Seema Biswas

Seema Biswas (born 1962) 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. 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.

Personal life and education
Biswas was born in Nalbari, Assam to Jagdish Biswas and Meera Biswas.

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, 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.

Filmography

Television

Web Series

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

External links

 

Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Category:Living people
Category:Indian film actresses
Category:National School of Drama alumni
Category:Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Category:People from Nalbari district
Category:People from Nalbari
Category:Bengali people
Category:1965 births
Category:20th-century Indian actresses
Category:21st-century Indian actresses
Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema
Category:Best Actress National Film Award winners
Category:Best Supporting Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Category:Actresses in Tamil cinema
Category:Actresses in Malayalam cinema
Category:Actresses in Marathi cinema
Category:Actresses in Assamese cinema
Category:Actresses from Assam