Seema Biswas
Encyclopedia
Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam
who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi
in Shekhar Kapur
's film Bandit Queen
(1994). She has a reputation for performing strong character roles.
Biswas won the 1996 National Film Award for Best Actress
for her role in the film. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award
for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta
's Water (2005).
, Assam, to Jagdish and Meera Biswas. Her mother, an early influence, was a history teacher and a pioneering figure for female theatre artistes in Assam; and she came into contact with artists like Bhupen Hazarika
, Phani Sarma
and Bishnuprasad Rabha
early in life.
She studied Political Science at Nalbari College, and later joined the National School of Drama
, New Delhi. After graduating from NSD in 1984, she joined the NSD Repertory Company.
, this was her first big break into Hindi cinema, and she arrived with a bang.
Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast, and has worked in a variety of films and character roles. She has also worked in a number of Marathi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. Some of her Marathi films are Bindhast, Dhyaas Parwa, and Lalbaug-Parel.
She has been honoured with the Life Membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television
by the director Sandeep Marwah.
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Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi
Phoolan Devi
Phoolan Devi , popularly known as the "Bandit Queen", was an Indian dacoit and later a politician. After being gang-raped by some upper-caste members of her gang, Phoolan Devi turned a bandit, and killed 22 upper-caste villagers in 1981. Following this, she became notorious across India as a bandit...
in Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar Kapur is an Indian film director and producer. A critically acclaimed director, he rose to popularity with the movie Bandit Queen...
's film Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen
Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...
(1994). She has a reputation for performing strong character roles.
Biswas won the 1996 National Film Award for Best Actress
National Film Award for Best Actress
The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
for her role in the film. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for her role as Shakuntala 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...
's Water (2005).
Personal life and education
Biswas was born in NalbariNalbari
Nalbari is a city and a municipal board in Nalbari district in the Indian state of Assam. Nalbari is headquarter of Nalbari District.-Education:...
, Assam, to Jagdish and Meera Biswas. Her mother, an early influence, was a history teacher and a pioneering figure for female theatre artistes in Assam; and she came into contact with artists like Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. His songs,written and sung mainly in Assamese by the legend himself, are infused with humanity and universalism, and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notable being Bengali ,Hindi and...
, Phani Sarma
Phani Sarma
Phani Sarma was an Assamese theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director. Beginning as a stage actor, he appeared in the first film ever made in Assamese cinema, Joymati...
and Bishnuprasad Rabha
Bishnuprasad Rabha
Bishnu Prasad Rabha was born in Dhaka on 31 January 1909. He was a multifaceted artist and revolutionary singer of Assam. A doyen of the Arts, he is popularly known as Kala Guru . From an early stage, he played an active role in the struggle for Indian independence. However, he never joined Indian...
early in life.
She studied Political Science at Nalbari College, and later joined the National School of Drama
National School of Drama
National School of Drama is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India, established . It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and became an independent school in 1975...
, New Delhi. After graduating from NSD in 1984, she joined the NSD Repertory Company.
Career
Seema Biswas acted as the heroine in Kishan Kartha's Amshini (Hindi) which entered the Indian Panorama Section of Filmotsav 1988. However the general belief is that Biswas debuted after Shekhar Kapur watched her perform in NSD Repertory Company, and offered her a role in Bandit Queen. Although she had earlier acted in Assamese cinemaAssamese cinema
Assamese cinema is cinema in the Assamese language, watched primarily in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti...
, this was her first big break into Hindi cinema, and she arrived with a bang.
Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast, and has worked in a variety of films and character roles. She has also worked in a number of Marathi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. Some of her Marathi films are Bindhast, Dhyaas Parwa, and Lalbaug-Parel.
She has been honoured with the Life Membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television
Asian Academy of Film & Television
The Asian Academy of Film & Television is a film school located in India's Noida Film City in India's Capital region, NCR. It is affiliated with the International Film & Television Research Center and the Marwah Films & Video Studios....
by the director Sandeep Marwah.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Amshini | Sarada |
| 1994 | Bandit Queen Bandit Queen Bandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the... |
Phoolan Devi |
| 1996 | Khamoshi: The Musical Khamoshi: The Musical Khamoshi: The Musical is a critically acclaimed Indian Hindi film which was released on 9 August 1996. The film starred Nana Patekar, Manisha Koirala, Salman Khan, Seema Biswas and Helen, and marked Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut... |
Flavy J. Braganza |
| 1997 | Ladies Only | |
| 1998 | Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa is an Indian feature film that deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology.... |
Somu's mother |
| 1999 | Bindhaast Bindhaast Bindhaast is a thriller Marathi movie directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni released in India in 1999.-Cast:* Reema Lagoo - Aasavari Patwardhan * Sharvari Jamenis - Vaijayanti Patil... |
CBI officer |
| Samar Samar (film) Samar is an Indian feature film directed by Shyam Benegal. It was produced by National Film Development Corporation of India, a government agency.... |
Dulari | |
| 2001 | Dhyasparva | Malati Karve |
| 2002 | Deewangee Deewangee Deewangee is a 2002 Indian Bollywood film directed by Anees Bazmee. The film stars Ajay Devgan, Akshaye Khanna and Urmila Matondkar in leading roles. The film premiered on 25 October 2002... |
Psychiatrist |
| Company Company (film) Company is a 2002 Indian film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Jaideep Sahni, starring Ajay Devgan, Mohanlal, Manisha Koirala, Vivek Oberoi,and Antara Mali. It is a fictional exposé of the Mumbai underworld, loosely based on the Indian mafia organization D-Company, known to be run by... |
Ranibai | |
| Ghaav: The Wound | Tanya | |
| 2003 | Boom Boom (2003 film) Boom is a Bollywood film that was released on 19 September 2003. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre, Katrina Kaif and Zeenat Aman. The film is directed by Kaizad Gustad and produced by Jackie Shroff's wife, Ayesha Shroff... |
Bharti |
| Bhoot Bhoot Bhoot is a Bollywood ghost movie released in 2003. It was directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar. It was perceived to be different from a typical Bollywood movie as it did not contain songs. The film did average business at the box office... |
Bai | |
| Iyarkai Iyarkai Iyarkai is an award-winning debut film in Tamil directed by S. P. Jananathan. N. K. Ekambaram, also a relatively newcomer in the field of cinematography, served as the film's cinematographer. The film stars Shaam, Arun Vijay, Kutti Radhika and Seema Biswas. This film was a low-budget production... |
Sister-in-law of Nancy | |
| Pinjar Pinjar (film) Pinjar is a 2003 film about Hindu-Muslim problems during the time around the partition of India. The film is based on a Punjabi novel by the same name, written by Amrita Pritam... |
Mad woman | |
| 2004 | Kaya Taran Kaya Taran Kaya Taran is a highly-acclaimed film directed by Sashi Kumar based on Malayalam short story When Big Tree Falls by N.S... |
Sister Agatha |
| Dobara Dobara Dobara is a 2004 Indian Hindi film directed by Shashi Ranjan on his debut. It stars Jackie Shroff, Mahima Chaudhry and Raveena Tandon.-Plot:... |
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| Ek Hasina Thi Ek Hasina Thi Ek Hasina Thi is a 2004 Indian psychological thriller film noir by Sriram Raghavan, produced by Ram Gopal Varma, and starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. The screenplay was by Sriram Raghavan and Pooja Ladha Surti... |
ACP Malti Vaidya | |
| Hanan Hanan Hanan is a name of Hebrew origin of the meaning "God is gracious", "gracious gift of God". In Hebrew it is a masculine name, and in Arabic a feminine one... |
Mrs. Heeralal | |
| 2005 | Water | Shakuntala |
| Mumbai Godfather Mumbai Godfather Mumbai Godfather is the name of an Indian Bollywood film directed by Deepak Balraj Vij released on 23 September 2005.- Synopsis :The protagonist of the film is Romeo , who is in love with Shalu , an exotic dancer. He visits the pub where she works which gets raided by the police. He is arrested... |
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| The White Land | Sudha's mother | |
| 2006 | Vivah | Rama |
| Shoonya | Pradhan | |
| Zindaggi Rocks Zindaggi Rocks Zindaggi Rocks is a 2006 Bollywood film, directed by Tanuja Chandra and produced by Anurradha Prasad. It is about the love story between a famous singer, Kriya, played by Sushmita Sen and a doctor, played by Shiney Ahuja.... |
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| 2007 | Sofia | The Madam |
| Kamagata Maru | ||
| Amal Amal (film) Amal , 2007, is a Canadian drama film directed and written by Richie Mehta. Set in modern-day New Delhi, India, it tells the story of a poor autorickshaw driver, Amal Kumar.... |
Sapna Agarwal | |
| 2008 | Striker Striker (film) The soundtrack album of Striker consists of 8 songs composed by various artists such as Vishal Bhardwaj, noted Tamil composer Yuvan Shankar Raja in his Bollywood debut, Amit Trivedi, rapper Blaaze, Shailendra Barve and lyricist-singer Swanand Kirkire, whilst lyrics are penned by Nitin Raikwar,... |
Siddharth's mother |
| Shaurya Shaurya Shaurya is a 2008 Bollywood movie directed by Samar Khan, starring Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Javed Jaffrey and Minissha Lamba. Music in the film is by pop singer, Adnan Sami... |
Captain Javed Khan's mother | |
| Cooking with Stella | Stella | |
| Heaven on Earth Heaven on Earth (film) Heaven on Earth a.k.a Videsh is a 2008 Canadian film directed and written by Deepa Mehta. Preity Zinta plays the leading role of Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man, played by theatre actor Vansh Bhardwaj... |
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| 2009 | Yeh Mera India Yeh Mera India Yeh Mera India YMI is a 2009 Hindi movie, written and directed by N. Chandra. The film stars Anupam Kher, Perizaad Zorabian, Purab Kohli, Rajpal Yadav, Sarika, and Seema Biswas.-Plot:... |
Bai |
| 2010 | Lalbaug Parel Lalbaug Parel Lalbaug Parel is a 2010 Bollywood film released in both Hindi and Marathi languages. The film was directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, who has directed critically acclaimed films in the past like Astitva and Viruddh... Family Comes First... |
Mother |
| 2011 | Queens! Destiny of Dance | Amma |
| 2012 | Midnight's Children | Mary |
Filmfare Awards
- 1996: Won: Best DebutFilmfare Best Debut AwardThe Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut is given at the annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films to recognise a performance by a male actor in his debut role.-1990s:*1990Salman Khan - Maine Pyar Kiya*1991Not awarded...
for Bandit QueenBandit QueenBandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...
Star Screen Awards
- 1996: Won: Best Supporting ActressStar Screen Award Best Supporting ActressThe Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress is chosen via a distinguished panel of judges from the film industry of India. The winners are announced in January....
for Khamoshi: The MusicalKhamoshi: The MusicalKhamoshi: The Musical is a critically acclaimed Indian Hindi film which was released on 9 August 1996. The film starred Nana Patekar, Manisha Koirala, Salman Khan, Seema Biswas and Helen, and marked Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial debut... - 2002: Nominated: Best Supporting ActressStar Screen Award Best Supporting ActressThe Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress is chosen via a distinguished panel of judges from the film industry of India. The winners are announced in January....
for CompanyCompanyA company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be... - 2003: Nominated: Best Supporting ActressStar Screen Award Best Supporting ActressThe Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress is chosen via a distinguished panel of judges from the film industry of India. The winners are announced in January....
for BhootBhootBhoot is a Bollywood ghost movie released in 2003. It was directed by Ram Gopal Varma and stars Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar. It was perceived to be different from a typical Bollywood movie as it did not contain songs. The film did average business at the box office...
National Film Awards
- 1996: Won: Silver Lotus Award - Best ActressNational Film Award for Best ActressThe National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
for Bandit QueenBandit QueenBandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...
Genie Award
- 2006: Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Water
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! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" | National Film Award
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! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" | Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
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