Biography

Rituparna Sengupta is a professional actor based out of the finance capital of India, Mumbai. She is a National Award winning Indian film actress known for her career that spans more than 20 years in Bengali cinema, Bollywood flicks, and South Indian films. The early 90s was the time when Bengali cinema was passing through a transition phase. It was devoid of stardom and the unique aura of a heroine, which creates a legend. This was the time when cinema lovers witnessed the birth of a superstar in her true potential. She is an amalgamation of dignity and beauty, a synonym for stardom and talent – Rituparna Sengupta. Born in Kolkata, Rituparna was a student of Carmel Convent School in the city. She was chosen as Mount Carmel by the school authority, a selection that happens once in every five years. She was also the first runner-up of the Carmel Queen contest. Later on, as a student of Lady Brabourne College, she was equally at ease with cultural activities and studies. As a result, Rituparna was the recipient of the Principal's Medal in college, an honor achieved by a single student chosen from the entire college every academic year. Rituparna’s film journey commenced with a fantastic debut in Prabhat Roy’s ‘Shwet Pathorer Thaala’, as she appeared on the silver screen for the first time performing to an original song composed by Rahul Dev Burman. It was soon followed by a National Award-winning performance in ‘Dahan’. She has also essayed some quite significant roles in movies of intellectual genres like Paromitar Ekdin, Utsav, Aalo, Chaturanga, Anuranan, Bedeni, and Muktodhara. Her flair and ease with movies of all genres, be it artistic or commercial, continued pairing her with leading actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Prasenjit Chatterjee, Chiranjeet, Jeet, Ferdous Ahmed, Indraneil, and Jishu Sengupta, and produced wonders like Akrosh, Sasurbari Zindabad, Trishna, Sudhu Ekbar Bolo, and Tumi Ele Tai, which were commercial potboilers. Her enigmatic personality reflected in recent movies like Charulata (2011) and Teen Kanya, which were box-office scorers. At the same time, the roles essayed by her were very contemporary. Rituparna did not restrict herself to Bengali movies only; rather she expanded her domain in Bollywood productions as well. She worked with ace Bollywood directors like Priyadarshan (Bum Bum Bole), Madhur Bhandarkar (Dil To Baccha Hai Ji), David Dhawan (Do Not Disturb), and Chandan Arora (Main Meri Patni Aur Woh) to name a few. Her strong performances stood out in all these movies. Ritu has always been a designers’ delight. She has been the showstopper for the leading prominent designers in the country like Raghavendra Rathore, Neeta Lulla, Rohit Verma, Abhishek Dutta, and Riaz Ganji. This gorgeous personality has always helped the ramp to get that cutting edge and added glamour, which only she could deliver. At the same time, Rituparna featured in a lot of TV commercials. The Sona Chandi Chawanprash TVC with Shah Rukh Khan stands out as the most talked one. Apart from this, she has also worked in projects like Junior Horlicks and Nihar with Pradip Sarkar, Boroplus with Aniruddha Roychowdhury, and appeared in the POTO Potato Flakes ad with Bhaichung Bhutia. Being one of the leading celebrities, she got an opportunity to participate in some special events, which created a wave in the national diaspora. Screening for ‘Muktodhara’ for the President of India in Rashtrapati Bhavan is something that needs special mention. Other endeavors of prime significance were her birthday celebration with Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal at his residence; IFFI Award inauguration in Goa with Shah Rukh Khan; and an exclusive chat show with Amir Khan for television, to name a few. Her production and entertainment house, Bhavna Aaj O Kal, has been instrumental in organizing some cultural events of superlative quality and with an inclination towards the roots of Bengali art and culture. The production house staged Teen Adhyay (Sagarika/Sadharan Meye), a special dance performance for Kolkata Police at Netaji Indoor Stadium and a dance show at Nalban and Science City. Rituparna has always been aware of and supported unprivileged and other social issues. From supporting camps for the needy people of the film industry, to bringing Manisha Koirala and Yuvraaj Singh to Kolkata for cancer awareness program, to performing at dance shows with her dance troupe for charity, Ritu has always been a responsible citizen, never turning her back to the society. A talent encompassed by glamour; a beauty with brain, Rituparna Sengupta remains a real diva of the Indian cinema with an international appeal. And with the love and support of viewers from all over India and abroad, Ritu's journey as a multi-talented artist still continues. Achievements: Kalakar Award for Best Supporting Actress, Swet Pathorer Thala, 1993 Bharat Nirman Award, 1995 Kazi Nazrul Islam Birth Centenary Award by the Law Society Of Calcutta, 1996 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Abujh Mon, 1997 Kalakar Special Award, Moner Manush, 1998 National Film Award for Best Actress, Dahan, 1998 Anandalok Puraskar for Best Actress, Dahan, 1999 Anandalok Puraskar for Best Supporting Actress, Aatmiyaswajan, 2000 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Sasurbari Zindabad, 2001 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Mondo Meyer Upakhyan, 2004 BFJA Award for Best Actress, Aalo, 2004 Anandalok Puraskar for Best Glamour Queen, 2005 BFJA Award for Best Actress, Dwitiya Basanta, 2006 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Dwitiya Basanta, 2006 Anandalok Puraskar for Best Actress, Anuranan, 2007 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Byatikrami, 2007 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Anuranan, 2008 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Mon Amour, 2009 Kalakar Award for Best Actress, Aaenate, 2010 Filmfare (East) Award for Best Actress (Critics' Choice), Alik Sukh, 2014 Dr Ambedkar Award (Mumbai) for Contribution to Indian Cinema, 2014