Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian actress who works in

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 ...

films and the theatre. She gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film '' Bandit Queen'' (1994), for which she won the

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wi ...

. 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 Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

'' (2005). Her other mainstream films include '' Khamoshi: The Musical'' (1996), for which she won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress, ''Bhoot'' (2003), '' Vivah'' (2006) and ''Half Girlfriend'' (2017). In addition to films, Biswas has appeared in many television shows.

Personal life and education

Biswas was born in Nalbari,

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, to Jagdish Biswas and Meera Biswas. After completing her primary education, she graduated in political science with honours from Nalbari College, Assam. She studied dramatic arts at the National School of Drama in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Career

Biswas played the lead in Krishnan Kartha's ''Amshini'' (Hindi), it entered the Indian Panorama Section of Filmotsav 1988. However, the general belief is that she debuted after Shekhar Kapur watched her perform in the NSD Repertory Company and offered her a role in ''Bandit Queen''. Although she had earlier acted in

Assamese cinema Assamese cinema, also known as Jollywood, is an Indian film industry of Assamese-language motion pictures. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie '' Joymoti''. Since then the A ...

, this was her first big break into Hindi cinema. In 1996, she played the role of Flavy, a deaf and mute woman in

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...

's '' Khamoshi: The Musical'' opposite

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film maker, and a former Indian Territorial Army officer, mainly working in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He is regarded as one of the finest an ...

and won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress. Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast, and has worked in a variety of films and character roles. She has also worked in 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 Noida Film City houses the Asian Academy of Film & Television and Marwah Films & Video Studios along with prominent news channels from India. It is located in Sector 16-A Noida, India. It was founded in 1988 by Sandeep Marwah, an Indian film pr ...

by the director Sandeep Marwah. In 2014, Biswas was a jury member of the 45th International Film Festival of India, held from 20 to 30 November at Goa.

Filmography

Films

Television

Web series

Awards

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Seema Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Living people Indian film actresses National School of Drama alumni Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners People from Nalbari district People from Nalbari Bengali actresses 1965 births 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Best Actress National Film Award winners Best Supporting Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Marathi cinema Actresses in Assamese cinema Actresses from Assam Actresses in Hindi television Actresses in Punjabi cinema Actresses in Gujarati cinema Actresses in Konkani cinema Actresses in Bhojpuri cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema