Education
Film and Television Institute of India.
Film and Television Institute of India.
An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, he worked in various Ad-films and documentaries before making his feature-film debut. Born in Odisha, Bir had a great passion for painting. At the insistence of his father, he joined the Film and Television Institute of India with a specialisation in motion-picture cinematography.
After passing out of the institute, he worked on short films and documentaries.
Nearly 70 percent of the film was shot using a handheld camera. Bir was one of the first-unit cameramen for Richard Attenborough"s Gandhi.
The latter also marked his directional debut. As a director Known for his work in Parallel Cinema.
Hamari Beti, for which he wrote the screenplay apart from photography and direction, was screened at the competitive section of the "World Film Section" of Chicago International Film Festival in 2006.
In 2012, Bir was appointed as one of the directors of the National Film Development Corporation of India. He headed the "Technical Sub-committee" and was the chairman of the feature film jury of the 45th International Film Festival of India in 2014.
Best Cinematography = 1973: 27 Down 1988: Daasi 1991: Aadi Mimansa = Best Regional Film (Oriya) = 1997: Shesha Drushti 1998: Nandan = Best Children"s films = 1991: Lavanya Preeti 2002: Baaja = Best Film on National Integration = 1991: Aadi Mimansa 1991 – Aravindan Award for Best First Film of a Director Aadi Mimansa 1993 – International Jury"s Critic Award at Udaipur International Film Festival for Lavanya Preeti Jayadeba Award Lavanya Preeti – Best Asian Film award at the Osaka International Film Festival. 2011 – Taranga Cine for Best Cinematography 2013 – Padma Shri.
