Nandita Das is an award-winning Indian film

Cinema of India

The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...

 actress and director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

. As an actress, she is known for her performances in Fire (1996), Earth

Earth (1998 film)

Earth is a 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, . Earth is the second part of Mehta's Elements trilogy...

(1998), Bawandar

Bawandar

Bawandar is a 2000 Indian film, based on the true story of Bhanwari Devi, a rape victim from Rajasthan, India. The film depicts the personal trauma, public humiliation and legal injustice that Bhanwari Devi went through, while pursuing justice in the Indian courts.- Plot :Bawandar is based on the...

(2000), Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Tamil drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars P. S. Keerthana, R. Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das, Pasupathy, J. D. Chakravarthy and Prakash Raj. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film's title is a famous phrase from a poem...

(2002) and Aamaar Bhuvan (2002). As a director, she is known for her directorial debut Firaaq

Firaaq

Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...

(2008), which has won a number of national and international awards. She has been awarded the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France

Government of France

The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...

 for her work.

Early life

Das was born in New Delhi to noted Indian painter

Indian painting

Indian painting has a very long history, although the seasonally humid Indian climate was difficult for the long-term preservation of paintings and there are far fewer survivals than of other forms of Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the...

, Jatin Das

Jatin Das (painter)

Jatin Das is an Indian painter and sculptor.-Personal life and education:Jatin Das was born in December 1941 in Mayurbhanj, Orissa, India. He studied at the Sir JJ School of Art, Bombay, under Professor S.B. Palsikar. His term at the school lasted for a period of five years, from 1957 to 1962...

, an Oriya

Oriya people

The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...

 Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

, and a Gujarati

Gujarati people

Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...

 Jain mother named Varsha who is a writer.

She went to Sardar Patel Vidyalaya

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya is a premier school in New Delhi, India, located in the heart of the city at Lodi Estate. It has 1500 students from the nursery level to the 12th grade with 200 teachers and supporting staff members....

, Lodhi Estate in New Delhi. She received her bachelor's degree

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 from Miranda House

Miranda House

Miranda House , is a highly renowned and distinguished constituent college for women at the University of Delhi in India. It is widely regarded as a Premier Women's Institution of Delhi University offering degrees in the Sciences and Liberal Arts . Miranda House has demonstrated academic...

 (University of Delhi

University of Delhi

The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...

) and Master of Social Work

Master of Social Work

The Master of Social Work is a master's degree in social workand especiality of sociology.- United States :In the United States, MSW degrees must be received from a graduate school that has been approved by the Council on Social Work Education...

 from the Delhi School of Social Work.

Acting

Nandita Das started her acting career with a theatre group called Jana Natya Manch

Jana Natya Manch

Jana Natya Manch is a New Delhi-based amateur theatre company specializing in left-wing street theatre in Hindi. It was founded in 1973 by a group of Delhi's radical theatre amateurs, who sought to take theatre to the people...

. She taught at the Rishi Valley School

Rishi Valley School

Rishi Valley School is a boarding school in India, founded by the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. It is located close to the town of Madanapalle, Krishnamurti's birthplace, in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Rishi Valley is a three hour drive from the city of Bangalore.- Founder's...

.

She is best known for her performances in Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta, LLD is a Genie Award-winning Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire , Earth , and Water , among which Earth was submitted by Indian government for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...

 Films Fire, Earth

Earth (1998 film)

Earth is a 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, . Earth is the second part of Mehta's Elements trilogy...

alongside Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan

Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....

, Bawander (directed by Jagmohan Mundhra) and Amaar Bhuvan (directed by Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen

Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...

).

Das has played storyteller/narrator in the audiobook series for kids "Under the Banyan" by Karadi Tales. She has also been the narrator in the audiobook of Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography by Charkha Audiobooks "The Story of My Experiments with Truth". She has also lent her voice for the children's series, The Wonder Pets as the Bengal Tiger.

Nandita has acted in films in ten different languages to date: English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Oriya and Kannada.

Directing

In 2008, she completed filming her directorial debut, Firaaq

Firaaq

Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...

. Firaaq is a work of fiction, based on a thousand true stories and is set a month after the Gujarat carnage in 2002. It is an ensemble film that interweaves multiple stories over a 24 hour period, as the characters from different strata of society, grapple with the lingering effects of violence. The film traces the emotional journeys of ordinary people- some who were victims, some perpetrators and some who chose to watch silently. The film’s stellar cast includes Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri, Tisca Chopra, Shahana Goswami and Nowaz.

The film won top honours at the Asian Festival of First Films

Asian Festival of First Films

The Asian Festival of First Films is an annual festival that celebrates first-time film- and documentary-makers and provides a platform for budding film talent....

 2008 in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, where it won the awards for "Best Film", "Screenplay / Script", and "Foreign Correspondents Assn. Purple Orchid Award for Best Film". The film has also won awards at other international film festivals, including the Special Prize award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, the Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala, and the Best Editor award for the film's editor Sreekar Prasad at the Dubai International Film Festival

Dubai International Film Festival

The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...

. It will be released in India on the 20th of March 2009. The film also won an award at the Kara Film Festival

Kara Film Festival

The KaraFilm Festival - Karachi International Film Festival is an internationally recognized film festival of Pakistan annually held in Karachi....

.

"I'm so glad 'Firaaq' has been applauded by audiences around the world, from Toronto, London, Pusan to Kolkata and Trivandrum. After all, human emotions are universal and after the kind of feedback I have got in different parts of the world, I understand that more. Audiences have been able to empathize with the journeys of the characters everywhere. It's more so in India, where it's set and hence people can identify with it more. It's been said that the film gave a voice to so much that remains silent and that it should be seen at least once. Though it's always great to win awards at every competitive festival we entered the film in, but it's actually the audience reaction that really matters," Nandita Das told Radio Sargam.

Personal life

In 2002, Das married Saumya Sen. The couple began Leapfrog, an advertising organization geared towards making socially conscious ad films. The couple divorced in 2009. After dating Subodh Maskara, an industrialist based out of Mumbai for a couple of months, she married him on January 2, 2010 and moved to Mumbai. Das and Maskara had a baby boy named Vihaan on 11 August 2010.

Philanthropy

Das gives talks around the world about the impact of her films and the need for powerful social movements in India. She spoke at MIT on 12 April 2007 after a screening of Fire.

She also speaks to campaign for child survival, against AIDS, and violence against women. She was appointed as the chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India in 2009.

Awards and honours

2001 Santa Monica Film Festival

Santa Monica Film Festival

The Santa Monica Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Santa Monica, California, United States.- History :After a brief break the Santa Monica Film Festival was re-established in 2007 by a Santa Monica based non-profit. The Santa Monica Film Festival is now scheduled for August...

• Won - Best Actress - Bawander

2002 Cairo Film Festival

• Won - Best Actress - Amaar Bhuvan

2002 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards are the most notable film awards given for Tamil films in India. They are given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The awards are decided by a committee headed by...

• Won - Special Prize - Kannathil Muthamittal
  Kannathil Muthamittal
  Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Tamil drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars P. S. Keerthana, R. Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das, Pasupathy, J. D. Chakravarthy and Prakash Raj. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film's title is a famous phrase from a poem...
  
  

2005 Cannes Film Festival

2005 Cannes Film Festival

The 2005 Cannes Film Festival started on May 11 and ran until May 22. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on May 21...

• May 2005 - Das served as a Member of the Jury at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival
  Cannes Film Festival
  The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
  
  

2006 Nandi Awards

Nandi Awards

The Nandi Awards is the most Prominent award ceremony for Telugu films, Telugu Theater & Television, presented annually in Andhra Pradesh, India. "Nandi" means "bull", the awards being named after the big granite bull at Lepakshi — a cultural and historical symbol of Andhra Pradesh.Nandi...

• Won - Best Actress
  Nandi Award for Best Actress
  The Nandi Award for Best Actress winners:-See also:* Nandi Awards* Cinema of Andhra Pradesh...
  
   - Kamli

2008 Asian Festival of First Films

Asian Festival of First Films

The Asian Festival of First Films is an annual festival that celebrates first-time film- and documentary-makers and provides a platform for budding film talent....

• Won - Best Film - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  
• Won - Best Screenplay - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  
• Won - Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  

2008 Government of France

Government of France

The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...

• Won - Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

2009 International Film Festival of Kerala

• Won - Special Jury Award - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  

2009 International Thessaloniki Film Festival

• Won - Special Prize (Everyday Life: Transcendence or Reconciliation Award) - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  
• Nominated - Golden Alexander - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  

2010 Filmfare Awards

55th Filmfare Awards

The 55th Filmfare Awards were held on February 27, 2010 at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai. The awards given for 30 categories, out of which there were 3 special awards, 3 critics awards and 24 main awards for Hindi films released in 2009. There were 60 nominations for the top 10 categories, which...

• Won - Special Award - Firaaq
  Firaaq
  Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India, and looks at the aftermath in terms of the effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Urdu...
  
  

Actor

Won, Zee Cine Award for Best Actress
|-
| Kannaki || Kannaki || Malayalam ||
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| Pitaah || Paro || Hindi ||
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| Azhagi

Azhagi

Azhagi is a Tamil film directed by Thankar Bachchan. The film is critically acclaimed and stars Parthiban, Nandita Das and Devayani. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Ilaiyaraaja.-Plot:...

|| Dhanalakshmi || Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 ||
|-
| Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Tamil drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars P. S. Keerthana, R. Madhavan, Simran, Nandita Das, Pasupathy, J. D. Chakravarthy and Prakash Raj. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The film's title is a famous phrase from a poem...

|| Shyama || Tamil ||
|-
| Lal Salaam

Lal Salaam

Lal Salam is a salute, greeting or code word used by communists in Pakistan, India and Nepal, which is used when both hello and goodbye would be used in English. In Hindi and Urdu Lal means red, the color of communism, and Salam is an Arabic/Persian loanword in use in India and Pakistan...

|| Rupi(alias Chandrakka) || Hindi ||
|-
| rowspan="6"| 2003 || Ek Alag Mausam

Ek Alag Mausam

Ek Alag Mausam is 2003 Hindi language movie directed by K P Sasi and starring Nandita Das, Anupam Kher, Renuka Shahane, Rajit Kapur, Arundathi Nag, Sreelatha and Sally Whittaker....

|| Aparna Verma || Hindi ||
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| Bas Yun Hi || Veda || Hindi ||
|-
| Supari || Mamta Sikri|| Urdu ||
|-
| Shubho Mahurat

Shubho Mahurat

Shubho Mahurat is an award-winning Indian Bengali feature film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film is based on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple story The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.-Plot:...

|| Mallika Sen || Bengali ||
|-
| Kagaar: Life on the Edge || Aditi || Hindi ||
|-
| Ek Din 24 Ghante

Ek Din 24 Ghante

Ek Din 24 Ghante is a 2003 Bollywood thriller film directed and written by Anant Balani and starring Rahul Bose and Nandita Das. The film premiered on 7 November 2003. Director Anant Balani died before the film was released on 29 August 2003...

|| Sameera Dutta || Hindi ||
|-
| 2004 || Vishwa Thulasi

Vishwa Thulasi

Vishwa Thulasi is a film directed by Sumathy Ram. The film is in Tamil, with English subtitles. This film's score and soundtrack were composed by Ilayaraaja and M. S. Viswanathan. It was well received upon screening at the 2005 WorldFest Houston International Film Festival...

||Sita|| Tamil ||
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| 2005 || Fleeting Beauty ||Indian woman|| English ||
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2006 ||Maati Maay ||Chandi|| Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 ||Marathi Film by Chitra Palekar with Atul Kulkarni
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| Podokkhep || Megha|| Bengali ||
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| Kamli || Kamli|| Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 || Won, Nandi Award for Best Actress

Nandi Award for Best Actress

The Nandi Award for Best Actress winners:-See also:* Nandi Awards* Cinema of Andhra Pradesh...

 (Telugu)
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2007 ||Before the Rains

Before the Rains

Before the Rains is a 2007 Indian-British period drama film directed by Santosh Sivan. The film adapted of a story from the 2001 anthology Israeli film Asphalt Zahov....

|| Sajani || English ||
|-
|Provoked

Provoked (film)

Provoked is a 2007 UK based English language film, directed by Jag Mundhra. It stars Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson, Robbie Coltrane, Nandita Das and Steve McFadden. The film is loosely based on the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia who killed her abusive husband.Cinematography...

|| Radha Dalal|| English ||
|-
| Naalu Pennungal

Naalu Pennungal

Naalu Pennungal is a 2007 Malayalam film produced and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan based on four short stories written by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The film stars Padmapriya, Geethu Mohandas, Manju Pillai, and Nandita Das in the major roles, and KPAC Lalitha, Mukesh, Manoj K...

|| Kamakshi || Malayalam ||
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| Paani: A Drop of Life ||Mira Ben|| Hindi || Short film
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2008 ||Before the Rains

Before the Rains

Before the Rains is a 2007 Indian-British period drama film directed by Santosh Sivan. The film adapted of a story from the 2001 anthology Israeli film Asphalt Zahov....

|| Sajani || English, Malayalam ||
|-
| Ramchand Pakistani

Ramchand Pakistani

Ramchand Pakistani is a Pakistani Urdu film that tells a true story about a boy who inadvertently crosses the border between Pakistan and India and the following ordeal that his family has to go through.-Synopsis:...

||Champa|| Urdu ||
|-
|| 2011 || I Am

I Am (film)

I Am is a 2010 Indian anthology film by Onir. It consists of four short films: "Omar", "Afia", "Abhimanyu", and "Megha". Each film shares the common theme of fear and each is also based on real life stories. The film was financed by donations from more than 400 different people around the world,...

|| Afia || English, Hindi, Bengali||
|}