Atal Bihari Panda (1928/9 – 5 June 2021) was an Indian actor, playwright and lyricist, known for his works in Sambalpuri odia Cinema.

[3] Initially director Sabyasachi Mohapatra approached him to write dialogue for the film Sala Budha.

The director was looking for the protagonist for that film but he could not find one so he approached Atal to play the lead role and Panda agreed.

In 2014, he again got the chance to work with the director Sabyasachi Mohapatra in the film "Aadim Vichar", which was a sequel to "Sala Budha".

[9] On 5 June 2021, Atal Bihari Panda died from COVID-19 at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research.