Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen (born Srimati Sen; 28 March 1954), is an Indian actress, known for her works 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 ...

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 ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

films. She eventually starred in

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 ...

films. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 television series. She has received

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

state

Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress The Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress was institute since 1981: See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictur ...

in 1987, for her role in the film ''

Sirivennela ''Sirivennela'' (Telugu language, Telugu :సిరివెన్నల) () is a 1986 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language romance film written and directed by K. Viswanath. The film stars Suhasini Maniratnam, Suhasini, Sarvadaman D. Banerje ...

''.

Early life

Moon Moon Sen was born in Calcutta (present-day

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

) to Bengali actress

Suchitra Sen Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika (), was an Indian actress who worked in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite actor Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Cinema of Wes ...

and Dibanath Sen. Her father, of Ballygunge Place, was the son of one of the wealthiest businessmen of

, Adinath Sen. Her great-grandfather Dinanath Sen was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

. She was educated at Loreto Convent,

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

and at Loreto House,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. She completed her graduation from

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

and received her master's degree in

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

from

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

. As a child, Sen learnt drawing from Jamini Roy, one of India's greatest artists. She loves paintings and collecting antiques. In an interview in 2000, she said she taught at Ballygunge Govt High School for a year and then taught graphics at Chitrabani, a school teaching film techniques. She was also active in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and even thought about adopting a baby, even before she was married. Sen taught English at a well known Boys' school (Ballygunge Govt. High School) in

before joining films.

Career

Acting career

Moon Moon Sen started her career in films and television after marriage and motherhood. She made her debut in ''

Andar Baahar ''Andar Bahaar'' () is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language action film. Produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N. Sippy, the film is a remake of the 1982 Hollywood film ''48 Hrs.'' It stars Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Moon Moon Sen, Kim, Danny ...

'' (1984). Her daring role in that film apparently created a storm of controversy. She had also starred in a suspense thriller ''100 Days'' with

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

. After ''Zakhmi Dil'' (1994) she did not appear in films until 2003 when she starred in an unsuccessful thriller ''

Kucch To Hai ''Kucch To Hai'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language slasher film written by Rajeev Jhaveri and co-directed by Anurag Basu (credited as Anurag Bose) and Anil V. Kumar. The film stars Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol, Anita Hassanandani, Yash Tonk, Ri ...

''. She'd acted in a Telugu movie ''

'' directed by the legendary Telugu director

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (19 February 1930 – 2 February 2023) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. One of the greatest auteurs of Indian cinema, he received international recogn ...

. Before and after entering the film industry, she appeared alone (or with her daughters) in some modelling assignments. She notably modelled for soap ads which were quite controversial in the 1980s. Apart from doing some television serials, she also did a couple of Bengali tele-films. Sen said she would bare all even at 70.

"Age is not important, the attitude is. Sophia is the ultimate glam girl who can manage to look beautiful in such a picture even now. But yes, India too has beautiful women like Rekha and Hema Malini who can carry such a thing out with aplomb. In fact, I wouldn't mind myself if the shoot is done aesthetically and with taste."

Her film ''My Karma'' (2004), directed by Korak Day received international awards and recognition for her as a "tough and sweet Indian wife, standing as a rock behind her husband". She is now doing a few films at a tim

She is also apparently writing a

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...

in Bengali.

Political career

She joined

Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the Federated state, state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a Lis ...

in March 2014 and won in 2014 Lok Sabha Polls from

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

constituency, where she defeated CPI(M)'s nine-time MP, Basudeb Acharia. In 2019, she lost the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency election to

Babul Supriyo Babul Supriyo (b. 15 December 1970) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, television host, actor and politician who currently serves as Third Banerjee ministry, Cabinet Minister of Ministry of Information Technology and Electronics (West ...

of BJP. In 2015, Moon Moon Sen in an interview said 'I think we should give him (Modi) a chance. He has done a very good job winning all those votes and we have to give him a chance as a Prime Minister.' Though her party distanced itself from the statement and said that it is her own view and is certainly not the view of the party.

Personal life

Moon Moon Sen married in 1978 to Bharat Dev Varma, a descendant of the erstwhile royal family of

. They have two daughters, Raima and

Riya Riya is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Riya, Japanese singer * Riya Bamniyal, Indian actress * Riya Deepsi, Indian actress and model *Riya Sen Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and mo ...

, who also pursued a career in acting. She has stated that her husband was an immense support for her acting career. Her late mother-in-law, Ila Devi, was the daughter of Indira Raje, the princess of Cooch Behar, and the elder sister of

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for the ...

, 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 ...

. Deeply religious, in spite of her bohemian screen image, Moon Moon Sen is committed to family life and grieved at her mother

's passing away on 17 January 2014 due to a heart attack. She immersed the ashes of her mother ritualistically in the Ganges on Wednesday, 29 January 2014. The prayers was attended by dignitaries, like West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

and close friends and family who had missed the funeral, a hurried affair after five hours of death as per the last wishes of the dying actress.

Awards

– ''

'' (1987) *Kalakendra Screen Award *Bharat Nirman Award *Kalakar Awards.

Filmography

Television

* Thoda Sa Asman (1995) * Zaban Sambhal Ke- episodic role * Paliyathachan - Malayalam serial * Rishtey - Hindi Serial * Shudhu Tomari Jonyo - Bengali serial

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Moonmoon 1948 births Politicians from Kolkata Indian film actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Living people Loreto College, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni Jadavpur University alumni Kalakar Awards winners India MPs 2014–2019 Indian actor-politicians Lok Sabha members from West Bengal People from Bankura district Women in West Bengal politics Actresses from Kolkata 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Malayalam television Actresses in Hindi television Bengali television actresses Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Women members of the Lok Sabha Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford