Sheena Chohan is an Indian film actress who 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films and OTT-series. She made her screen debut in the Malayalam film, ''The Train'', opposite

Mammooty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, K ...

, directed by seven-time National Award Winning Director,

Jayaraj Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berli ...

. But her major success came with ''Ant Story'', on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, which was directed by

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Mostofa Sarwar Farooki () is a Bangladeshi film director, producer and screenwriter who works in Bengali films. His films '' Third Person Singular Number'', ''Television'', ''No Bed Of Roses'' were critically acclaimed across the world and r ...

for which she received a best actress nomination alongside

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

and

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. The only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, she debuted in the series premiere of the 1975 daytime drama ''Couples.'' In 1993, she made her theatrical film deb ...

at both the

Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ) was the largest film festival in the Arab world, Arab region. With particular emphasis on showcasing Arab cinema, Arab, Asian cinema, Asian, and African cinema, it also helped to develop industry a ...

and the

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF, , French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai'') is the largest film festival in Asia and China's longest-running international cinema event. The first festival was established in Octobe ...

. She is the only Indian Actor to have won the Human Rights Hero award at the United Nations. Sheena makes her Hindi film debut with Sant Tukaram (2025), delivering a soul-stirring portrayal of the layered role of Avali Jija Bai, the courageous and devoted wife of the saint.

Career

Chohan starred as the female lead opposite megastar Mammootty in a Malayalam film ''The Train'', directed by National Award Winner, Jayaraj. She was nominated as Best Actress at both the Dubai International Film Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival for her lead role in the international film ''Ant Story'', directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki which was on Netflix. Chohan starred in ''Mukti and Patralekha'' as a lead, directed by National Award Winner

Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...

. In 2016, she played one of the lead roles in the feature film, ''Justice'', directed by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay. Chohan acted in the role of a journalist in the 2017 Hollywood web comedy ''Words'' which also features American stand-up comedian and actor,

Jim Meskimen James Ross ”Jim” Meskimen (born September 10, 1959) is an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He has appeared in films for director Ron Howard, as well as films by Paul Thomas Anderson and Garry Marshall. He has also been the voice ...

. In 2019, Chohan was selected to feature in the Hollywood film ''Nomad'', by award-winning director Taron Lexton, releasing this year. In 2022, she was featured in the hit series ''The Fame Game'' on Netflix opposite

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 ...

as well as in ''The City of Dreams'' directed by

Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyderabad Blues' ...

. She also played the lead in the comedy drama series ''exMates'' which was produced by Humaramovie and she finished shooting for the series ''The Trial'' opposite

Kajol Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee) (; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, such as six ...

for

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

. In 2023, Chohan also finished shooting for ''Sant Tukaram'' as the leading lady, Avali, opposite

Subodh Bhave Subodh Bhave (born 9 November 1975) is an Indian actor, writer, producer and director who is known for his work in Marathi cinema. He has acted in many commercially successful and critically acclaimed Marathi movies. He is best known for his wo ...

, directed by

Aditya Om Aditya Om (born 5 October 1975) is an Indian actor and director who works predominantly in Telugu films. He also did theatre and serials. He debuted with ''Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo'' (2002) as an actor and directed '' Bandook'' (2013). He got many ...

. In February 2023, Chohan won the WGF Best Actress in Comic Role award for her popular web series, Ex- Mates.

Early life

Chohan was born in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

but brought up in

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 ...

. She was crowned "Miss Kolkata" and participated in the beauty pageant

I Am She–Miss Universe India I AM She – Miss Universe India was a national beauty pageant in India that used to send its winner to Miss Universe pageant from 2010 to 2012. History In 2010, Femina Miss India relinquished its exclusive right to send the representative to Mi ...

, where she won the title "I Am Voice". Chohan worked as a theatre actress for many years, in various productions including for five years in Delhi with director

Arvind Gaur Arvind Gaur is an Indian theatre director, actor trainer, social activist, street theatre worker and story teller. He is known for socially and politically relevant plays in India. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connec ...

. She trained as a contemporary dancer for many years and reached the status of brown belt in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

while in school. She studied arts at

The Lawrence School, Sanawar The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest private boarding school in Himachal Pradesh, which is located in Kasauli near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest sc ...

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

. She also trained in playing the violin and was a part of the school orchestra.

Human Rights Ambassador

Chohan is the United for Human Rights Ambassador for South Asia. In 2019, she received the Human Rights Hero Award at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

16th International Human Rights Summit, where she was also a speaker. In February 2023, Chohan received the Human Rights Hero Award at the

in New York for her work enlightening more than 36 million people about their human rights.

Filmography

Short films

Web series

Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chohan, Sheena Actresses from Kolkata Indian beauty pageant winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Indian film actresses Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema 21st-century Indian actresses