Aparna Sen অপর্ণা সেন
Aparna Sen in 2010
Born	Aparna (1945-10-25) 25 October 1945 (age 66) Calcutta, India
Occupation	actor, film director, screenwriter
Awards	Cinemanila Film Festival - Best Film 1982 36 Chowringhee Lane Cinemanila Film Festival - Best Screenplay 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Mumbai International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize 2000 Paromitar Ek Din Karlovy Vary Film Festival - Ecumenical Jury Award 2000 Paromitar Ek Din Hawaii Film Festival - Best Feature Film 2002 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Locarno Film Festival - Netpac Award 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Locarno Film Festival - Youth Jury Award 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Philadelphia Film Festival - Best Feature 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

Aparna Sen (née Dasgupta) (Bengali: অপর্ণা সেন Ôporna Shen; born 25 October 1945) is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.

Biography[link]

Aparna Sen was born in Calcutta to a Bengali family, originally from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Her father is the veteran critic and film-maker Chidananda Dasgupta. Her mother Supriya Dasgupta is the cousin of renowned Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. She spent her childhood in Hazaribagh and Kolkata and had her schooling initially in South Point and later mostly in Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata.

She studied her B.A. English honors in Presidency College..

She met the Magnum photographer, Brian Brake, in Kolkata in 1961 when he was visiting India to photograph his Monsoon series. Brake used Sen as the model for what was to become one of his most well known photographs — a shot of a girl holding her face to the first drops of monsoon rain. The photo shoot was set up on a Kolkata rooftop with a ladder and a watering can. Sen described the shoot:

He took me up to the terrace, had me wear a red sari in the way a village girl does, and asked me to wear a green stud in my nose. To be helpful, I said let me wear a red one to match, and he said no — he was so decisive, rather brusque — I think a green one. It was stuck to my nose with glue, because my nose wasn't pierced. Someone had a large watering can, and they poured water over me. It was really a very simple affair. It took maybe half an hour.^[1]

Acting career[link]

Sen made her film debut at the age of 16, when she played the role of Mrinmoyee in the Samapti portion of the 1961 film Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) directed by Satyajit Ray (who was a long time friend of her father's). She then studied at Kolkata's Presidency College.

Later in life she would work with Satyajit Ray in several of his films, including the short Pikoo (1981) where she played the role of an adulterous wife and mother.

In 1965, Sen resumed her film career in Mrinal Sen's Akash Kusum which was later remade into a Hindi film Manzil starring Amitabh Bachchan and Moushumi Chatterjee.Later she also brought out the different nuances of a widow in Mrinal Sen's Mahaprithibi'. From then until the end of the 1970s, she worked steadily in the Bengali film industry, as leading heroine of the time. She acted in a number of Hindi films as well during this time including Imaan Dharam (1977) with Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar and Rekha. Aparna Sen was equally successful in the mainstream Bengali films.Her chemistry both with Soumitra Chatterjee in films such as Basanta Bilap, Baksa Badal, Chutir Fande were loved as much as her films with Uttam Kumar in Joy Jayanti, Alor Thikana etc.

In 1969, Sen appeared in The Guru, an English-language feature by Merchant Ivory Productions. She would make two more films with Merchant-Ivory, Bombay Talkie (1970), and Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978).

In 2009, Sen appeared with Sharmila Tagore and Rahul Bose in Annirudh Roy-Chowdhary's Bengali film Antaheen. The film went on to win four National Film Awards.^[2]

Aparna as director[link]

In 1981, Sen made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee Lane. She also wrote its screenplay. The film, about an aged Anglo-Indian teacher living in Calcutta, won positive reviews from critics. For her debut feature, Sen won the Best Director award at the Indian National Film Awards. 36 Chowringhee Lane also won the Grand Prix (the Golden Eagle) at the Manila International Film Festival.

She followed up this early success with several other films, notably Paroma (1984), Sati (1989) and Yugant (1995). These examined the feminine condition in modern-day India from different perspectives. She also starred in Unishe April (1994), the film by Bengali cinema's Rituparno Ghosh.

Sen's next directorial effort Paromitar Ek Din (2000) was a critical hit and recalled the success of her first film. The film explored the relationship between a divorced woman (Rituparna Sengupta) and her mother-in-law, played by Aparna herself. It won a number of awards on the international festival circuit.

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), was a love story set against the harsh backdrop of Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence in India. The film won a National Film Award for Sen's direction, and an acting award for Konkona Sen Sharma, the director's daughter. The film won more awards at the Locarno, Hawaii and Manila film festivals.

15, Park Avenue (2005) starred her daughter and the actors Shabana Azmi, Dhritiman Chaterji, Waheeda Rehman, Rahul Bose and Soumitra Chatterjee. The film deals with a girl (Konkona Sen Sharma) who is a schizophrenic and her relations with her elder stepsister, played by Shabana Azmi.

Her next film named The Japanese Wife (2010), stars Raima Sen, Rahul Bose and Chigusa Takaku. This film focuses on two women and is based on a short story by West Bengal author Kunal Basu.

Aparna has made selective films and in the last three decades of her career, she has made only nine films.

In 2009, Sen announced her next Bengali film Iti Mrinalini, which stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Aparna Sen, Rajat Kapoor, Koushik Sen, and Priyanshu Chatterjee. Sen's last Bengali film was Paromitar Ek Din (2000). First-time screenwriter Ranjan Ghosh has co-authored Iti Mrinalini. This was the first time that Aparna Sen collaborated with any film writer or became attached to the curriculum of a film institute. The screenplay of Iti Mrinalini was an assignment in the Screenwriting syllabus at the Mumbai-based film school Whistling Woods International.^[3] It was also a major first in Indian screenwriting whence any screenplay from any Indian film institute was actually filmed.^[4] The film is released on July 29, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Sen has been married thrice. Her first marriage, to Sanjay Sen, was when she was quite young. Her second husband was the science writer and journalist, Mukul Sharma. They later divorced amicably. Sen is presently married to Kalyan Ray, an author and professor of English who teaches at County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey, in the United States. She has two daughters, Kamalini and Konkona—who is also an actress—and two grandchildren.

Other achievements[link]

In 2008, Sen was elected into the International Jury of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The highly credentialed Jury, headed by a president of international distinction, determine winners from all nominations in each award category.

From 1986 to 2005, Sen was editor of the fortnightly Sananda, a Bengali women's magazine (published by the Ananda Bazar Patrika group) that enjoys equal popularity in West Bengal and Bangladesh. From November 2005 to December 2006, she was associated with the Bengali 24x7 infotainment channel Kolkata TV as Creative Director.

In 1986, the then-President of India bestowed the Padma Shri to Sen in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. Since then, she has received several lifetime achievement awards, and served on juries at film festivals around the world.

Filmography[link]

Actress[link]

Writer/director[link]

Further reading[link]

• Parama and other outsiders: the cinema of Aparna Sen, by Shoma A. Chatterji. Parumita Publications, 2002. ISBN 81-87867-03-5.
• Aparna Sen calls the shots (Women in Indian film), by Rajashri Dasgupta. Zubaan, 2009.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Aparna Sen at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Aparna Sen
• Profile at calcuttaweb.com
• MyBindi.com interview
• Rediff interview, 2002
• Rediff profile, 1999
• Rediff interview, 1998

Rahul Bose
Born	(1967-07-27) 27 July 1967 (age 44) Kolkata, India
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, film director, Rugby player
Years active	1993–present

Rahul Bose (Bengali: রাহুল বসু; born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.

Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema"^[1] for his work in parallel cinema films like English, August and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. He is also notable for his social activism: he participated in the relief efforts that followed the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and is also the founder of the anti-discrimination NGO, The Foundation.^[2] Bose is also a former member of India's international rugby team, the National Orange Indian Rugby Team.

Early life[link]

Rahul Bose was born to Rupen and Kumud Bose on 27 July 1967.^[3] He describes himself as "half Bengali; one-fourth Punjabi and one-fourth Maharashtrian".^[4]

Bose spent his early childhood in Kolkata, West Bengal and then moved to Mumbai with his family. His first acting role was at age six when he played the lead in a school play, Tom, the Piper's Son. As a child he took an interest in sports after his mother introduced him to boxing and rugby union.^[5] He also played cricket and was coached by cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.^[6]

He is an alumnus of the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. After being rejected by a number of American universities, Bose attended Sydenham College. While at the college he played on the school's rugby team and competed in the Western India Championships, winning a silver medal in boxing. After his mother's death in 1987, Bose began working as a copy writer at Rediffusion and was later promoted to advertising creative director. Bose left the job to become a full-time actor after the release of his first film, English, August.^[5]

Stage and film career[link]

Early career: 1993–2003[link]

Bose started his acting career on the Bombay stage in Rahul D'Cunha's Topsy Turvey and Are There Tigers In The Congo?. D'Cunha's aunt was the casting director for director Dev Benegal's film English, August and suggested that Bose should play the lead role. After filming a screen test, Benegal decided to cast him as civil servant Agastya Sen.^[3] Based on the novel of the same name by Upamanyu Chatterjee, English, August was one of the first Hinglish films and gained Bose international recognition when it became the first Indian film to be purchased by 20th Century Fox and won several awards at international film festivals.^[7]

After English, August Bose found work in television; he was offered a role in India's first English-language television serial, A Mouthful of Sky and also co-hosted BBC World's Style! with Laila Rouass. In 1998 he appeared in Kaizad Gustad's Bombay Boys with Naseeruddin Shah and starred in Dev Benegal's second film, Split Wide Open. To prepare for his role as a roving water vendor, Bose lived in Mumbai's slums and observed a drug dealer for two weeks.^[8] He later cited this time—along with the 2002 Gujarat riots—as the beginning of the awakening of his social conscience.^[9] Although Split Wide Open was controversial in India because of its depictions of sexual abuse,^[10][11] Bose received the Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Actor at the 2000 Singapore International Film Festival for his performance.^[5] He also performed abroad in the Leicester Haymarket in England where he starred in the English version of Tim Murari's play, The Square Circle.^[12][13]

In 1997, Bose was cast to play the role of Saleem Sinai in the BBC adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children. The project was eventually canceled after the Indian and Sri Lankan governments refused to allow filming.^[14] After seeing Bose in English, August, director Govind Nihalani cast him in the villain role opposite Ajay Devgan in the mainstream film Thakshak. The film was not a financial success,^[15] although Bose received positive reviews.^[16]

In 2001, Bose made his directorial debut with Everybody Says I'm Fine!. Starring Rehaan Engineer and Koel Purie and featuring Bose in a supporting role, Everybody received mixed reviews from critics, but won Bose the runner-up John Schlesinger Award for best directorial debut at the 2003 Palm Springs International Film Festival.^[17] In 2002, Bose starred opposite Konkona Sen Sharma in Aparna Sen's art film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. The film, a critique of communal violence, was a critical success and won several awards at international film festivals as well as three National Film Awards.^[18][19]

Mainstream success and regional cinema: 2003–present[link]

In 2003, Bose entered mainstream Bollywood cinema with Jhankaar Beats in which he played one of two friends, R.D. Burman fans who are obsessed with winning a music competition. Boosted by a successful soundtrack, Jhankaar Beats was a surprise hit in urban multiplexes^[20][21] and went on to win several awards for its music.^[22] The same year, Bose appeared in another Bollywood film, Mumbai Matinee which saw a UK release. He starred in Chameli opposite Kareena Kapoor, playing a wealthy chain-smoking Mumbai banker who is stranded in the monsoon rains with a prostitute. The film was not a box office success, but won several Filmfare^[23] and IIFA awards.^[24][25]

Bose's second film pairing with Konkona Sen Sharma, 15 Park Avenue released in January 2006. Directed by Aparna Sen and filmed in English, 15 Park Avenue won the 2006 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English.^[26]

With his next effort, the romantic comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Bose moved once more into mainstream Bollywood cinema. The film follows the rocky relationship of Bose's commitment phobic Mumbai DJ Sid and his Punjabi girlfriend, Trisha played by Mallika Sherawat. Critics noted the freshness of Bose's narration style which involves breaking the fourth wall, a device not commonly used in Indian cinema.^[27] The film opened well in multiplexes^[28][29] and was a moderate financial success, eventually ranking among the top-grossing films of 2006.^[30] Both Bose and Sherawat received positive reviews for their performances.^[31] Sherawat and Bose also starred together in another Bollywood comedy, Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam (2008), which was a commercial and critical failure.^[32]

In 2006, Bose starred in the first of a trio of Bengali films, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Anuranan. Anuranan was well received on the festival circuit and ran successfully for three months in Bengal. It was then dubbed into Hindi and released nationally.^[33] Kaalpurush, Bose's second Bengali film, was released commercially in April 2008. Kaalpurush details a father-son relationship and earned writer-director Buddhadev Dasgupta a National Film Award for Best Feature Film. Bose teamed with Chowdhury again in 2009 for Antaheen which tells the story of online relationships. Like Anuranan, Antaheen was released commercially in West Bengal and was screened at various film festivals, including the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (MIACC) and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).^[34][35] Antaheen went on to win several National Awards including one for Best Film.^[36]

Bose continued working in a mix of mainstream and arthouse films in 2008, with the English-language film, Before the Rains. Before the Rains was released in the US and the UK and Bose's performance was praised by many critics, although the film received mixed reviews. Bose also appeared in Shaurya, a military court room drama modelled on the American film A Few Good Men. Bose's performance was well-received; critic Taran Adarsh said his "performance easily ranks as one of his finest works".^[37] His appearance in Dil Kabaddi paired him with Konkona Sen Sharma for the third time, this time playing a husband and wife undergoing marital difficulties.^[38] The Japanese Wife, with Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku, the third Aparna Sen film in which he has appeared, released on 9 April 2010.^[39][40][41] He also appeared as a contestant in the reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi where he was eliminated in the 12th round.^[42] He hosted the second series of Bloomberg UTV reality show The Pitch.^[43] His role as a gay man harassed by the police in I Am was appreciated by critics.^[44]

He was scheduled to begin shooting his adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel, Moth Smoke in early 2010,^[45] but the project was postponed after the film's financial backers pulled out.^[46] He secured new funding and will begin principal photography in August 2012.^[47] Bose's other upcoming projects include Laptop, Travelling With Mohammed with Om Puri,^[48] Shesher Kobita^[49] and Deepa Mehta's version of Midnight's Children. He will play the role of General Zulfikar in the adaptation.^[50]

Sports career[link]

In 1998, Bose was part of the first Indian national rugby team to play in an international event, the Asian Rugby Football Union Championship.^[51] He has played both scrum-half and right-winger positions.^[52] In an interview with Daily News & Analysis, Bose announced that he would not return to the team for the 2009 season.^[53]

Activism[link]

Bose assisted in the relief efforts in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. As a result of this work, Bose launched the Andaman and Nicobar Scholarship Initiative through his NGO, The Foundation. The scholarship program provides for the education of underprivileged children from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.^[54]

Bose is associated with several charitable organizations such as Akshara Centre, Breakthrough, Citizens for Justice and Peace and the Spastics Society of India. He is closely associated with the Teach For India movement to eradicate inequity in education. In addition, he became the first Indian Oxfam global ambassador in 2007.^[55] He is the founder and chairman of The Group of Groups, an umbrella organisation for 51 Mumbai charitable organisations and NGOs.^[56] He is also an ambassador for the American India Foundation, the World Youth Peace Movement^[57] and Planet Alert.^[58] He was also a vocal proponent of Narmada Bachao Andolan and its efforts to halt the construction of the Narmada dam.^[59][60] He also recorded the Terre des hommes audio book Goodgoodi karna, gale lagana; Sparsh ke niyam sikhiye (English: Tickle and hugs: Learning the touching rules), which is designed to give children resources against sexual abuse.^[61]

Bose has given lectures on gender equality and human rights at Oxford and during the 2004 World Youth Peace Summit.^[1] In 2009, he toured Canada lecturing on global climate change under the auspices of Climate Action Network^[62] and demonstrated with protesters at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.^[63] In 2011, he worked in conjunction with Bhaichung Bhutia to raise funds for victims of the Sikkim earthquake.^[64]

Personal life[link]

Rahul Bose formerly dated Koel Purie, who he directed in his film, Everybody Says I'm Fine!. They met in 1998 while filming an episode of the travel show The Great Escape for Travel Channel Asia.^[65] The couple remained good friends after their split, even appearing together in the 2004 film White Noise.^[66][67] Bose has one elder sister, Anuradha, who is married to Tariq Ansari, the owner and director of Mid-Day Multimedia.^[68] She had a cameo role in Everybody Says I'm Fine!.^[69]

Work[link]

Filmography[link]

Playback singing[link]

Writer/director[link]

Stage[link]

Awards[link]

• 2000 - Nominated for a Filmfare Best Villain Award for Thakshak
• 2000 - Best Asian Actor Award at the Singapore International Film Festival for Split Wide Open
• 2003 - The John Schlesinger Honorable Mention Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for Everybody Says I'm Fine!
• 2004 - Mani Kaul Award for Outstanding Filmmaking for Everybody Says I'm Fine!
• 2005 - Mahesh Bhatt Spokesperson Award
• 2007 - "Artiste for Change" Karmaveer Puraskaar award^[72]
• 2008 - IBN Eminent Citizen Journalist Award^[73]
• 2009 - Idea International Indian Film Academy Green Award^[74]
• 2009 - Youth Icon Award for Social Justice and Welfare^[75]
• 2010 - Green Globe Foundation Award for Extraordinary Work by a Public Figure^[76]
• 2012 - Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration - Maharana Mewar Charitable Foundation^[77]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rahul Bose

• Rahul Bose at the Internet Movie Database
• Rahul Bose environmental blog
• Rahul Bose at The Foundation

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rahul Bose

Raima Sen
Born	Raima Dev Varma (1979-11-11) 11 November 1979 (age 32) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999−present
Parents	Bharat Dev Varma Moon Moon Sen
Relatives	Riya Sen (sister) Suchitra Sen (grand mother)

Raima Sen (Bengali: রাইমা সেন; born Raima Dev Varma on 11 November 1979) is an Indian film actress.

Early life[link]

She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura.^[1] Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch Behar, whose younger sister Gayatri Devi was the Maharani of Jaipur.^[1] Her paternal great-grandmother Indira was the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda.^[2][3] Raima's maternal great-grandfather Adinath Sen was a prominent Kolkata businessman, whose father Dinanath Sen - a relative of former Union Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen- was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of Tripura.^[4] The sisters are credited on-screen under their mother's maiden name, although their official papers carry the surname Dev Varma.^[5]

Career[link]

Sen made her debut in the film Godmother, which was a critically acclaimed success, but her minor role may have been overlooked in favour of the protagonist, played by Shabana Azmi. She then starred in the film Daman playing Raveena Tandon's daughter, where her small performance was appreciated.

Her breakthrough role came when she starred in the Rituparno Ghosh's film Chokher Bali. After a few more average movies she had a critically acclaimed hit in 2005 with Parineeta, where she played the playmate of the film's heroine, essayed by the debutante Vidya Balan. Since then she has had two more hits with the action thriller Dus and the Bengali film Antar Mahal (where she had a very small role). In 2006, she appeared in the film The Bong Connection (co-starring Shayan Munshi). In 2007, she worked in the thriller Manorama Six Feet Under with Abhay Deol.

She has signed her first Tamil film and she is expected to do more South Indian films. She has yet, however, to play the leading role in any hit movie.

Personal life[link]

Raima's public profile and image is much lower-key and more demure than that of her sister Riya who has been compared more to their mother. Raima is also said to resemble her grandmother much more than either her mother or her sister.^[6] Journalists who meet her describe her as easy to talk to, and devoid of starry airs.

In an interview, she says while she enjoys Mumbai's faster pace of life, its gyms and its nightclubs, she misses her family in Kolkata, her dog cuddles, and Kolkata's street food, notably Jhal Muri and Aloo Chaat.^[7]

Awards[link]

• 2006: BFJA-Most Promising Actress Award : for Nishi Japan^[8]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Raima Sen at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Raima Sen

Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma in 2007
Born	(1979-12-03) December 3, 1979 (age 32) New Delhi, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2000–present
Spouse	Ranvir Shorey (2010–present)
Children	Haroon Shorey

Konkona Sen Sharma (Kôngkôna Shen Shôrma; born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sharma appears primarily in Indian arthouse and independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema.

Making her debut as a child artist in the film Indira (1983), Sharma debuted as an adult in the Bengali thriller Ek Je Aachhe Kanya (2000). She first gained attention with the English-language film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), which was directed by her mother, and received the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film. Her appearance in the drama Page 3 (2005) got her wider recognition from audiences, and she has since starred in a number of films, most of which have garnered her critical praise rather than commercial success. She won two consecutive Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards for her performances in Omkara (2006) and Life in a... Metro (2007), respectively. Her performance in the former won her a second National Award under the Best Supporting Actress category.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Sen Sharma is the daughter of Mukul Sharma (a science writer and journalist) and Aparna Sen (an actress and film director). She also has an older sibling Kamalini Chatterjee.^[3] Sen Sharma's maternal grandfather, Chidananda Dasgupta, is a film critic, scholar, professor, writer and one of the co-founders of the Calcutta Film Society. Her late grandmother Supriya Dasgupta was a cousin of legendary modern Bengali poet Jibanananda Das.

Sen Sharma has a degree in English from St. Stephen's College, Delhi which she received in 2001. She was a student of the Modern High School for Girls, Calcutta, as well as the Calcutta International School.^[4]

Career[link]

Sen Sharma made her debut as a child artist in the film Indira (1983). In 2000, she made her adult debut in the Bengali film Ek Je Aachhe Kanya, in which she played a negative character. It was followed by a role in Rituparno Ghosh's acclaimed film Titli, opposite Mithun Chakraborty and her mother Aparna Sen.

In 2001, she starred in the English-language film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, directed by Aparna Sen. The film performed well mainly in multiplexes and was a major critical success. Sen Sharma's performance as a Tamil housewife and her mastery of the accent were received well and she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actress.^[5] Her performance was later included in the 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances" by Filmfare.^[6]

This was followed by the National Film Award-winning social film, Page 3 (2005).^[8] Her role of a smart journalist drew praise and she became a more familiar face to the movie-going public.

Sen Sharma was offered the lead role in Mira Nair's Hollywood film, The Namesake (2007), but owing to clashing dates with other films, she could not commit to the project.^[9] However, she followed it with acclaimed performances as a mentally ill woman in 15 Park Avenue (2005) and as a middle age village woman in Omkara (2006). For the latter, she received both the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her next release Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante (2006) got average reviews. In 2006, Sen Sharma made her directorial debut with an 18-minute Bengali short film titled Naamkoron (Naming Ceremony) for the Kala Ghoda Film Festival.^[10][11]

Following this, Sen Sharma acted in Dosar, a Bengali art film by Rituporno Ghosh which was premiered at several international film festivals. She won the Best Actress award at Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival for her performance.^[12]

Her first release of 2007 was her second collaboration with Madhur Bhandarkar, a noir film named Traffic Signal, in which she played a street prostitute.^[13] Later that year, she appeared in Anurag Basu's Life in a... Metro. The film opened to positive reviews and performed well at the Indian box office.^[14] Metro depicted the lives of different individuals in Mumbai, and Sen Sharma's performance as a young and insecure woman earned her a second Filmfare Award.

In late 2007, Sen Sharma acted in two movies under the Yash Raj Films banner. She noted her excitement toward these two projects as these were the first films in which she had to lip-sync for songs. In the first one, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, a drama directed by Pradeep Sarkar, she portrayed the character of a Banaras small town young woman, Chutki, alongside Rani Mukerji. The film was a critical and commercial failure in India, even though her performance was received well. The second one was Aaja Nachle, which was widely promoted as the comeback film of Madhuri Dixit. The film did not do well. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted her performance in the film as being "...nothing short of fantastic. Her greatest strength is that she isn't afraid of making a fool of herself and she doesn't worry about being laughed at. As a result, her performance in Aaja Nachle is fearless and uninhibited."^[15]

In 2008, Sen Sharma starred in Dil Kabaddi. She starred in a short film (How Can It Be?) directed by Mira Nair for a movie project called 8, which was screened at several film festivals in 2008 before having a theatrical release.^[16]

In 2009, she appeared in the low-budget English-language film The President Is Coming, directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur. The film opened to generally positive reviews. Reviews were favorably directed toward her. Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India wrote, "Performance-wise, it's the uptight and complex-ridden Ms Konkona who walks away with laurels and laughs even as the film takes a healthy snigger at the desi self."^[17]

Sen Sharma next starred in Zoya Akhtar's Luck by Chance, opposite Farhan Akhtar.^[18] Upon release, the film met with highly positive reviews from critics, as did her performance, but its financial income was modest.^[19][20] Sen Sharma's latest 2009 release was Ayan Mukerjee's romantic comedy Wake Up Sid in which she starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor. Upon release, the film received universally positive reviews,^[21] and her performance received rave reviews. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Konkona is natural to the core and the best part is, she's so effortless. Here's another winning performance from this incredible performer."^[22] The New York Times wrote, "Ms. Sharma has made a specialty of characters like Aisha: independent urban women, whose dreams involve careers as well as love. Her Aisha is a nuanced creation — ambitious, sympathetic, believable — and Mr. Mukerji, making his directing debut, is right to let her run away with the film."^[23]

In 2010, Sen Sharma starred in Ashwani Dheer's comedy Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge opposite Ajay Devgan and Paresh Rawal.^[24] Her latest release was Neeraj Pathak's Right Yaa Wrong where she played a lawyer.

She has completed shooting for Rituparno Ghosh's comedy film Sunglass and Vinay Shukla's Mirch. As of September 2009, Sen Sharma plays the leading role in Aparna Sen's Iti Mrinalini,^[25] which is targeted to release in early 2011.^[26] She will also appear in Amitabh Verma's Jackpot opposite Ranvir Shorey^[27] ,in Suman Mukherjee's adaptation of Shesher Kobita^[28] and Goutam Ghose's Shunyo Awnko.

As of April 2012, Sen Sharma is set to star in Balaji Telefilms' Ek Thi Daayan, to be directed by Vishal Bhardwaj along with Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin,^[29] where the film itself is inspired by the short story written by her father Mukul Sharma.^[30]

Theatre[link]

In June 2009, Sen Sharma starred onstage first time at Atul Kumar's The Blue Mug alongside Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Sheeba Chadha.^[31] In 2010, the play was toured around the nation and abroad.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Konkona Sen Sharma with her husband Ranvir Shorey at the 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards (2008).

Sen Sharma started dating actor and co-star Ranvir Shorey in 2007. The couple got married on 3 September 2010 in a private ceremony.^[33] The Times of India reported that Sen Sharma gave birth to her first child, Haroon, on March 15, 2011 at a South Mumbai hospital.^[34]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

National Film Awards

• 2003: National Film Award for Best Actress, Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 2007: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, Omkara

Filmfare Awards

• 2007: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Omkara
• 2008: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Life in a... Metro
• 2008: Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Zee Cine Awards

• 2006: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut, Page 3 (Jointly with Vidya Balan)
• 2007: Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female, for Omkara

IIFA Awards

• 2008: IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award, Life in a... Metro

Other Awards

• 2002: Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards: Best Actress for Ek Je Aachhe Kanya
• 2003: Anandalok Awards: Critics Choice for Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 2005: Kalakar Awards : Best Actress for Page 3.^[39]
• 2007: Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards : Most Outstanding Performance of the Year for 15, Park Avenue
• 2007: Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival: Best Actress for Dosar.^[12]
• 2011: 11th New York Indian Film Festival: Best Actress for Iti Mrinalini^[40]

See also[link]

• List of Indian film actresses
• List of Bengali actresses

References[link]