Seema Biswas
Seema Biswas (born 1965) is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam. She shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen (1994), for which she won the National Film Award for Best Actress.[1] 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). 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 been a part of many television shows.
Seema Biswas | |
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Biswas during a press conference at 40th International Film Festival of India, in November 2009 | |
Born | 1965 (age 55–56) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1988–present |
Notable work | Bandit Queen |
Personal life and education
Biswas was born in Nalbari, Assam to Jagdish Biswas and Meera Biswas.[2] After completing her primary education, she graduated in Political Science Honours from Nalbari College, Assam. She studied Dramatic Arts at National School of Drama, New Delhi.[3]
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.
In 1996, she played the role of Flavy, a deaf and mute woman in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Khamoshi: The Musical opposite Nana Patekar, and won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Rooted firmly in theatre, she refuses to be typecast,[4] 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 was a jury member of the 45th International Film Festival of India(IFFI) to be held from 20 to 30 November at Goa.[5]
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 | Tamil | ||
Pinjar | Pagli- 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 | |||
Yeh Mera India | Bai | Hindi | ||
2009 | Cooking with Stella | Stella | English, Hindi | |
Dujone | Meghna's aunt | Bengali | ||
2010 | Lalbaug Parel | Mother | Marathi | |
City of Gold | Aai | Hindi | ||
2011 | Queens! Destiny Of Dance | Guru 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 | |||
Exclusion | Hindi | |||
2015 | Jai Ho Democracy | Mohini Devi | Hindi | |
2016 | Kothanodi | Dhoneshwari | Assamese | |
A Yellow Bird | Siva's mother | Tamil, Mandarin, English | ||
Freaky Ali | Ali's Mother | Hindi | ||
Anatomy of Violence | Hindi | |||
Holding Back | Hindi | |||
2017 | Half Girlfriend | Rani Sahiba, Madhav's mother | Hindi | |
Sameer | Mumtaz Khala | Hindi | ||
Soul Curry | Konkani | |||
Dhiya Poota | Kakiya | Bhojpuri | ||
2018 | Bhoga Khirikee | Assamese | ||
2019 | Darkness Visible | Rakhee | Hindi | |
2020 | Funny Boy | Ammachi | English, Tamil, Sinhala |
Television
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2014–15 | Maha Kumbh: Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani | Mai Mui |
2019 | Leila | |
2020 | Daadi Amma Daadi Amma Maan Jaao! | Daadi Amma |
Web Series
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2020 | Code M | Asif's mother |
Awards
National Film Awards
- 1995: Won: Best Actress for Bandit Queen
Filmfare Awards
- 1997: Won: Best Female Debut for Bandit Queen
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
- "Bandit queen used to cry all night, used to act nude in front of director and cameraman". News Track. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- Vasisht, Divya: "Seema Biswas: Beyond the limelight" The Times of India (online), 24 June 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
- "Bandit queen used to cry all night, used to act nude in front of director and cameraman". News Track. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- 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.