some of his most notable films. He has acted almost all kinds of roles ranging from hero, villain, comedian, character roles etc.

From the Newspaper Column

Circa 1976 Shesha Shrabana was on the floor. Mahasweta Roy, enacting a village lass, had to take bath in a pond and the local bad man was supposed to attempt rape. The camera cranked. The fiendishness with which the character, Nidhi Mishra, went about the scene;— the evil stare and rolling eyeballs;— caused Mahasweta to faint. The rest is history. The film among all its glory will forever be remembered for Nidhi Mishra’s villainy played by Dukhiram Swain.

Thirty-three years have passed after Shesha Shrabana became a big hit, and Dukhiram Swain is no more today. Ollywood has since seen many brutes on the screen, but he still remains the ultimate in the industry.

Evil zamindars have been the villains of the cinema since its beginning. The concept, naturally, found its source from Bollywood films. But it was Mrinal Sen’s Matira Manisha (1966) that gave Oriya film viewers the first peek into sheer villainy on celluloid. Dukhiram Swain shone like fire in his role as a village tout who tries to wedge a divide between two brothers.

The cinema in the state did see many other villains later. Krushna Chandra Pandey, Pira Mishra, Netrananda Mishra, Asit Pati, Niranjan Satpathy, Raimohan Parida, Mihir Das, Minaketan, Hara Patnaik.... Each one had a unique style and gave the art of villainy varied shades. But none could leap above the bar Dukhiram Swain set. Be it the avaricious moneylender or the capricious henchman plotting and scheming, people just loved to hate his presence. Gone are Dukhiram Swain’s days; today no actor has a permanent slot for villain or hero. The audience expects versatility. ”

Not surprisingly, the audience looks forward to versatility from an actor, that regular excellence in a role;— even of that of a villain. Notes editor-director Susant Mani: “It’s good to watch young actors like Manoj Mishra, Bobby Mishra and Sabyasachi Mishra performing all shades of a character.” But even he doesn’t seem to believe that their villainous roles matched Dukhiram Swain’s.^[2]

Awards and honours

• He was honoured with Orissa Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award for the Year 1984-85 in the Acting category.^[3]
• He was honoured with Orissa State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor : Bhulihuena in 1987.
• He was honoured with the Jayadev Award (posthumous) (1994) for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Oriya cinema.

Dukhiram Swain Award in his Honour

PURI (2010): The fourth State-level Amateur Drama Festival that concluded in Puri showcased the efforts of some of the best amateur theatre troupes in Orissa. It was organised by ‘Rangashala' at Annapurna Theatre auditorium, which is considered to be the cradle of stage activity in Orissa. The organisers honoured a series of personalities involved in promotion of theatre and culture of Orissa.

Noted actor and director Ram Chandra Paratihari took the Dukhiram Swain Award

Filmography

Photo Gallery

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  Mamata Mage Mula (1985)

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  Mamata Mage Mula (1985)

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  With Co-Star Hemant Das ( Mamata Mage Mula )

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  Mamata Mage Mula

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  Mamata Mage Mula

Personal life

He was married to the late Mrs. Hemalata Swain. He is survived by two sons, Mr. Akash Kumar Swain (Jagatsinghpur), Mr. Prithiviraj Swain (Cuttack) and one daughter, Mrs. Dharitri (Swain) Das (the marriage was to Mr. Nimain Charana Das and was settled in Bolangir). He is survived, as well, by three grandchildren from his daughter's side, Mrs. Pragyan Paramita Das (the marriage was to Mr. Dhrutiman Das and was settled in Bangalore), Ms. Prachi Sucharita Das (Bhubaneswar), and Mr. Niroopkanti Das (Patnagarh).

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  Dharitri Das & Nimain Charan Das

Notes

External links

• Dukhiram Swain at the Internet Movie Database
• The New Indian Express 8 November 2009 The versatility in villainy By Kasturi Ray
• Jayadev Awards 13- Dukhiram Swain, Actor (posthumous) (1994)
• ORISSA STATE FILM AWARD WINNERS – 1987 12 Best Supporting Actor : Sri Dukhiram Swain(Bhulihuena)
• The Hindu Monday, Dec 13, 2010 actor and director Ram Chandra Paratihari took the Dukhiram Swain Award at State-level Amateur Drama Festival