Aparna Sen (born 25 October 1945) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress, known chiefly for her work in Bengali cinema. She made her debut as a teenager in a film by Satyajit Ray, was a leading actress for two decades, and from 1981 has directed a series of thoughtful films, in Bengali and English, about loneliness, marriage and prejudice. She has won nine National Film Awards.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Aparna Sen (née Dasgupta) |
| Born | 25 October 1945, Calcutta |
| Age | 80 |
| Education | Presidency College, Calcutta |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, actress, editor |
| Films as director | 36 Chowringhee Lane, Paroma, Sati, Yugant, Paromitar Ek Din, Mr and Mrs Iyer, 15 Park Avenue, The Japanese Wife, Goynar Baksho |
| Awards | National Film Award for Best Direction (1981, 2002); Padma Shri (1987) |
| Children | Kamalini and Konkona Sen Sharma |
Early Life
She was born in Calcutta. Her father, Chidananda Dasgupta, was a film critic and film-maker who, with Satyajit Ray, founded the Calcutta Film Society in 1947. Her mother, Supriya, was a costume designer and a cousin of the poet Jibanananda Das. She grew up watching the classics of world cinema at home.
She studied English at Presidency College.
Actress
At fifteen she was photographed by the Magnum photographer Brian Brake for a famous picture of a girl in the monsoon rain. The following year Ray cast her as the tomboy Mrinmoyee in “Samapti”, the last story of Teen Kanya (1961).
She went on to act in more than a hundred films. With Soumitra Chatterjee and Uttam Kumar she starred in Bengali hits such as Akash Kusum, Basanta Bilap and Memsaheb; she appeared again for Ray in Aranyer Din Ratri and Jana Aranya, and in the Merchant Ivory film Bombay Talkie.
Director
36 Chowringhee Lane
She wrote a script in English about an ageing Anglo-Indian schoolteacher in Calcutta who is befriended, and used, by a young couple. Ray encouraged her to direct it herself, and the actor Shashi Kapoor produced it. 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), with Jennifer Kendal in the lead, won her the National Award for Best Direction and the top prize at the Manila festival.
Later films
- Paroma (1985): a married woman’s affair and its consequences, which caused much argument
- Sati (1989) and Yugant (1995)
- Paromitar Ek Din (2000): the friendship of a woman and her mother-in-law
- Mr and Mrs Iyer (2002): a Tamil Brahmin woman and a Muslim photographer thrown together on a bus journey during a riot. It brought her a second National Award for direction and her daughter Konkona the award for best actress.
- 15 Park Avenue (2005), on schizophrenia
- The Japanese Wife (2010), Iti Mrinalini and Goynar Baksho (2013)
- The Rapist (2021), which won a prize at the Busan festival
Editor
From 1986 to 2005 she edited Sananda, a Bengali fortnightly for women, which under her became one of the most widely read magazines in the language. She later edited another magazine and worked in television.
Public Voice
She has spoken out on political violence in West Bengal, against religious intolerance and for the freedom of artists, and was among the film-makers who wrote to the Prime Minister in 2019 about mob lynchings.
Honours
- Padma Shri (1987)
- Nine National Film Awards as director, writer and producer
- Lifetime achievement awards at several festivals
Personal Life
She has been married three times. Her daughters are Kamalini, and Konkona Sen Sharma, the actress and director, whose father is the science writer Mukul Sharma. Her husband is the writer and academic Kalyan Ray. She lives in Kolkata.
Featured image: Aparna Sen in Kolkata, January 2014. Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
