Barkha Madan, now known as Gyalten Samten is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

religious monk and nun as well as former model, beauty queen, actress and film producer who has appeared in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and Punjabi language films. She has also appeared in

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

serials and hosted some TV shows. Impressed by

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

ideologies, in November 2012 she had her ordination to become a Buddhist

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

and changed her name to Ven. Gyalten Samten.

Early life

Madan was born to a Punjabi family. In 1994, she competed at the

Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...

pageant alongside winners

Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss Universe 1994 pageant. She is the first Indian to win the Miss Universe pageant. She was previously crowned Femina Miss India 1994 at the age of 18. A ...

and

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. Other participants competed in that year were

Priya Gill Priya Gill is a former Indian actress. She appeared mainly in Hindi films, along with a film each in Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bhojpuri and movies in Telugu. She was the second runner-up in Miss India 1995. Film career Gill began her Bollywoo ...

Swetha Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and News presenter, television anchor. She won ''Femina Miss India, Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number ...

Jesse Randhawa Jesse Randhawa (born 11 August 1975) is an Indian model and actress. She was a contestant on ''Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi , Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 2'' where she emerged as the 1st runner-up. Early life Jasmeet Kaur Randhawa, a.k ...

and

Manini De Maninee De is an Indian film and TV actress who rose to stardom by playing the role of Katiya in Ssshhhh...Koi Hai, the horror TV Series on STAR Plus, Pari Kapadia in Sony Entertainment Television's popular serial, ''Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin''. ...

. She received the title of Miss Tourism India where she participated at the inaugural Miss Tourism International pageant. At the end of the pageant, she won third runner-up alongside

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

actress and model, Emylia Abdul Hamid who was the runner-up of the said pageant. She made her debut on the big screen with the 1996 Bollywood film ''

Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi ''Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi'' ( ''Player of Players'') is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language action film starring Rekha in her first villain role, Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon and former WWF (now WWE) wrestlers "Crush" and Brian Lee as "The Undertaker" ...

'' with

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

and

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...

Acting career

Though many offers came to her following her impressive performance in ''Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi'', Barkha preferred to remain selective. She made her entry in foreign films with the Indo-Dutch movie ''Driving Miss Palmen''. It was

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

's 2003 horror film '' Bhoot'' which proved to be a turning point in Barkha's career. The movie became an instant hit. She played the role of a ghost in the movie, earning praise for her performance. She started a production and distribution company named Golden Gate LLC, to promote talented independent filmmakers. It produced two critically acclaimed films, ''

Soch Lo ''Soch Lo'' () is 2010 Hindi mystery film developed under the banner of Sun Entertainment, directed by Sartaj Singh Pannu and produced by Karanbir Singh Pannu. The film features actors Sartaj Singh Pannu, Iris Maity, Nishan Nanaiah, Barkha M ...

'' and '' Surkhaab'', with her in the lead. Barkha has also been a popular face in the television industry, appearing in about 20 TV shows.

Turning to spirituality

In November 2012, she set her mind to become a Buddhist nun. She was very much impressed by the ideologies of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and is an avid follower of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. She had her ordination from Sera Je Monastery on 4 November under Lama Zopa Rinpoche's supervision. She later commented that it was the most important and right decision she ever made in her life.

Filmography

*''

''(1996) *''Driving Miss Palmen'' (1996) *''Tera Mera Pyar'' (1999) *'' Bhoot'' (2003) *'' Samay: When Time Strikes'' (2003) *''

'' (2010) *'' Surkhaab'' (2012)

Notable television works

*'' 1857 Kranti''....

Rani Laxmibai Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

*''

Ghar Ek Sapnaa ''Ghar Ek Sapnaa'' is a Hindi television serial that aired on Sahara One channel worldwide. It is based on the story of a young woman, Kakul, whose dreams are shattered when she learns that her husband does not love her and she is not accepted b ...

'' ... Devika *''Saat Phere'' *'' Nyaay''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madan, Barkha Living people Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Punjabi cinema Beauty pageant contestants from India Indian television actresses Indian Buddhist nuns Indian Buddhists Converts to Buddhism Punjabi people Indian television producers Indian women television producers Actresses in Hindi television 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Buddhist nuns Women television producers 1974 births