Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma) is an Indian actress and model, born into the royal family of Tripura to Bharat Dev Varma and Moon Moon Sen. Sen is known for her work in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and Bengali films.

Early life

Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

) to Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma and the granddaughter of actress Suchitra Sen who is regarded as the ''Mahanayika'' of Bengali Cinema. Her sister Riya Sen is also in the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch Behar, whose younger sister Gayatri Devi was the Maharani of

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

. Her paternal great-grandmother Indira was the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. 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 said that she had a brief relation with Odisha politician Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo in 2006–2007, but the relationship did not last long.

Career

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 film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...

. She then starred in the film '' Daman'' playing Raveena Tandon'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 h ...

's film '' Chokher Bali''. After a few more average movies she had '' Parineeta'' in 2005, where she played the playmate of the film's heroine, played by the debutante Vidya Balan. Since then she has had two more hits with the action thriller '' Dus'' and the Bengali film '' Antar Mahal'' (where she had a very small role). In 2006, she appeared in the film '' The Bong Connection'' (co-starring Shayan Munshi). In 2007, she worked in the thriller '' Manorama Six Feet Under'' with Abhay Deol. In 2011, she starred in the hit Bengali film '' Baishe Srabon'', opposite Parambrata Chatterjee. 2014 saw Sen as the leading lady in the critically acclaimed '' Hrid Majharey'', the first Bengali movie based on the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 and Indrasish Roy in this dark love-story by debutant filmmaker Ranjan Ghosh. 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 comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

. In 2016, she was seen in '' Bollywood Diaries'', a film written and directed by K.D. Satyam. The film also stars Ashish Vidyarthi and Salim Diwan. Amazon Prime The Last Hour Web Series will release in 2020 Ending in this series Raima Sen & 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''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Raima Year of birth missing (living people) 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 Bengali actresses Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award winners University of Calcutta alumni 21st-century Indian actresses Tripuri actors