Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

, five

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

and thirteen

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

. For her contribution in the field of arts, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

honoured her with

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the country's fourth highest civilian award.

Early life and education

Sen was born in a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste (''jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

family, originally from

Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; bn, কক্সবাজার, Kôksbajar; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in Southeastern Bangladesh. It is located south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the na ...

Chittagong District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...

(now in Bangladesh). Her father was the veteran critic and filmmaker

Chidananda Dasgupta Chidananda Das Gupta ( bn, চিদানন্দ দাশগুপ্ত) (20 November 1921 – 22 May 2011)—family name sometimes spelled 'Dashgupta' and 'Dasgupta'—was an Indian filmmaker, film critic, a film historian and one of the ...

. Her mother Supriya Dasgupta was a costume designer and earned the

National Film Award for Best Costume Design The National Film Award for Best Costume Design is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards p ...

for Chidananda's directorial venture ''Amodini'' (1995), at the age of 73. Sen is a relative of Bengali poet

Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das () (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was an Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read poet after Rabindr ...

. Sen spent her childhood in

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribagh ...

and Kolkata and had her schooling first at

South Point School South Point is a higher-secondary co-educational private school located in Kolkata, West Bengal and affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, consisting of three organisations – South Point School (Nursery to Class V), South Poi ...

and later at Modern High School for Girls,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. She studied for her B.A. in English at Presidency College, but did not complete the degree.

Career

Actor

Sen's foray into the world of entertainment happened when she was fifteen and was photographed by

Brian Brake John Brian Brake (27 June 1927 – 4 August 1988) was a photographer from New Zealand. Biography Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Brake was the adopted son of John Samuel Brake and his wife Jennie Brake (née Chiplin). He was raised initially at ...

for the well-known photo from his 1960 "

Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

" series of photographs; the photo appeared on the cover of

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

. 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 ''Teen Kanya'' (English language, English: Three Girls) is a 1961 Indian Bengali language, Bengali anthology film directed by Satyajit Ray, and based upon short stories by Rabindranath Tagore. The title means "Three Girls", and the film's origi ...

'' (''Three Daughters'') directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

(who was a longtime friend of her father's). She went on to appearing in up to four films made by the director including Aranyer Din Ratri,

Jana Aranya ''Jana Aranya'' is a 1976 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, based on the novel of the same name by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It is the last among Ray's Calcutta trilogy series, the previous two being, ''Pratidwandi'' (''The Adversary'', 1970) ...

and

Pikoo ''Pikoo'' is a 1980 Bengali short film directed by Satyajit Ray for a French television channel, France 3. The film is based on a short story named ''Pikoor Diary'' (''Pikoo's Diary''), written by Ray for one of his books, ''Pikoor Diary O Onya ...

. Four years after her first film, in 1965, Sen acted in Akash Kusum, a Mrinal Sen film where she played the part of Monica. Sen has been an imminent part of the Bengali film industry, playing the lead in popular films like Basanta Bilap(1973) and Memsaheb(1972) amongst others. Sen has also been a part of Hindi films such as Imaan Dharam(1977),

Ek Din Achanak ''Ek Din Achanak'' (Hindi: एक दिन अचानक, English: ''Suddenly, One Day'') is a 1989 art film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali novel, ''Beej'' by Ramapada Chowdhury. Synopsis One evening, in the midst of torrential ...

(1989) and

Ghaath ''Ghaath'' is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Akashdeep and produced by Kumar Mohan. The film stars Manoj Bajpayee, Tabu and Om Puri in pivotal roles and Raveena Tandon in a special appearance. Plot Krishna Patil as ...

(2000). In 2009, Sen appeared with

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the Fi ...

and

Rahul Bose Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, and social activist. Bose has appeared in Bengali films such as ''Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'', '' Kalpurush'', ''Anuranan'', ''Antaheen'', ''Laptop'' and ''The Japanese Wife''. ...

in Annirudh Roy-Chowdhary's Bengali film ''

Antaheen ''Antaheen'' ( bn, অন্তহীন, sometimes dubbed in English as ''The Endless Wait'') is a 2009 Bengali film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. The film stars Radhika Apte, Rahul Bose, Mita Vashisth, Aparna Sen, Kalyan Ray and Sharmi ...

''. The film went on to win four

. In 2019, Sen acted in prominent Bengali films including Bohomaan and Basu Poribar.

Director

In 2009, Sen announced her next

film ''

Iti Mrinalini ''Iti Mrinalini'' ( bn, ইতি মৃণালিনী en, Yours, Mrinalini; en, An Unfinished Letter) is a 2011 Indian drama film directed by Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sen collaborated with Ranjan Ghosh to write both the story and t ...

'', which starred

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...

, Aparna Sen,

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...

Kaushik Sen Koushik Sen (born 19 September 1968) is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the well-acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. He has won the BFJA awards for best supporting actor for his perform ...

, and

Priyanshu Chatterjee Priyanshu Chatterjee (born 20 February 1973) is an Indian actor and former model known for his works in Bollywood, and Bengali cinema. He made his Hindi film debut in the box-office big success '' Tum Bin'' in 2001. His other recognized work i ...

. First-time screenwriter

Ranjan Ghosh Ranjan K Ghosh ( bn, রঞ্জন ঘোষ '' ''Rônjôn Ghosh') is a Bengali filmmaker based out of Kolkata, India. He made his directorial debut in 2014 with the critically acclaimed '' Hrid Majharey'', a Bengali feature film starring ...

co-authored ''

''. This was the first time that Sen collaborated with any film writer or became attached to the curriculum of a film institute. The screenplay of ''

'' was an assignment in the Screenwriting syllabus at the Mumbai-based film school

Whistling Woods International __NOTOC__ Whistling Woods International is a film, communication and creative arts institute located in Mumbai, India. The institute is promoted by the Indian Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts and Film City Mumbai. In July 2014, ''The Holly ...

. It was also a major first in Indian screenwriting, as the first time that any screenplay from an Indian film institute was actually filmed. The film was released on 29 July 2011. In 2013, her film ''

Goynar Baksho ''Goynar Baksho'' ( ''The Jewellery Box'') is a 2013 Bengali language Indian horror comedy film directed by Aparna Sen. The film is based on a novel ''Goynar Baksho'' and a short story ''Rashmonir Sonadana'', both written by Shirshendu Mukhopadh ...

'' (The Jewellery Box) was released depicting three generations of women and their relationship to a box of jewels. It ran to packed houses and won critical acclaim from reviewers and critics. Thereafter, in 2015, '' Arshinagar'', an adaptation of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' was released. In 2017, ''Sonata''—an English film written and directed by Sen—was released. Adapted from a play by

Mahesh Elkunchwar Mahesh Elkunchwar (born 9 October 1939) is an Indian playwright and screenplay writer in Marathi language with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's ''Parallel Cin ...

, the film examines the life of three middle-aged unmarried friends played by Aparna Sen,

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

and

Lillete Dubey Lillete Dubey (born 7 September 1953) is an Indian actress and theatre director. She has worked in Indian and international theatre, television and films in Hindi and English languages. Dubey began her career with Barry John in Delhi and was the ...

. In 2021, she directed her 3rd Hindi film ''

The Rapist ''The Rapist'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen. A Quest Films Pvt. Ltd. production, produced under the banner of Applause Entertainment, stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Arjun Rampal and Tanmay Dhanania. The film c ...

'', starring her daughter

and

Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to ...

. In her interview with the ''

Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...

'', she said that ''The Rapist'' will be a "hard-hitting drama that examines how much of society is responsible for producing rapists." The film is nominated for Kim Jiseok award at

26th Busan International Film Festival The 26th Busan International Film Festival opened on October 6 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea with South Korean film '' Heaven: To the Land of Happiness'' by Im Sang-soo. Park So-dam and Song Joong-ki hosted the opening of the ...

to be held in October 2021.

Awards

- the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India in 1987. *

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since ...

for '' 36 Chowringhee Lane'' in 1981 *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English is one of the National Film Awards of India presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is one of seve ...

for'' 36 Chowringhee Lane'' in 1981. *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

for

Paroma ''Paroma'' (English title: The Ultimate Woman) is a 1985 award-winning Indian Bengali feature film directed by Aparna Sen. Plot The movie is about a 40-year-old married woman, Paroma whose identity lies in the words like "bouma" (the daughte ...

in 1984. *

for ''

Yugant ''Yugant'' ( en, What the Sea Said) is a 1995 Bengali drama movie directed by Aparna Sen. The movie featured Anjan Dutt and Roopa Ganguly. Plot Deepak and Anasuya are an estranged couple, now leading separate lives in Cuttack and Bombay. They ...

'' in 1995. *

, for ''

Paromitar Ek Din ''Paromitar Ek Din'' ( bn, পারমিতার একদিন ''Paromitar Êkdin'', lit. "One day of Paromita's", English title: ''House of Memories'') is a 2000 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Aparna Sen. Plot The film explores th ...

'' in 2000. *

for ''

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer ''Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'' is a 2002 Indian English-language drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan. The film features Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahu ...

'' in 2002. *

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of ...

for ''

'' in 2002. *

National Film Award for Best Screenplay The National Film Award for Best Screenplay is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one o ...

for ''

'' in 2002. *

for ''

15 Park Avenue ''15 Park Avenue'' is a 2005 English-language Indian film directed by Aparna Sen. It stars Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Soumitra Chatterjee, Waheeda Rehman, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Rahul Bose and Kanwaljeet Singh.It won the National Film ...

'' in 2005. *

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...

Filmfare Awards East Filmfare Awards Bangla is the Bengali segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour the artistic and cinematic excellence in Bengali. The first installment of the awards were held for Bengali, Assamese and Odia ...

-Best Actress Award for ''Sujata'' in 1974. *

-Best Actress Award for ''Asamaya'' in 1976. *

-Best Actress Award for ''Bijoyini'' in 1982. *

-Best Actress Award for ''Indira'' in 1983. *

-Best Director Award for ''Parama'' in 1985. *

BFJA Award Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

-Best Actress Award for ''Aparachito'' in 1970 *

-Best Actress Award for ''Sujata'' in 1975 *

-Best Director Award for ''Parama'' in 1986 *

-Best Screenplay Award for ''Parama'' in 1986 *

-Best Actress Award for ''Ekanto Apan'' in 1988 *

-Best Supporting Actress Award for ''Mahaprithibi'' in 1992 *

-Best Actress Award for ''Swet Patharer Thala'' in 1993 *

-Best Supporting Actress Award for ''Unishr April'' in 1997 *

- Babulal Chowkhani Memorial Trophy for Original Story-''Yugant'' in 1997 *

-Best Actress Award for ''Paramitar Ek Din'' in 2001 *

- Babulal Chowkhani Memorial Trophy for Original Story and Screenplay for''Paramitar Ek Din'' in 2001 *

-Most Outstanding Work of the Year for Mr. and Mrs. Iyer in 2003 *

-Life Time Achievement Award in 2013 *

Anandalok Award Anandalok Puraskar or Anandalok Awards ceremony is an award ceremony for Bengali film in India. The ''Anandalok'', only film magazine in Bengali language, published from Ananda Publishers and ''Ananda Bazar Patrika'' presents this award (Puraska ...

-Best Actress in 2001 *

-Best Actress for "Titlee" in 2002 * Kalakar Award-Best Actress (Stage) Award for Bhalo Kharab Meye in 1993 * Kalakar Awards for Best Director for ''

''in 2000. * Kalakar Award-Best Director Award for

in 2012 * Best Director Award at

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...

for ''

'' in 2022

Honors

Sen has served on juries at film festivals around the world. In 1989 she was a member of the jury at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2008, she was elected into the International Jury of the

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...

. In 2013, she headed the jury of the second Ladakh International Film Festival. From 1986 to 2005, Sen was the editor of the fortnightly '' Sananda'', a Bengali women's magazine (published by the

Ananda Bazar Patrika ''Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million cop ...

group) that enjoys equal popularity in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. From November 2005 to December 2006, she was associated with the Bengali 24x7 infotainment channel

Kolkata TV Kolkata TV is a 24-hour Bengali news channel launched by SST Media in 2006. Ex ABP man Suman Chattopadhyay is responsible for its birth. Now it is owned by Kaustuv Ray, chairman of RP Group. The slogan used by the channel is ''Raatdin Saatdin' ...

as Creative Director. In 2011 she took charge as the editor of the magazine ''Paroma'' launched by the Saradha Group. Following the

Saradha Group financial scandal The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major financial scam and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies that was believed to be running collective i ...

, ''Paroma'' ran into trouble. It finally closed down on 14 April 2013. Sen and her editorial team launched a new magazine called ''Prathama Ekhon'', which was short-lived. In 1987, the then President of India,

Giani Zail Singh Giani Zail Singh (, born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the seventh president of India from 1982 to 1987. He was the first Sikh and the first person from a backward caste to bec ...

bestowed the

on Sen in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. Since then, she has received several lifetime achievement awards.

Filmography

Bibliography

* ''Parama and other outsiders: the cinema of Aparna Sen'', by Shoma A. Chatterji. Parumita Publications, 2002. . * ''Aparna Sen calls the shots'' (Women in Indian film), by Rajashri Dasgupta. Zubaan, 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Aparna Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Bengali cinema Bengali film directors Brahmos Bengali Hindus Indian film actresses 20th-century Indian film directors Indian women film directors Indian women screenwriters Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Actresses from Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Kalakar Awards winners 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian actresses Women writers from West Bengal 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Hindi screenwriters Best Director National Film Award winners Film directors from Kolkata Screenwriters from Kolkata Women artists from West Bengal Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award