Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director best known in the west for her performance in the British film ''

Brick Lane Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

'' (2007), the film adaptation of

Monica Ali Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut nove ...

's best selling

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same nameTannishtha Chatterjee
imdb.com for which she was nominated best actress at the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

. Her other notable roles have been in

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

director

Florian Gallenberger Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film '' Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001. Career Gallenberger appeared in various ...

's film '' Shadows of Time'', ''

Road, Movie ''Road, Movie'' ( hi, रोड, मूवी) is a 2009 Indian road movie directed by Dev Benegal, and starring Abhay Deol, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and Satish Kaushik. It premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and opened the se ...

'' with

Abhay Deol Abhay Singh Deol (born 15 March 1976) is an Indian actor and producer who is known for his work in Hindi films alongside one Kannada and one Tamil film. Born in the Deol family, he made his on-screen debut in 2005 with Imtiaz Ali's romantic c ...

, '' Dekh Indian Circus'', for which she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) and Marathi film ''

Doctor Rakhmabai Rukhmabai (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India as well as being involved in a landmark legal case involving her m ...

'' for which she has won the Best Actress Award at RIFF (Rajasthan International Film Festival) and PIFF (Pune International Film Festival). In 2019 she directed her first feature film '' Roam Rome Mein''.

Early life

Chatterjee was born in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, to 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 ...

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family. Her father was a business executive and her mother was a political science professor. Her family traveled and lived out of the country for some time, then moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. She majored in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

before entering the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. 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 indepe ...

Career

Chatterjee's performance in the

German film The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20 ...

'' Shadows of Time'' earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. Thereafter she worked on an Indo-French coproduction ''

Hava Aney Dey ''Hava Aney Dey'' ('' en, Let the Wind Blow'') is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Partho Sen-Gupta. It stars Aniket Vishwasrao, Nishikant Kamat, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajshree Thakur in the lead roles. The fil ...

'' (Let the Wind Blow) directed by

Partho Sen-Gupta Partho Sen-Gupta (also spelled Partho Sen Gupta or Partho Sengupta pronounced ''Partho Shen-Goopto'') is an independent film director and screenwriter. He is a French citizen, of Indian origin. He has a post-graduate in Film Direction from FEMI ...

which premiered at the

and won the best film award at the

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa and ...

among others. Following these, Chatterjee acted in ''Strings'', ''Kasturi'' and the Bengali film ''

Bibar ''Bibar'' ( bn, বিবর pronounced ) is a 2006 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Subrata Sen starring Subrat Dutta, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Payel Sarkar, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Kunal Mitra, Shiladitya Patranabis, Pradip Mukherjee, Anur ...

'', winning critical acclaim and best actress awards. Her work in the

British film The United Kingdom has had a significant film industry for over a century. While film production reached an all-time high in 1936, the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, during which the directors D ...

'' directed by

Sarah Gavron Sarah Gavron (born 20 April 1970) is a British film director. She has directed four short films, and three feature films.Garcia, Maria. "Demanding To Be Heard". ''Film Journal International''. 118. Her first film was ''This Little Life'' (2003) ...

gave her international exposure and recognition. Chatterjee was nominated for the British independent film awards along with actresses

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

. Chatterjee played a major role in '' Bhopal: Prayer for Rain'' in which she starred with

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

. She was the lead in ''

'' with

and as earned the moniker ''Princess of

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

'' in the Indian press. Chatterjee was referred by the Indian media as the chief flag bearer at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. She won the best actress award at the Miaac New York Film Festival for her film ''Bombay Summer''. Referred to as one of the most international of Indian actors, she is the lead in

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...

's film ''

Meena Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...

'' based on the book ''Half the Sky''. A trained

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, she sang in the movies ''Road'', ''Page 3'', among others. She sang at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London with British composer

Jocelyn Pook Jocelyn Pook (, rhyming with "book"; born 14 February 1960) is an English composer and viola player. She is known for her scores for many films, including ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and '' The Wife''. Education Pook gradua ...

. Chatterjee was a member of the jury at the 2010

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 ...

. She appeared in a T series film ''

I Love New Year ''I Love NY'', also known as ''I Love New Year'', is an Indian romantic comedy film directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru starring Sunny Deol and Kangana Ranaut. It was produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the banner of T-Serie ...

'' opposite

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

directed by

Radhika Rao Jonnalagadda Radhika Rao (born 27 March 1971) is an Indian film director. She started her career with her feature film directorial debut '' Lucky: No Time for Love'' (2005) with Vinay Sapru. Her next films were '' I Love NY'' (2015) and '' Sanam ...

and

Vinay Sapru Vinay Sapru is an Indian feature film, ad film and corporate films director. He runs a film production company known as Rao & Sapru, with his business partner Radhika Rao. Sapru directs movies and has a record of delivering different music v ...

. Tannishtha's Canadian film '' Siddharth'' was in official selection at the 70th Venice Film Festival and the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

. She is the only Indian actress whose films have been selected in three of the major international film festivals in the same year. Her other notable projects are ''Parched'' directed by

Leena Yadav Leena Yadav (born 6 January 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. She started her career in the television industry and gradually moved on to making feature films. Her first international feature film, ''Parched'', ...

which opened in Toronto, Australian romantic comedy ''Unindian'' with

Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. In each of his first two ...

''Island City'' which won the best debut director( Ruchika Oberoi) in Venice and Garth Davies's film LION co-starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

and

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead ...

. Her film Angry Indian Goddesses received acclaim in Toronto and Rome international film festivals. In March 2016 Tannishtha was given a special award in a ceremony held at the BAFTA for her contribution to Asian Cinema. She won the best actress for the film ''

Parched ''Parched'' is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In In ...

'' along with three other actresses in ''Festival 2 Valenciennes'' and the

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema

2016. She was the president of the jury of the MOOOV film festival in Belgium in 2016. She won the best actress at the

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune ...

2017 for her role in Dr. Rakhmabai. In 2019 Tannishtha made her directorial Debut Roam Rome Mein which had its World premier at

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

where she won the Asia Star Award.

Activism

Tannishtha speaks quite often on the issue of race/colorism in Indian media. She has walked out during a roast when her skin color was the subject of jokes. She explored racism in Indian film and TV industry on Mithaq Kazimi's talk show series. Personally, she adopted a baby girl and has encouraged others to do the same.

Filmography

Films

Web Series

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Tannishtha Living people Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from Delhi National School of Drama alumni Delhi University alumni 1980 births Indian women classical singers Singers from Maharashtra Musicians from Pune Bengali actresses Singers from Delhi Actresses from Pune Indian women playback singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Women musicians from Maharashtra Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners