As a male Odissi and Chhau dancer, Sushant had to fight against the stereotypical thinking of society, but that did not stop him from pursuing his passion for dance. He has performed across the world and received many awards.

Sushant Maharana is an Odissi and Chhau dancer. He runs his own institution Manjari Oddisi Nrityalaya. He has also performed in Doordarshan programmes as an artist.

Sushant was born and brought up in Delhi. His family traces their origins to Odisha.

Recalling his childhood, Sushant says that he belongs to a family of artists. He has been learning dance from his father since childhood. As a male classical dancer, he did face many challenges as there were not many male students who wanted to pursue classical dance, but he was supported and appreciated by his school teachers and family, which inspired him a lot.

Sharing his dance journey, Sushant says that he learned Odissi from his father, and then learned Chhau under the guidance of his guru, Padma Shri Shasadhar Archarya. He was also learning Kathak, but due to his guru’s demise, he could not complete his Kathak training. He continued practicing and performing Odissi and Chhau dance forms.

Sushant says that he has always tried to carry on his father's legacy. He also started his own institution “Manjari Odissi Nrityalaya”. Many national and international students associated with his institutions together formed a Nrityamanjari group and they performed in various dance festivals across the world. He sees art as a child that needs to be nurtured, contributed to, and promoted in its original form.

Speaking about his challenges, Sushant says that he has struggled a lot. Although his family was supportive, he wanted to do everything on his own and earned his living on his own by teaching and promoting his art form. He advises his fellow artists to be independent and be their own helpers. He says that an artist cannot express the joy of reaching a destination after overcoming their difficulties, and the appreciation that he gets from his audience is his greatest inspiration.

Sharing about his achievements, Sushant shares that he has performed in many national and international shows. He says that, as an artist, he has been associated with Doordarshan and the Ministry of Culture. He was also granted a scholarship and was conferred with several awards. He says that he will continue to contribute towards promoting the art form.

Sushant believes that in order to learn a classical art form, one must devote themselves to a guru and dedicate a significant amount of time to the art form. He had learned at every stage of his life from his gurus, fellow artists, his friends, and his dancing stage.

In his spare time, Sushant enjoys painting and singing.

In times of stress, Sushant sits in a yoga position and meditates; doing this gives him the space to think about what lies ahead.

Sushant’s life mantra is that no matter where we get knowledge from, we should take it and try to implement it in our lives. He says that if an artist is happy with his art, they can make their audience happy too.