Look up Bengali, bengalese, or bengali in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bengali may refer to:

• Bengali people, a major linguistic group in South Asia
• Bengali Hindus, the ethnic group native to eastern India
• Bengali language, the Indo-Aryan language native to Bengal
• Bengali alphabet, the script used to write Bengali, and a variant of Assamese

Other[link]

• Bengali (ThunderCats), a fictional character from the animated television show ThunderCats
• Bengal (cat), the hybrid cat breed, also called Bengali Cat
• Bangalla, a fictional country in The Phantom (miniseries)
• Bengalee (ship)

See also[link]

• Culture of Bengal
• All pages starting with Bengali

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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

Moon Moon Sen
Born	Moon Moon Sen (1948-03-28) March 28, 1948 (age 64) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Spouse	Bharat Dev Varma(1978-present)
Children	Raima Sen Riya Sen
Parents	Dibanath Sen Suchitra Sen

Moon Moon Sen (also credited as Moonmoon Sen) (Bengali: মুনমুন সেন born 28 March 1948) is an Indian film actress. She did movies in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. Sen is part of a three generational family of actors and was a staple of the Bengali film industry, starring in many hit films. She eventually starred in Bollywood films, which she was not as successful as the Bengali film industry. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 TV serials. Her performance in the Telugu film Sirivennela directed by K.Vishwanath is possibly her best performance.

Early life[link]

Moon Moon Sen was born into a Bengali family in Calcutta to popular Bengali actress Suchitra Sen and Dibanath Sen. Her father, of Ballygunge Place, was the son of one of the wealthiest businessmen of Calcutta, Adinath Sen. Her great grandfather Dinanath Sen was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of Tripura.

She was educated at Loreto Convent, Darjeeling and at Loreto House, Calcutta, then in a school in England and after coming back, she graduated from Loreto College, Calcutta. She received her masters in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.^[1]

As a child, Sen learnt drawing from Jamini Roy, one of India's greatest artists.^[2] She loves paintings and collecting antiques. In an interview in 2000, she said she taught at Ballygunge Girls' School for a year^[3] and then taught graphics at Chitrabani, a school teaching film techniques. She was also active in social work and even thought about adopting a baby, even before she was married.^[1] Sen taught English at a well known Boys' school (Ballygunge Govt. High School) in Kolkata before joining films.

Acting career[link]

Moon Moon Sen started her career in films and television after marriage and motherhood. She made her debut in Andar Baahar (1984).[1] Her daring role in that film apparently created a storm of controversy.

After Zakhmi Dil (1994) she did not appear in films until 2003 when she starred in an unsuccessful thriller Kucch To Hai. At no point, she could match success of her her mother, who was Bengali film's leading actress for nearly two decades.

Before and after entering the film industry, she appeared alone (or with her daughters) in some modelling assignments. She notably modeled for soap ads [2] which were quite controversial in the 1980s.^{[citation needed]} Apart from doing some television serials, she also did couple of Bengali tele-films.

Sen said she would bare all even at 70.

"Age is not important, the attitude is. Sophia is the ultimate glam girl who can manage to look beautiful in such a picture even now. But yes, India too has beautiful women like Rekha and Hema Malini who can carry such a thing out with aplomb. In fact, I wouldn't mind myself if the shoot is done aesthetically and with taste."^[4]

She is now doing a few films at a time, such as a film in 2000 with younger daughter Riya.[3] She is also apparently writing a cookbook in Bengali, which is yet to be published. Most recently, she has made occasional appearances, or with her family, also in the Page Three sections of Indian newspapers, usually at polo events or film-related events, and promote new restaurants.

Personal life[link]

Moon Moon Sen married in 1978, to a descendant of the royal family of Tripura state. They have two daughters, actresses Raima Sen and Riya Sen. She has high regard for her husband, for his consistent support of her professional acting career.^[3]

Her late mother-in-law, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch Behar, and elder sister of Gayatri Devi, the Maharani of Jaipur.

Awards[link]

Sen received awards such as the Nandi State Award, the Kalakendra Screen Award and the Bharat Nirman Award.

Filmography[link]

Bengali[link]

• Baidurya Rahasya
• Rajbadhu
• Byabodhan
• Tumi Kato Sundar
• Gajamukuta (1991)
• Anjali
• Ajantay
• Mahashay
• Rajshwari
• Apon Ghorey
• Sopan (1994)
• Tumi Kato Sundar
• Pujarini
• Neel Nirjane
• My Karma
• Boi Durjo Raw Hossho
• Anterale—Chironjeet

Bollywood[link]

• Chorus (1974)
• Andar Baahar (1984) ... Reema
• Musafir (1986)
• Mohabbat Ki Kasam (1986) .... Radha
• Jaal (1986)
• Sheesha (1986) ... Manisha Prakash
• Pyaar Ki Jeet (1987) ... Rani sahiba
• Majnu (1987)
• Amar Kantak (1987)
• Maashuka (1987)
• Woh Phir Aayegi (1988)
• Be Lagaam (1988)
• Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe (1989)
• Tere Bina Kya Jeena (1989)
• Ek Din Achanak (1989)
• Apna Desh Paraye Log (1989)
• Pathar Ke Insan (1990) ... Dancer
• Lekin... (1991) ... Pammi
• Jeevan Ek Sanghursh (1990)
• Bahaar Aane Tak (1990) ... Renu
• 100 Days (1991) ... Rama
• Iraada (1991)
• Vishkanya (1991) ... Mrs. Sonal Vikram Singh
• Waqt Ka Badshah (1992)
• Hirer Angti (1992)
• Zakhmi Rooh (1993) ... Seema/Reema
• Zakhmi Dil (1994) ... Mala
• Kucch To Hai (2003) ... Madam Sexena
• Nil Nirjane (2003)
• Love at Times Square (2003) ... Sweety's mother
• Taj Mahal: A Monument of Love (2003)
• My Karma (2004) ... Mrs. Mullik
• It Was Raining That Night (2005)
• Bow Barracks Forever (2007) ... Rosi

Tamil[link]

• 12B (2001) as Jo's Mom

Malayalam[link]

• Aval Kathirunnu Avanum

Telugu[link]

• Majnu
• Sirivennela

Kannada[link]

• Yuga Purusha

References[link]

External links[link]

Moon Moon Sen at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Moon Moon Sen

Further reading[link]

• Shoma A. Chatterjee. "Moon Moon Sen: Back in the Spotlight", Screen (part of the Indian Express group), 24 November 2000. An article based on an interview with Moon Moon Sen, discussing her career and her private life.

Kirron Kher
Born	Kiran Thakar Singh (1955-06-14) 14 June 1955 (age 57) Mumbai, India
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Anupam Kher (1985–present) Gautam Berry (divorced)
Children	Sikandar Kher

Kirron Kher (also Kiran^[1] or, Mummy Punjabi, Kiron^[2][3][4] Punjabi: ਕਿਰਣ ਖੇਰ; born 14 June 1955) is an Indian theatre, film and television actress and a TV talk show host.

Early life[link]

Kirron Kher was born in Bangalore and brought up in Chandigarh, Punjab, where she did her schooling and later college from Panjab University, Chandigarh. At school she was an avid badminton player with her sister, Arjuna award Kanwal Thakar Singh. Their mother, Diljit Singh, was active in sports and dramatics during her college days in pre-partition Punjab.^[1] Kirron had a brother, artist Amardeep Singh, who died in 2003.^[5]

Career[link]

Kirron Kher made her film debut in 1983 in the Punjabi feature film Aasra Pyar Da and received rave reviews for her performance. She soon took a hiatus from films^[6] following her divorce to raise her son, Sikander Kher. Meanwhile, she worked for her second husband Anupam Kher as a costume designer and appeared in one film in between, Pestonjee in 1988, wherein she acted alongside Anupam Kher.

Her return to acting came about with theatre, with the play Saalgirah, by playwright Javed Siddiqui and directed by Feroz Abbas Khan.^[2] Then she hosted three television shows, starting with Purushkshetra on Zee TV which got her much acclaimed for bringing out the discussion of sexuality to the forum for the first time, while highlighting women's issues at the same time,^[7] Kiron Kher Today and Jagte Raho with Kiron Kher, before doing Bollywood films.^[8]

Her comeback film was by Shyam Benegal, Sardari Begum (1996), which won her the Special Jury Award at the 1997 National Film Awards.

In 2000, she appeared in film director Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Bariwali 1999, to critical acclaim.^[3] When she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the film, a controversy arose as a Bangla film actress, Rita Koiral, claimed that she had dubbed for the character of Kirron, making her an equal claimant to the award. Kirron refuted the charges claiming she spent hours rehearsing for her dialogue delivery, and the award was eventually not shared.^[3][4]

In 2002, Kirron appeared in Devdas (2002), alongside Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai, and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

In Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) (2003),^[9] a film that portrays the plight of a woman abducted during partition of India, her character not only refused to kill herself as suggested by her family, but marries her abductor and, after his death, makes an earning teaching Quran to local children. It shows how her life changes dramatically when her son takes up Islamic extremism in 1979 during the rule of Zia-ul-Haq and his process of Islamization of Pakistan.^[10] She won the Best Actress Award, at Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, the Karachi International Film Festival, Karachi, and International Festivals at Ciepie in Argentina,^[11] and Cape Town in South Africa ^[3][12] while the film won the Best Film – Golden Leopard, Festival Grand Prize at Locarno.^[13]

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) 2004 paid tribute to Kirron during its annual festival.^[14][15]

In October 2004 Kirron made a guest appearance, along with her husband, in the American TV series ER playing Parminder Nagra's mother, Mrs. Rasgotra, in episode "Damaged."^[16]

In 2005, she essayed the role of role of Sunanda in the tele-serial Prratima on Sahara One channel, before which she had appeared in TV series like Dil Na Jaane Kyon (Zee TV), Isi Bahane, and Chausath Panne.^[17]

Despite playing mostly supporting roles, her successful movies include Main Hoon Na (2004), Hum Tum (2004), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), where her performance drew rave reviews.^[18] Her work in Rang De Basanti (2006) was a huge hit and her performance got her second nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Her role in Fanaa (2006) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) also received appreciation. Adding to her list of comical roles in 2008 she appeared in Singh is Kinng, Saas bahu aur Sensex and Dostana. In 2009, she appeared as judge on India's Got Talent, the Indian franchise of the Got Talent series.

Personal life[link]

She gave birth to actor Sikandar Kher,^[19] from her first marriage to businessman and actor Gautam Berry, which ended in 1985. She then married actor Anupam Kher, whom she first met at Department of Indian Theatre in Chandigarh in 1974; after which Anupam Kher went to Delhi and joined National School of Drama (NSD), while Kirron went to Bombay and got married to her first husband. They subsequently met while working in a play called Chanadpuri Ki Champabai. They married in 1985; now they run a production house.^[5][20]

In 2003, she changed her name from "Kiron" to "Kirron" due to beliefs in numerology.^[21]

She has a great liking for collecting jewellery and sarees. In most films she wears her own jewellery and clothes. She recently acted as a judge in India's Got Talent.

Awards[link]

• 1997: National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film): Sardari Begum
• 2000: National Film Award for Best Actress: Bariwali
• 2003: IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award: Devdas
• 2003: Locarno International Film Festival: Bronze Leopard Award : Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) ^[22]
• 2003: Karachi International Film Festival: Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) ^[23]
• 2006: Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress: Rang De Basanti
• 2010: Apsara Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Kurbaan

Nominations

• 2003: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Devdas
• 2007: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Rang De Basanti
• 2008: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Dostana

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

• 2004: Prratima TV series
• 1988: Isi Bahane TV series

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kiron Kher at the Internet Movie Database
• Kiron Kher at New York Times.
• Kirron Kher at Allmovie.

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kirron Kher