Dayanidhi Dahima is a talented young man born and brought up in Rajgangpur, a small-town in Odisha. Today, he is inviting global attention to his home-state through his exemplary work as an ad-man, film producer and above all, an entertainer. His company, Daya Entertainment Pvt Ltd, is just one of the facets of this multi-talented young man, who is proudly known as the “Adman of Odisha.”

Daya co-produced the short film “Nawab” and it boasted of actors like Aparshakti Khurana, Geetika Vidya, Mallika Dua, Maria Goretti Warsi and Zarina Wahab. The movie was made for web streaming on Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films and was also nominated in the short film section of Filmfare Awards 2020. Daya describes Nawab as a “comedy-drama” revolving around a man and his wife’s dog. The twist in the tale is that the wife has left the man and now he is stuck with the dog and that is what the story is all about.

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Based out of Bhubaneswar, Daya belongs to a very small town. Growing up in Rajgangpur, Odisha, he aspired to produce movies since his childhood. Speaking about those days, Daya says, “No place is small when the dream is big and film making is what I have always dreamt of. There have been failures one after another. In all these years, I have learned that the love for one’s work should never fade because it is something that will always keep you down to earth.”

With this sorted way of thinking, Daya is already creating waves in the entertainment business, not just in Odisha but in Mumbai as well.

He first made his mark in the field of advertising where his brilliant ads set a benchmark in Odisha. He has directed more than 100 TV commercials. He has managed A-list celebrities like Dr Abdul Kalam, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Deepika Padukon, Chetan Bhagat, Sonam Kapoor, Rajat Sharma, Kiran Bedi, Raveena Tandon, Shaan, Mandira Bedi, Tisca Chopra, etc. In fact, it won’t be a hyperbole to say that he spearheads the world of celebrity management and event management in Odisha.

His company, Daya Entertainment, a trendsetter in event management and wedding planning, has worked for major events and brands along with the other director of the company, Sibasis Nayak. Nayak helps in strategy making and business development. Daya is currently busy organizing events related to brand launches, weddings and fashion ads. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that it was Daya who introduced the concept of celebrity management in Odisha. Daya has also received prestigious awards like Shrie Awards, Youth Icon of the Year and Young Achiever Award from Subhash Ghai’s Whistling Woods International.

The film Nawab also got featured in the best seven short films of the year in GQ India and participated in National and International festivals. Daya says, “I am planning to make few movies in Ollywood and Bollywood with good content. I especially want to include technicians from Odisha in my movies post this. I belong to Odisha and I know the talent here which definitely needs a good exposure and platform.”

Dayanidhi has completed his education in VFX from the reputed Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics after which he did a course in cinematography from FTII, Pune. It was his love for Odisha and its supportive public that took him back to his home state to do something new in the field of event and celebrity management.

Back in time, his father owned a video cassette library and Daya making to Filmfare Awards was a proud moment. His invigorating journey from a small town in Odisha to the portals of Bollywood may seem the stuff dreams are made of but for Daya, this is just the beginning of a lifelong tryst with cinema.