[5] Shantanu Mohapatra was born on 6 January 1936, in Baripada, Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.
While studying at IIT, he became involved with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and mastered the art of group music.
In June 1956, he joined the Department of Mines & Geology, Government of Odisha and retired from there as a director.
Santanu Mahapatra made his debut as an Odia movie music composer in 1963 with the film Surjyamukhi.
Mohapatra had composed the first modern Odia ballad 'Konark Gatha' with lyricist Gurukrushna Goswami and it was sung by Akshaya Mohanty.