Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several

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 ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

. For her performance in the film '' Dekh Indian Circus'', she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film). In 2019 she directed her first feature film '' Roam Rome Mein'' which screened at

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. Chatterjee's performance in the

German film The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20 ...

'' Shadows of Time'' earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the

and the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. She is also known in the west for her performance in the British film ''

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

'' (2007), the film adaptation of

Monica Ali Monica Ali (; born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English descent. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut novel, ''Brick L ...

's best selling

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of the same nameTannishtha Chatterjee
. imdb.com for which she was nominated best actress at the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

. Her other notable roles have been in

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

director

Florian Gallenberger Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film ''Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001. Career Gallenberger appeared in various ...

's film '' Shadows of Time'', '' Road, Movie'' with

Abhay Deol Abhay Deol (born 15 March 1976) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi films. Born in the Deol family, he made his on-screen debut in 2005 with Imtiaz Ali's romantic comedy '' Socha Na Tha''. Deol was praised for his performance ...

, '' Dekh Indian Circus'', and Marathi film '' Doctor Rakhmabai'' for which she has won the Best Actress Award at RIFF (Rajasthan International Film Festival) and PIFF (Pune International Film Festival).

Early life

Chatterjee was born in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, to a

Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valley ...

family. Her father was a business executive and her mother was a political science professor. Her family traveled and lived out of the country for some time, then moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. She majored in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

before entering the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

Career

Chatterjee's performance in the

'' Shadows of Time'' earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the

and the

. Thereafter she worked on an Indo-French coproduction ''

Hava Aney Dey ''Hava Aney Dey'' (') is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Partho Sen-Gupta. It stars Aniket Vishwasrao, Nishikant Kamat, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajshree Thakur in the lead roles. The film was shot on location i ...

'' (Let the Wind Blow) directed by

Partho Sen-Gupta Partho Sen-Gupta (also spelled Partho Sen Gupta or Partho Sengupta pronounced ''Partho Shen-Goopto'') is an independent film director and screenwriter. He is an Australian and French dual citizen, of Indian origin. He has a post-graduate degree ...

which premiered at the

and won the best film award at the

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It was founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the Univ ...

among others. Following these, Chatterjee acted in ''Strings'', ''Kasturi'' and the

Bengali film Bengali cinema may refer to: * Cinema of West Bengal, also called Tollywood * Cinema of Bangladesh The Cinema of Bangladesh, locally known as Bangla cinema, is a diverse and vibrant entity, consisting of films produced across various regions ...

Bibar ''Bibar'' ( pronounced ) is a 2006 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Subrata Sen starring Subrat Dutta, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Payel Sarkar, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Kunal Mitra, Shiladitya Patranabis, Pradip Mukherjee, Anuradha Ray, Kancha ...

'', winning critical acclaim and best actress awards. Her work in the

British film British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world, ''Roundhay Garden Scene'' (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour ...

'' directed by

Sarah Gavron Sarah Gavron (born 20 April 1970) is a British film director. She has directed four short films, and three feature films.Garcia, Maria. "Demanding To Be Heard". ''Film Journal International''. 118. Her first film was ''This Little Life'' (2003) ...

gave her international exposure and recognition. Chatterjee was nominated for the British independent film awards along with actresses

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

and

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

. Chatterjee played a major role in '' Bhopal: Prayer for Rain'' in which she starred with

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

. She was the lead in '' Road, Movie'' with

and as earned the moniker ''Princess of

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Cinema of India, Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, ...

'' in the Indian press. Chatterjee was referred by the Indian media as the chief flag bearer at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. She won the best actress award at the Miaac New York Film Festival for her film ''Bombay Summer''. Referred to as one of the most international of Indian actors, she is the lead in

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...

's film ''

Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...

'' based on the book ''Half the Sky''. A trained

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' literally means classica ...

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, she sang in the movies ''Road'', ''Page 3'', among others. She sang at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London with British composer

Jocelyn Pook Jocelyn Pook (, rhyming with "book") (born 14 February 1960) is an English composer who is known for her scores for many films, including ''Eyes Wide Shut'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and '' The Wife''. Her principal instrument is the viola. ...

. Chatterjee was a member of the jury at the 2010

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

. She appeared in a T series film '' I Love New Year'' opposite

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...

directed by

Radhika Rao Radhika Rao is an Indian film director and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with the film '' Lucky: No Time for Love'' (2005) with Vinay Sapru. Her other films include '' I Love NY'' (2015), '' Sanam Teri Kasam'' (2016) and '' Yaariyan ...

and Vinay Sapru. Tannishtha's Canadian film '' Siddharth'' was in official selection at the 70th Venice Film Festival and the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. ''The Fifth Estate (film), The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and ''Life of Crime (film), Life o ...

. She is the only Indian actress whose films have been selected in three of the major international film festivals in the same year. Her other notable projects are ''Parched'' directed by

Leena Yadav Leena Yadav (born 6 January 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. She started her career in the television industry and gradually moved on to making feature films. Her first international feature film, ''Parched'' ...

which opened in Toronto, Australian romantic comedy ''Unindian'' with

Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. With his time representin ...

''Island City'' which won the best debut director( Ruchika Oberoi) in Venice and Garth Davies's film LION co-starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is an English actor and filmmaker. List of awards and nominations received by Dev Patel, His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe A ...

. Her film Angry Indian Goddesses received acclaim in Toronto and Rome international film festivals. In March 2016 Tannishtha was given a special award in a ceremony held at the BAFTA for her contribution to Asian Cinema. She won the best actress for the film ''

Parched ''Parched'' is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In Ind ...

'' along with three other actresses in ''Festival 2 Valenciennes'' and the

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema< ...

2016. She was the president of the jury of the MOOOV film festival in Belgium in 2016. She won the best actress at the

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at National Film Archive of India, NFAI, INOX Leisure Limited, Inox ...

2017 for her role in Dr. Rakhmabai. In 2019 Tannishtha made her directorial Debut Roam Rome Mein which had its World premier at

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

where she won the Asia Star Award.

Activism

Tannishtha speaks quite often on the issue of race/colorism in Indian media. She has walked out during a roast when her skin color was the subject of jokes. She explored racism in Indian film and TV industry on Mithaq Kazimi's talk show series. Personally, she adopted a baby girl and has encouraged others to do the same.

Filmography

Films

Web series

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Tannishtha Living people Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses from Delhi National School of Drama alumni Delhi University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Indian women classical singers Singers from Maharashtra Musicians from Pune Bengali actresses Singers from Delhi Actresses from Pune Indian women playback singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Women musicians from Maharashtra Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners