Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma on 7 November 1979)
is an Indian actress who is known for her work in the
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
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 ...
films.
Early life
Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
) to
Moon Moon Sen
Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen (born Srimati Sen; 28 March 1954), is an Indian actress, known for her works in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi films. She eventually starred in Bollywood films. She h ...
and Bharat Dev Varma and the granddaughter of actress
Suchitra Sen who is regarded as the ''Mahanayika'' of Bengali Cinema. Her sister
Riya Sen
Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and model. who predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu and Tamil films.
Sen comes from a royal background; her father Bharat Dev Varma hails from the royal ...
is also in the
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 ...
industry.
Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family 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 ...
. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was 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 t ...
, whose younger sister
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 ...
was 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 ...
. Her paternal great-grandmother
Indira was the only daughter of
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
of
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
.
Raima's maternal great-grandfather Adinath Sen was a prominent Kolkata businessman, whose son Dinanath Sen – a relative of former Union Law Minister
Ashoke Kumar Sen
Ashoke Kumar Sen (10 October 1913 – 21 September 1996) was an Indian barrister, a former Cabinet minister of India, and an Indian parliamentarian.
He also holds the record for winning a Lok Sabha seat the most times and also the record for b ...
- was the
Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of Tripura. The sisters are credited on-screen under their mother's maiden name, although their official papers carry the surname Dev Varma.
Personal life
Sen is said to resemble
her grandmother much more than either her mother or her sister. In an interview, she says while she enjoys Mumbai's faster pace of life, its gyms and its nightclubs, she misses her family in Kolkata, her dog Cuddles, and Kolkata's street food, notably Jhal Muri and Aloo chaat. Raima Sen in 2006 admitted that she had a brief relation with Odisha politician Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo in 2006–2007, but the relationship did not last long.
Career
![Raima Sen Moon Moon Sen still11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Raima_Sen_Moon_Moon_Sen_still11.jpg)
Sen made her debut in the film ''
Godmother'', which was a critically acclaimed success, but her minor role may have been overlooked in favour of the protagonist, played by
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 ...
. She then starred in the film ''
Daman'' playing
Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon (born 26 October 1972) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. The daughter of director Ravi Tandon, she made her acting debut in the 1991 action film ''Patthar Ke Phool'', which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of ...
's daughter, where her small performance was appreciated.
Her breakthrough role came when she starred in the
Rituparno Ghosh
Rituparno Ghosh (31 August 1963 – 30 May 2013) was an Indian film director, actor, writer and lyricist. After pursuing a degree in economics, he started his career as a creative artist at an advertising agency. He received recognition for his ...
's film ''
Chokher Bali''. After a few more average movies she had a critically acclaimed hit in 2005 with ''
Parineeta'', where she played the playmate of the film's heroine, played by the debutante
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...
. Since then she has had two more hits with the action thriller ''
Dus
''Dus'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Anubhav Sinha, based on the lives of seven fictional SIT (Indian Special Investigation) Team officers. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Kha ...
'' and the Bengali film ''
Antar Mahal'' (where she had a very small role). In 2006, she appeared in the film ''
The Bong Connection
''The Bong Connection'' is a 2006 Bengali-
English language Indian film starring Raima Sen, Shayan Munshi and Parambrata Chatterjee and directed by Anjan Dutt. The movie is based on the lives of Bengalis in the U.S. and Kolkata.
Plot
The story ...
'' (co-starring
Shayan Munshi
Shayan Munshi is an Indian actor and model. He made his debut in the 2003 Bollywood film Jhankaar Beats and has performed in award-winning films such as ''The Bong Connection'' and ''Carnival''. Shayan has hosted Television series like ''Cook Na ...
). In 2007, she worked in the thriller ''
Manorama Six Feet Under
''Manorama Six Feet Under'' is a 2007 Indian thriller film directed and co-written by Navdeep Singh. The film features Abhay Deol, Raima Sen and Gul Panag in the lead roles. The film released on 21 September 2007. It follows an amateur detect ...
'' with Abhay Deol. In 2011, she starred in the hit Bengali film ''
Baishe Srabon
''Baishey Srabon'' (''22 Shey Srabon'') is a 2011 Indian Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Srijit Mukherji. it was his second film. The cast consists of Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterje ...
'', opposite
Parambrata Chatterjee
Parambrata Chattopadhyay (born 27 June 1980) is an Indian actor and director. Parambrata started his career with Bengali television and films. He has acted as the fictional character Topshe from Feluda under Sandip Ray's direction. He made his ...
.
2014 saw Sen as the leading lady in the critically acclaimed ''
Hrid Majharey
''Hrid Majharey'' (হৃদ্ মাঝারে) ( en, Live in my Heart) is a 2014 India-Bengali cult love tragedy film written and directed by debutant Bengali filmmaker Ranjan Ghosh. It was first presented as a tribute on Shakespear ...
'', the first Bengali movie based on the works of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and presented as a tribute on the 450th year of birth of the Bard.
She co-stars with
Abir Chatterjee
Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theater personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
and
Indrasish Roy
Indrasish Roy is an Indian film and television actor. He played the role of Tintin in serial ''Gaaner Opare''. Later he played the lead role of Chandrakiran Chowdhury, the male protagonist of serial ''Adwitiya''. He debuted in films with Kaushik ...
in this dark love-story by debutant filmmaker
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 ...
.
The film has earned a rare recommendation from the ''Film London'' in its list of world cinema based on the plays of Shakespeare.
The film and its screenplay have also been included in the ''UGC Literature Archive''.
It is also famous for being the only other Bengali film after ''Sabuj Dweeper Raja'' (1979) to be shot in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
.
In 2016, she was seen in ''
Bollywood Diaries
''Bollywood Diaries'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by K.D.Satyam. It features Raima Sen, Salim Diwan, and Ashish Vidyarthi, along with Karuna Pandey and Vineet Kumar Singh. Produced by Dr. Sattar Diwan, the ...
'', a film written and directed by
K.D. Satyam
K.D. Satyam (born 29 December 1977) is an Indian film writer and film director. He wrote ''Gattu'', a film that became a part of the list of India's Academy Awards nominations in 2012. He has also written and directed ''Bollywood Diaries''. The ...
. The film also stars
Ashish Vidyarthi and
Salim Diwan
Salim Diwan (born 12 May 1985) is an Indian Bollywood film actor who made his debut in ''Bollywood Diaries''.
Early life
Diwan was born in the Jhunjhunu district, Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India and was attached to local theatre gro ...
.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
The Last Hour Web Series will release in 2020 Ending in this series Raima Sen &
Sanjay Kapoor
Sanjay Surinder Kapoor (born 17 October 1965) is an Indian actor and film producer. He works in Hindi cinema, Indian television and web series. He is a member of the Surinder Kapoor family. Kapoor is the founder and director of Sanjay Kapoor ...
playing the main role this series directed by Amit Kumar.
Filmography
Web series
Awards and nominations
* 2006:
BFJA-Most Promising Actress Award for ''
Nishi Japan
''Nishijapon'' ( bn, নিশিযাপন, After the Night... Dawn) (2005) is a Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali film directed by Sandip Ray, based on a novel of the same name by Narayan Gangopadhyay.
Synopsis
Bimal (Soumitra Chatterjee) is ...
''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Raima
1979 births
Living people
Actresses from Kolkata
Actresses from Mumbai
Indian film actresses
Indian web series actresses
Actresses in Bengali cinema
Actresses in Hindi cinema
Actresses in Telugu cinema
Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Actresses from Tripura
Tripuri people
Bengali actresses
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award winners
University of Calcutta alumni
21st-century Indian actresses
Tripuri actors