Konkona Sen Sharma was born on December 3, 1979, is a two-time National Award-winning Indian actress. She is the daughter of film director Aparna Sen. Sharma appears primarily in Indian arthouse and independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema.
Making her debut as a child artist in the film Indira (1983), Sharma debuted as an adult in the Bengali thriller Ek Je Aachhe Kanya (2000). She first gained attention with the English-language film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), which was directed by her mother, and received the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film. Her appearance in the drama Page 3 (2005) got her wider recognition from audiences, and she has since starred in a number of films, most of which have garnered her critical praise rather than commercial success. She won two consecutive Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards for her performances in Omkara (2006) and Life in a... Metro (2007), respectively. Her performance in the former won her a second National Award under the Best Supporting Actress category.
Early life
Konkona is the daughter of Mukul Sharma (a science writer and journalist) and Aparna Sen (an actress and film director). She also has an older sibling Kamalini Chatterjee. Konkona's maternal grandfather, Chidananda Dasgupta, is a film critic, scholar, professor, writer and one of the co-founders of the Calcutta Film Society. Her grandmother Supriya Dasgupta is a cousin of legendary modern Bengali poet Jibanananda Das.
Konkona has a degree in English from St. Stephen's College, Delhi Modern High School for Girls, Calcutta , as well as the Calcutta International School
Career
Early work, until 2005
Konkona made her debut as a child artist in the film Indira. In 2000, she made her adult debut in Bengali film Ek Je Aachhe Kanya, in which she played a negative character. It was followed by a role in Rituporno Ghosh's acclaimed film Titli, opposite her mother Aparna Sen.
Konkona as Meenakshi Iyer in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, which earned her National Film Award for Best ActressShe became a known face when she starred in the film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, directed by Aparna Sen. The film was a success in multiplexes and was a favourite with the critics. Konkona's performance as a Tamil housewife in this movie got her the National Film Award for Best Actress. This was followed by the critically acclaimed film, Page 3 (2005), though the film was an average performer at the box office. Her role drew a lot of praise and she became a more familiar face to the movie-going public. She won the Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for this performance, which was her first act in commercial cinema.
Success (2005–present)
She followed it up with even more acclaimed performances in 15 Park Avenue
Following this, Konkona acted in Dosar, a highly acclaimed Bengali film by Rituporno Ghosh, which premiered at several international film festivals. She won the best actress award at Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival for this film.
Konkona as Indu Tyagi in Omkara (2006) which earned the actress her first Filmfare Award as well as second National Award both in supporting category.Her first release of 2007, Traffic Signal (2007) performed poorly at the box office, but she received good reviews for her performance. Her second released film of 2007, Life in a... Metro, was released to good reviews and emerged as a hit in India. Her performance as a confused girl was praised and she won her second Filmfare Award for this performance.
In late 2007, Konkona acted in two movies under Yash Raj Films banner. In the first one, Pradeep Sarkar's drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, she portrayed the character of a Banaras small town young woman, Chutki alongside Rani Mukherji. The film was a critical and commercial failure in India, even though her performance was highly praised. The second one was Aaja Nachle: the comeback film of Madhuri Dixit. This film did not do well at box office but Konkona got good reviews for her tomboy looks and performances in the film. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted,"Konkona Sen Sharma is nothing short of fantastic. Her greatest strength is that she isn't afraid of making a fool of herself and she doesn't worry about being laughed at. As a result, her performance in Aaja Nachle is fearless and uninhibited.
In 2008, Konkona stared in Dil Kabaddi, which was a flop. Moreover, Konkona also stared in a short film (‘How Can It Be?’) directed by Mira Nair for a movie project called 8, which screened at Rome Film Festival and Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (MIAAC), 2008.
In 2009, there followed by low-budget English film The President Is Coming , directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur, which opened to generally positive reviews. Again, reviews were favorably directed towards her. Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India wrote, "Performance-wise, it's the uptight and complex-ridden Ms Konkona who walks away with laurels and laughs even as the film takes a healthy snigger at the desi self.
Her latest release is Zoya Akhtar's Luck by Chance, which is a critically acclaimed film, where she stared opposite Farhan Akhtar. She also has completed shooting for Rituparno Ghosh's comedy film Sunglass. Other confirmed future releases include Neeraj Pathak's Right or Wrong , Karan Johar's next production; Wake up Sid, Aparna Sen's Goinar Baksho, and Vinay Shukla's Mirch. Moreover, she will play a small but vital part in Mira Nair's Shantaram.
Personal life
Konkona with boyfriend Ranvir Shorey at the 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards (2008).Konkona is in a relationship with actor Ranvir Shorey. In July 2008, Aparna Sen confirmed that Konkona was engaged to Ranvir Shorey.
In the media
In 2005, Konkona was ranked 11th on Rediff's "Top Bollywood Female Stars. She was later ranked 9th in 2006.
Konkona has made three appearances on Karan Johar's talk show Koffee with Karan. She appeared with her Mr. and Mrs. Iyer co-star Rahul Bose in 2004, and later on along with Kunal Kapoor and Ritesh Deshmukh. In 2007, she hosted a programme called My Brilliant Brain, which aired on National Geographic Channel.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes and Awards
1983 Indira Child artist
1989 Picnic Daughter TV
1994 Amodini Teenage stepmother
2000 Ek Je Aachhe Kanya Ria
2002 Titli Titli
2002 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Meenakshi Iyer Winner, National Film Award for Best Actress
2004 Chai Pani Etc. Shanti/Radha Joshi
2005 Amu Kaju "Amu"
2005 Page 3 Madhvi Sharma
2005 15 Park Avenue Mithi
2006 Dosar Kaberi Chatterjee
2006 Mixed Doubles Malti
2006 Yun Hota To Kya Hota Tilottima Punj
2006 Omkara Indu Winner, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Winner , National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
2006 Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante Sanjana
2006 Karkat Rashi College girl TV
2007 Traffic Signal Noori
2007 Life in a... Metro Shruti Winner, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
2007 Laaga Chunari Mein Daag Chutki (Shubhavari Sahay) Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
2007 Aaja Nachle Anokhi
2008 Fashion Special Appearance
2008 Dil Kabaddi Simi Released
2009 The President Is Coming Maya Roy
2009 Luck by Chance Sona Mishra
2009 Right or Wrong Post-production
2009 Wake up Sid Aisha Announced
2009 Sunglass Post-production
2009 Amavas Nisha Delay
2009 Goinar Baksho Anjali Announced
2009 Gulel Announced
2009 Meridian Pramilla Delay
2009 8 Zeinab (segment "how can it be ?") Post-production
2009 Shantaram Guest appearance Announced
2009 Mirch Announced
Awards
National Film Awards
2003: National Film Award for Best Actress, Mr and Mrs Iyer
2007: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, Omkara
Filmfare Awards
2007: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Omkara
2008: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Life in a... Metro
Zee Cine Awards
2006: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut, Page 3 (Jointly with Vidya Balan)
2007: Zee Cine Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Female, for Omkara
IIFA Awards
2008: IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award, Life in a... Metro
AIFA Awards
2007: Special Recognition Award - 15, Park Avenue
2008: Best Supporting Actress Award - Life in a... Metro
Other Awards
2002: Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards : Best Actress for Ek Je Aachhe Kanya
2007: Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards : Most Outstanding Performance of the Year for 15, Park Avenue
2007: Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival : Best Actress for Dosar
Nominations for Awards (Important ones)
2007: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award, for Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Awards
National Film Award
Preceded by
Tabu
for Chandni Bar
and
Sobhana
for Mitr, My Friend Best Actress
for Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
2003 Succeeded by
Meera Jasmine
for Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam
Preceded by
Urvashi
for Achuvinte Amma Best Supporting Actress
for Omkara
2007 Succeeded by
TBD
Filmfare Award
Preceded by
Ayesha Kapoor
for Black Best Supporting Actress
for Omkara
2007 Succeeded by
Konkona Sen Sharma
for Life in a... Metro
Preceded by
Konkona Sen Sharma
for Omkara Best Supporting Actress
for Life in a... Metro
2008 Succeeded by
TBD