Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen (born Srimati Sen; 28 March 1954), is an Indian actress, known for her works 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 ...

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 ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

films. She eventually starred in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 television series. She has received

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

state

Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress The Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress was institute since 1981: See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures ...

in 1987, for her role in the film ''

Sirivennela ''Sirivennela'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language romance film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Suhasini, Sarvadaman Banerjee and Moon Moon Sen. The film has music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film won five Nandi Awar ...

''.

Early life

Moon Moon Sen was born in Calcutta (present-day

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 ...

) to popular Bengali actress

Suchitra Sen Suchitra Sen ( ; born as Roma Dasgupta (; 6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014) was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema ...

and Dibanath Sen. Her father, of

Ballygunge Place Ballygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of thes ...

, was the son of one of the wealthiest businessmen of

, Adinath Sen. Her great-grandfather Dinanath Sen was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

. She was educated at Loreto Convent,

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

and at Loreto House,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. She completed her graduation from

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

and received her master's degree in

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

from

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...

. As a child, Sen learnt drawing from

Jamini Roy Jamini Roy (Bengali: যামিনী রায়) (11 April 1887 – 24 April 1972) was an Indian painter. He was honoured by the Government of India the award of Padma Bhushan in 1954. He remains one of the most famous pupils of Abani ...

, one of India's greatest artists. She loves paintings and collecting antiques. In an interview in 2000, she said she taught at Ballygunge Govt High School for a year and then taught graphics at Chitrabani, a school teaching film techniques. She was also active in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and even thought about adopting a baby, even before she was married. Sen taught English at a well known Boys' school (Ballygunge Govt. High School) in

before joining films.

Career

Acting career

Moon Moon Sen started her career in films and television after marriage and motherhood. She made her debut in ''

Andar Baahar ''Andar Bahaar'' ( en, Inside and Outside, italic=yes) is a 1984 Hindi-language action film. Produced By Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N. Sippy, the film is a remake of the 1982 Hollywood film ''48 Hrs.''. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Jackie Sh ...

'' (1984). Her daring role in that film apparently created a storm of controversy. She had also starred in a suspense thriller ''100 Days'' with

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...

. After ''Zakhmi Dil'' (1994) she did not appear in films until 2003 when she starred in an unsuccessful thriller ''

Kucch To Hai ''Kucch To Hai'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language Slasher film, slasher film written by Rajeev Jhaveri and directed by Anurag Basu and Anil V. Kumar. The film stars Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Anita Hassanandani, Yash Tonk, Rishi Kapoor, Jeet ...

''. She could not match success of her mother. She'd acted in a Telugu movie ''

'' directed by the legendary Telugu director

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South ...

. Before and after entering the film industry, she appeared alone (or with her daughters) in some modelling assignments. She notably modelled for soap ads which were quite controversial in the 1980s. 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."

Her film ''My Karma'' (2004), directed by Korak Day earned her international praise, as the film received international awards and recognition for her as a "tough and sweet Indian wife, standing as a rock behind her husband". She is now doing a few films at a tim

She is also apparently writing a

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

in Bengali, which is yet to be published.

Political career

She joined

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...

in March 2014 and won in 2014 Lok Sabha Polls from

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...

constituency, where she defeated CPI(M)'s nine-time MP,

Basudeb Acharia Basudeb Acharia (11 July 1942 – 13 November 2023) was an Indian Bengali-Tamil politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) political party. His ancestors were originally from Present-day Tamil Nadu, who settled in Bengal ...

. In 2019, she lost the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency election to

Babul Supriyo Babul Supriyo (born 15 December 1970) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, television host, actor and politician who currently serves as Cabinet Minister of Information Technology and Electronics and Tourism of the Government of Wes ...

of BJP. In 2015, Moon Moon Sen in an interview said 'I think we should give him (Modi) a chance. He has done a very good job winning all those votes and we have to give him a chance as a Prime Minister.' Though her party distanced itself from the statement and said that it is her own view and is certainly not the view of the party.

Personal life

Moon Moon Sen married in 1978 to a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of

. They have two daughters,

Raima Raima is a multinational technology company headquartered in Seattle, USA. The company was founded in 1982. Raima develops, sells and supports in-memory and disk-based Relational Database Management Systems that can either be embedded within the a ...

and

Riya Riya is an feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Riya, Japanese singer * Riya Bamniyal, Indian actress * Riya Deepsi, Indian actress and model *Riya Sen (born 1981), Indian actress *Riya Suman Riya Suman is an Indian a ...

, who also pursued a career in acting. She has high regards for her husband for his consistent support of her professional acting career. Her late mother-in-law, Ila Devi, daughter of Indira Raje, the princess of

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in the ...

and an elder sister of

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for th ...

, the Maharani of

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

. Deeply religious, in spite of her bohemian screen image, Moon Moon Sen is committed to family life and grieved at her mother

's passing away on 17 January 2014 due to a heart attack. She immersed the ashes of her mother ritualistically in the Ganges on Wednesday, 29 January 2014. The prayers was attended by dignitaries, like West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

and close friends and family who had missed the funeral, a hurried affair after five hours of death as per the last wishes of the dying actress.

Awards

– ''

'' (1987) *Kalakendra Screen Award *Bharat Nirman Award *Kalakar Awards.

Filmography

Hindi

* ''

'' (1984) as Reema * '' Musafir'' (1986) * ''

Mohabbat Ki Kasam ''Mohabbat Ki Kasam'' ( hi, मोहब्बत की कसम) is a 1986 Bollywood action melodrama film directed by K. Pappu. It stars Amjad Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Tanuja, with special appearances from two of Bollywood's biggest ...

'' (1986) as Radha * '' Jaal'' (1986) * '' Sheesha'' (1986) as Manisha Prakash * '' Pyaar Ki Jeet'' (1987) as Rani sahiba * ''

Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layl ...

'' (1987) * '' Maashuka'' (1987) * ''

Woh Phir Aayegi ''Woh Phir Aayegi'' () is a 1988 Hindi-language Indian horror film directed by B.R. Ishara, starring Rajesh Khanna and Farha Naaz in lead roles. Plot The film depicts the fight of Raju to free his wife Aarti from the evil spirit of Asha, ...

'' (1988) * '' Be Lagaam'' (1988) * ''

Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe ''Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe'' is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Moeen Amjad, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Moon Moon Sen, Shakti Kapoor and Amrish Puri. Plot Vijay is an upright and laborious young man. He works as a stunt man f ...

'' (1989) * '' Tere Bina Kya Jeena'' (1989) * ''

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) * ''

Apna Desh Paraye Log '' Apna Desh Paraye Log '' is a 1989 Bollywood film directed by Pradeep Hooda and starring Sumeet Saigal, Sonu Walia, Moon Moon Sen, Suresh Oberoi, Om Shivpuri and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. Cast * Sumeet Saigal as Abhimanyu * Sonu Walia as Geeta * ...

'' (1989) as Journalist Sunita * '' Pathar Ke Insan'' (1990) as Dancer * '' Lekin...'' (1991) as Pammi * ''

Jeevan Ek Sanghursh ''Jeevan Ek Sanghursh'' () is a 1990 Bollywood film directed by Rahul Rawail, produced by D. Rama Naidu. It stars Raakhee, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in the leading roles. The film was successful and was the tenth highest grossing Bollywood ...

'' (1990) * ''

Bahaar Aane Tak '' Bahaar Aane Tak '' is a 1990 Bollywood family drama movie directed by Tariq Shah and produced by Gulshan Kumar. The cinematographer of this film is Ajay Prabhakar. The film revolves around a man who coincidentally marries a woman who was once ...

'' (1990) as Renu * ''

Iraada ''Iraada'' () is a 1991 Bollywood film starring Shatrughan Sinha, Parveen Babi, Moon Moon Sen in lead roles and music by Kalyanji-Anandji. This was also Parveen Babi's last film before she retired from the film industry. Cast *Shatrughan Si ...

'' (1991) Geeta Sen, Journalist *''

Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi ''Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi'' is a 1991 Indian film directed by Sunil Dutt. It stars Sunil Dutt, Rekha in lead roles. It was the last movie produced by Ajanta Arts. The lyrics and music for the film were by Ravindra Jain Plot The movie begins with a ...

'' (1991) * '' 100 Days'' (1991) as Rama * ''

Vishkanya The ''Visha Kanya'' (Sanskrit ; en, Poison girl) were young women reportedly used as assassins, often against powerful enemies, during the times of Ancient India. Their blood and bodily fluids were purportedly poisonous to other humans, as was men ...

'' (1991) as Mrs. Sonal Vikram Singh * ''

Waqt Ka Badshah ''Waqt Ka Badshah'' () is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Manmohan K. Sabir and produced by Suresh Chowdhary, starring Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Raj Babbar, Moon Moon Sen, Navin Nischol, Amjad Khan and Goga Kapoor. Cast *Dharme ...

'' (1992) * ''Pyaar Ka Saudagar'' (1992) as Monalisa Sinha (Manorama) * ''

Zakhmi Rooh ''Zakhmi Rooh'' (Wounded Soul) is a 1993 Hindi horror film of Bollywood directed by Pawan Kumar and produced by Balwinder Sandhi. Plot This is the story of twin sisters Rima and Sima. Rima is attracted to a boy named Shekhar, who is already in l ...

'' (1993) as Seema/Reema * '' Zakhmi Dil'' (1994) as Mala * ''

Sautela Bhai ''Sautela Bhai'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language film directed by B. R. Ishara, starring Rajesh Khanna, Raj Babbar, Kumar Gaurav in lead roles. The film was a delayed release in 1996 and a big flop. It is a remake of an old popular movie ...

'' (1996) as Sheena * ''

'' (2003) as Madam Sexena * '' Nil Nirjane'' (2003) * ''

Love at Times Square ''Love at Times Square'' is a 2003 Bollywood film directed by and starring Dev Anand with Shoib Khan, Chaitanya Chaudhary and Heene Kaushik. The film had special appearances from Salman Khan and Rishi Kapoor. Plot Sweety is the daughter of a b ...

'' (2003) as Sweety's mother * '' Taj Mahal: A Monument of Love'' (2003) * '' My Karma'' (2004) as Mrs. Mullik * '' It Was Raining That Night'' (2005) * ''

Bow Barracks Forever ''Bow Barracks Forever'' (2004) is an Indian film directed by Anjan Dutt about Anglo-Indians and their difficulties in retaining their identity since the end of British India. Plot The film is about the disaster of the human spirit. It is not ...

'' (2007) as Rosi

Bengali

* ''

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

'' (1974) * '' Rajbadhu'' (1982) * '' Rajeswari'' (1983) * '' Baidurya Rahasya'' (1984) * '' Ajantay'' (1984) * '' Pujarini'' (1984) * '' Antarale'' (1985) * ''

Amar Kantak ''Amar Kantak'' is a Bengali drama film directed by Sukhen Das and produced by Mala Gupta. The film was loosely based on the play ''Priyar Khoje'' of Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay. It was released in 1986 in the banner of Parna Chitram. This movie rece ...

'' (1986) * '' Anjali'' (1987) * ''

Apon Ghorey ''Irvingia gabonensis'' is a species of African trees in the genus ''Irvingia'', sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and protei ...

'' (1987) * '' Tumi Kato Sundar'' (1988) *'' Nishi Trishna'' (1989) * '' Byabodhan'' (1990) * '' Gajamukuta'' (1991) * ''

Hirer Angti ''Hirer Angti'' ( bn, হীরের আংটি) is a 1992 Bengali film by Rituporno Ghosh based on a story of the same name by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Plot Gandharva Kumar's arrival disrupts the festive mood of Durga Puja at Ratanlal Babu' ...

(1992)'' * '' Mahashay'' (1992) * ''

Sopan Sant Sopandeo was a sant of the Varkari and also the younger brother of Dnyaneshwar. Sopan(19 November 1277 A.D- 29 December 1296 A.D), attained samadhi at Saswad near Pune. He wrote a book, the ''Sopandevi'' based on the Marathi translation of ...

'' (1994) * '' Neel Nirjane'' (2003) * ''

Buno Haansh ''Buno Haansh'' (English: ''Wild Goose'') is an Indian Bengali thriller film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. It is based on a novel by Samaresh Majumdar of the same name, and features actors Dev, Srabanti Chatterjee and Tanusree Chakraborty ...

'' (2014) * ''

Bhobishyoter Bhoot ''Bhobishyoter Bhoot'' is a 2019 Bengali satirical comedy film directed by Anik Dutta. The film was released on 15 February 2019. Despite its similar topics, Dutta states that it is not a sequel to his film, ''Bhooter Bhabishyat'' (2012). All si ...

'' (2019)

Malayalam

* '' Angaadi'' (1982) * ''Chiriyo Chiri'' (1982) * '' Aval Kaathirunnu Avanum'' (1986) * ''Gentle Man Security '' (1994)

Kannada

* ''

Yuga Purusha A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a long period, a very brief period, or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga'' and ...

'' (1989) * '' Vaishakada Dinagalu'' (1993) * ''

Mangalya Bandhana ''Mangalya Bandhana'' is a 1993 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed and produced by S. K. Bhagavan and written by P. Vasu. The film stars Ananth Nag, Malashri and Moon Moon Sen with Marthaanda, K. S. Ashwath and Ramesh Bhat in ...

'' (1993)

Telugu

*''

'' (1986) *''

'' (1987)

Tamil

* '' 12B'' (2001) Sulo, Jo's mother

English

* '' My Karma'' (2004) as Mrs. Mallik

Television

* Paliyathachan - Malayalam serial * Rishtey - Hindi Serial * Shudhu Tomari Jonyo - Bengali serial

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Moonmoon 1948 births Politicians from Kolkata Indian film actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Living people Loreto College, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Jadavpur University alumni Kalakar Awards winners India MPs 2014–2019 Indian actor-politicians Lok Sabha members from West Bengal People from Bankura district Women in West Bengal politics Actresses from Kolkata 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Hindi television Bengali television actresses Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Women members of the Lok Sabha Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford

Early life

Career

Acting career

Political career

Personal life

Awards

Filmography

Hindi

Bengali

Malayalam

Kannada

Telugu

Tamil

English

Television

References

Further reading

External links