Sri Mohapatra made his début in the oDiA film, Suryamukhi (1963), where he scored his first film song “Chuna Chuna Taaraa Phule” with Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar and another song (Duniare Samayara Naee Bahi Jaaere) rendered by the versatile singer of Bollywood, Manna Dey. He has also used Pranab Pattanaik and Nirmala Mishra extensively for his compositions in his successive films.

As a “Top Grade” composer of AIR & Doordarshan, for over 30 years, Shantanu Mohapatra has composed hundreds of oDiA modern songs for the Media sung by more than 100 singers including all the leading singers of the day like Raghunath Panigrahi, Akshay Mohanty, Pranab Kishore Pattanaik, Md. Sikandar Alam, Smt. Bina Debi, Bhubaneswari Mishra, Arjun Samal, Lopita Mishra, Trupti Das, Subhas Dash, Bhikari Bal, Indrani Mishra, Prafulla Kar, Fakir Pattanaik and many others.

Besides composing hundreds of songs and scoring Music for about 10 Jatra’s (Folk Theatre), 60 oDiA Dramas, Doordarshan, AIR, HMV-Calcutta (Non-Film Discs), he has scored the music of many oDiA, Bengali and Hindi feature films which won both Regional and National Awards.Those films include Chilika Teerey, Priyatamaa, Agni Parikshya, Meghamukti, Sita Raati (Art), Jibana Sangram in oDiA language, ‘Mahaaprithibi’ (Bengali)(Art) and SODH (Hindi) (Art) which won the Golden Lotus Award in 1979-the first coloured Hindi film produced from Odisha.

His other notable films include, Dora, Jaga Balia, Golam Giri, Klaanta Aparaanha(Art), Niraba Jhada (Art), Kichhi Smruti Kichhi Anubhuti (Art), Bhangaa Silata(Art), Majhi Paahaacha (Art), Vinna Samaya(Art), Mukti Tirtha, Pathara Khasuchhi Badadeulu, Ranabhumi and Budha Deb Dasgupta’s “Bagh Bahaadur” (Art), the National Award winning Hindi feature film(1991). Apart from scoring hundreds of Modern oDiA songs, Devotinal songs/ Bhajans for HMV Discs and Audio Cassettes he has also composed songs like “Jaya Jagannath Hare” (Super Cassettes, New Delhi, 1986 in Hindi) and on the works of Kabir and Nanak (oDiA & Hindi), between 1986-94.He repeated his feet in Super Cassette Album in Hindi, “Jaya Jagannath” in 1999-2000.

In 1983, he had scored the music for the first ever oDiA Tele film “Maamu” adopted from the classic by Fakir Mohan Senapati (for the first time in this film he composed Hindi songs in Odissi style). Later, he composed music for his first Biographical Film on “Dr. Radhanath Rath” directed by Ghanashyam Mohapatra.

He has also been credited as the first oDiA Music Director to work in films in five different languages: oDiA, Hindi, Bengali, Assamese and Telugu. Besides oDiA playback singers, others who have sung under his music direction include, Suresh Wadekar, Abhijeet, Anuradha Powdwal, Kabita Krishnamurti from Mumbai.

Shantanu Mohapatra has been the first “Music Trainer” for Modern Music in Akashavani, Cuttack. He has successfully composed prestigious musical programs like “Anjali”, “Sajaphula” & “Raaga Manjari” for A.I.R. Cuttack and “Sangeeta Sandhyaa”, “Juaara”, “Sugam Sangeet” Progammes for Doordarshan with leading artistes. He has also been the most popular choral composer for the A.I.R., Cuttack and Doordarshan duly trained by the Great Salil Choudhury at Kolkata between 1952 and 1957. Between 1960 & 2009, he has staged more than 70 choral items including the famous Sanskrit Composition “Sarve Sang No Jananee Bharat”. His latest is a 22-Minute Choral Number with 20-strong Singer-Musician Team on the Theme “142 years of Sepoy Mutiny and 62 years of Indipendence- Freedom Struggle in India” which was staged at Bhubaneswar on 15th January, 2009. His Dance Drama “SETU” (Bridging the Generation Gap-A Problem There) for oDiA-NRI’s at USA in 2005-06 is yet another landmark composition by him.