Seema Biswas
| Seema Biswas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
14 January 1965 Nalbari, Assam, India |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Awards |
Genie Awards" Best Actress: Water (2005) Best Supporting Actress: Midnight's Children (2012) |
Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen (1994). She has a reputation for performing strong character roles. Biswas won the 1996 National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the film Bandit Queen. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta's Water (2005).
Personal life and education
Biswas was born in Nalbari, Assam, to Jagdish Biswas and Meera Biswas.[1] Her mother, an early influence, was a history teacher and a pioneering figure for female theatre artistes in Assam; and she came into contact with artists like Bhupen Hazarika, Phani Sarma and Bishnuprasad Rabha early in life. She studied Political Science at Nalbari College, and later joined the National School of Drama, New Delhi. After graduating from NSD in 1984, she joined the NSD Repertory Company.
Career
Seema Biswas acted as the heroine in Krishnan Kartha's Amshini (Hindi) which entered the Indian Panorama Section of Filmotsav 1988. However the general belief is that Biswas debuted after Shekhar Kapur watched her perform in NSD Repertory Company, and offered her a role in Bandit Queen. Although she had earlier acted in Assamese cinema, this was her first big break into Hindi cinema, and she arrived with a bang.
Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast,[2] and has worked in a variety of films and character roles. She has also worked in a number of Marathi, Malayalam, and Tamil films. Some of her Marathi films are Bindhast, Dhyaas Parwa, and Lalbaug-Parel.
She has been honoured with the Life Membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television by the director Sandeep Marwah.
In 2014, Seema Biswas has been included in the prestigious five member jury board of 45th International Film Festival of India(IFFI) to be held from 20 to 30 November at Goa.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Amshini | Sarada | Hindi | |
| 1994 | Bandit Queen | Phoolan Devi | Hindi | |
| 1996 | Khamoshi: The Musical | Flavy J. Braganza | Hindi | |
| 1997 | Ladies Only | Hindi | ||
| 1998 | Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa | Somu's mother | Hindi | |
| 1999 | Bindhaast | CBI officer | Marathi | |
| Samar | Dulari | Hindi | ||
| 2001 | Dhyasparva | Malati Karve | Marathi | |
| Shantham | Malayalam | |||
| 2002 | Deewangee | Psychiatrist | Hindi | |
| Company | Ranibai | Hindi | ||
| Ghaav: The Wound | Tanya | Hindi | ||
| 2003 | Boom | Bharti | Hindi, English | |
| Bhoot | Bai | Hindi | ||
| Iyarkai | Mercy -Sister-in-law of Nancy | Tamil | ||
| Pinjar | Mad woman | Hindustani, Punjabi | ||
| 2004 | Kaya Taran | Sister Agatha | Hindi | |
| Dobara | Hindi | |||
| Ek Hasina Thi | ACP Malti Vaidya | Hindi, English | ||
| Hanan | Mrs. Heeralal | Hindi, Bengali, English | ||
| 2005 | Water | Shakuntala | English, Hindi | |
| Mumbai Godfather | Hindi | |||
| The White Land | Sudha's mother | Hindi | ||
| 2006 | Vivah | Rama | Hindi | |
| Shoonya | Pradhan | Hindi | ||
| Thalaimagan | Alankaram | Tamil | ||
| Zindaggi Rocks | Hindi | |||
| 2007 | Sofia | The Madam | ||
| Kamagata Maru | ||||
| Risk | Devki Wardhan | |||
| Amal | Sapna Agarwal | English, Hindi | ||
| 2008 | Striker | Siddharth's mother | Hindi | |
| Shaurya | Captain Javed Khan's mother | Hindi | ||
| Heaven on Earth | English, Punjabi | |||
| 2009 | Cooking with Stella | Stella | English, Hindi | |
| Yeh Mera India | Bai | Hindi | ||
| 2010 | Lalbaug Parel | Mother | Marathi | |
| City of Gold | Aai | Hindi | ||
| 2011 | Queens! Destiny of Dance | Amma | Hindi | |
| Patang | Sudha | Hindi, Gujarati, English | ||
| With Love, Delhi! | Mother | English | ||
| 2012 | Midnight's Children | Mary | English | |
| 2014 | Chaarfutiya Chhokare | Janki | Hindi | |
| Manjunath | Manjunath's Mother | Hindi | ||
| Sold | Amma | English | ||
| Balyakalasakhi | Selvi | Malayalam | ||
| Endless Summer | Malayalam | |||
| 2016 | Kothanodi | Dhoneshwari | Assamese | |
| A Yellow Bird | Siva's mother | |||
| Freaky Ali | Ali's Mother | Hindi | ||
| Anatomy of Violence | Hindi |
Awards
National Film Awards
- 1995: Won: Best Actress for Bandit Queen
Filmfare Awards
- 1997: Won: Best Female Debut
Star Screen Awards
- 1997: Won: Best Supporting Actress for Khamoshi: The Musical
- 2003: Nominated: Best Supporting Actress for Company
- 2004: Nominated: Best Supporting Actress for Bhoot
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
- 2001 - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Genie/Canadian Screen Award
- 26th Genie Awards, 2006: Won: Best Actress for Water
- Canadian Screen Awards, 2013: Won: Best Supporting Actress for Midnight's Children
Notes
- ↑ Vasisht, Divya: "Seema Biswas: Beyond the limelight" The Times of India (online), 24 June 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
- ↑ Kumar, Anuj: "Beyond the image", The Hindu, Metro Plus Mangalore edition, 3 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
- ↑ Pranjal Borah (21 November 2014). "Seema Biswas as Jury in 45th International Film Festival of India". KothaSobi. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
External links
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