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Aparna Sen Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

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Marital Status: Married
Age: 77 Years
Hometown: Kolkata

Aparna Sen

Bio/Wiki
Birth nameAparna Dasgupta
NicknameCoppola [1]News18
Profession(s)• Filmmaker
• Screenwriter
• Actress
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 167 cm
in meters- 1.67 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourDark Brown
Career
DebutAs a director: film- 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981)
Poster of the film 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981)

As an actor: film- Teen Kanya (1961); as Mrinmoyee
Sixteen year old Aparna Sen as Mrinmoyee in a still from the 1961 film 'Teen Kanya'
Awards, Honours, Achievements • 1987: Honoured with Padma Shri

National Film Awards

• 1981: Best Direction for 36 Chowringhee Lane
• 1981: Best Feature Film in English for 36 Chowringhee Lane
• 1984: Best Feature Film in Bengali for Paroma
• 1995: Best Feature Film in Bengali for Yugant
• 2000: Best Feature Film in Bengali, for Paromitar Ek Din
• 2002: Best Direction for Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 2002: Best Screenplay for Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 2002: Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 2005: Best Feature Film in English for 15 Park Avenue

Nargis Dutt Awards

• 2002: Best Feature Film on National Integration for Mr and Mrs Iyer
• 1974: Best Actress Award for Sujata
• 1976: Best Actress Award for Asamaya
• 1982: Best Actress Award for Bijoyini
• 1983: Best Actress Award for Indira
• 1985: Best Director Award for Parama

BFJA Awards

• 1970: Best Actress Award for Aparachito
• 1975: Best Actress Award for Sujata
• 1986: Best Director Award for Parama
• 1986: Best Screenplay Award for Parama
• 1988: Best Actress Award for Ekanto Apan
• 1992: Best Supporting Actress Award for Mahaprithibi
• 1993: Best Actress Award for Swet Patharer Thala
• 1997: Best Supporting Actress Award for Unishr April
• 1997: Babulal Chowkhani Memorial Trophy for Original Story-Yugant
• 2001: Best Actress Award for Paramitar Ek Din
• 2001: Babulal Chowkhani Memorial Trophy for Original Story and Screenplay forParamitar Ek Din
• 2003: Most Outstanding Work of the Year for Mr and Mrs Iyer

Other Awards

• 2022: Best Director Award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for The Rapist
• 2013: Life Time Achievement Award
Personal Life
Date of Birth25 October 1945 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2023)77 Years
BirthplaceKolkata, West Bengal
Zodiac signScorpio
SignatureAparna Sen's autograph
NationalityIndian
HometownKolkata, West Bengal
School• South Point School, Kolkata
• Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata
College/UniversityPresidency College, Kolkata
Educational QualificationBA in English Literature
ReligionShe considers herself a secular and liberal person. [2]Twitter - Aparna Sen
CasteBaidya
Political InclinationIn an interview, she talked about politics, and said,
"I not wish to be aligned with any political party. My politics is entirely issue based. I don’t trust any political party because they have to perforce work towards their vote banks. They have to manipulate, so it’s important that the citizen remain vigilant." [3]The Hindu
HobbyReading
Controversies• The 2013 Saradha Group financial scam

In 2013, after the Saradha Group financial scandal took place, 200 private companies went into loss and got shut down. The magazine Paroma was one of those 200 companies. Reportedly, Aparna Sen, the editor of Paroma magazine, was grilled by the ED officials for more than five hours. During the questioning,she was asked about several financial transactions. The Enforcement Directorate accused Aparna of receiving Rs. 75 lakh as remuneration from Saradha Group. On 14 April 2013, Paroma magazine finally closed down. [4]The Indian Express

• Commenting about the Bharatiya Janata Party and BSF

During a press conference on 16 November 2021 in Kolkata, Aparna Sen, reportedly, labelled the Border Security Force (BSF) as 'murderers' and 'rapists' and also said,
"aai barey aaro barano hochche! Ekta militarisation hochche! Kendriya sarkar okhane aro BSF - jano erai jothesto noy. Jara hotya korchen, dharshan korchen tarai jano jothesto noy, aaro barachchen."
According to Sen, the military was being given more power than it should get. She urged the West Bengal government to think about the people living at the border regions so that they can do trade and farming as per their choices. Two months after Aparn's statement, BJP's North Kolkata district president Kalyan Chaube filed an FIR against her at Ultodanga police station, Kolkata. [5]Anandabazar Patrika [6]Hindustan Times

• Letter to PM

On 23 July 2019, filmmaker Aparna Sen was among 49 celebrities who wrote an open letter to PM Narendra Modi in which they protested against the intolerance the name of religion in the country. Throught the letter, they claimed that they are not pointing fingers at a particular government or regime. The letter also claimed that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants had become a war cry and created communal tension in the society. Aparna Sen joined this campaign and was criticized heavily after she was confronted and asked a series of questions by LIVE TV during which she chose to remain silent. [7]Republic TV
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Marriage DateThird marriage- 29 July 1993
Family
Husband/Spouse• First Husband- Sanjay Sen
• Second Husband- Mukul Sharma (div. 1985) (Science writer and journalist)
Mukul Sharma at his house in Gurgaon
• Third Husband- Kalyan Ray (English professor)
Aparna Sen and Kalyan Ray
ChildrenSon- None
Daughter(s)- Kamalini Chatterjee (from first marriage)
A picture of Kamalini Chatterjee
Konkona Sen (from first marriage) (Actress)
Aparna Sen with Konkona Sen Sharma
ParentsFather- Chidananda Dasgupta (Filmmaker)
Aparna Sen with her father, Chidananda Das Gupta
Mother- Supriya Dasgupta (Costume designer)
Aparna Sen with her mother, Supriya Dasgupta
Other relativesAparna's maternal grandfather, Brahmananda Dashgupta, was the brother of poet Jibanananda Das.
A picture of Jibanananda Das
Favourites
FilmY Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
NovelThe Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
FimmakerAlejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Singer(s)Indian: Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan
American: Elvis Presley
Canadian: Leonard Cohen
Band The Beatles
ComposerWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
SitaristNikhil Bandopadhyay
Author(s) Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Arthur C. Clarke, Roald Dahl, and Isaac Asimov

Aparna Sen

Some Lesser Known Facts About Aparna Sen

  • Aparna Sen is an Indian director, scriptwriter, and actor, who is known for her work in the Bengali film industry. She has won nine National Film Awards and nine international film festival awards for her direction in films.
  • Her name is pronounced Oporna Shen.
  • Aparna was fondly called Coppola by Shashi Kapoor. [8]News18
  • Her mother, Supriya Dasgupta, was a costume designer who won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for Chidananda’s directorial venture Amodini (1995) at the age of 73.
  • Her father, Chidananda Das Gupta, was one of the founders of the Calcutta Film Society with Satyajit Ray in 1947.
  • Aparna was very young when she got married to Sanjay Sen. Their marriage didn’t last long. Later, she married Mukul Sharma; however, the couple divorced each other in 1985. On 1 March 2019, Mukul passed away at the age of 69.
  • Sen’s elder daughter, Kamalini Chatterjee, went to the United States for further studies.
  • In 1960, New Zealand photographer Brain Brake was working on a photo series on monsoons and the people affected by them. He captured Aparna Sen, who was then 14 years old, on the terrace of her home with her eyes closed and enjoying the rain on her face. The water was coming from a garden hose. Aparna’s photo was published as the cover picture in Life Magazine the following year.

    Aparna Sen, Monsoon Girl (1960), shot by Brian Brake for Life Magazine

    Aparna Sen, Monsoon Girl (1960), shot by Brian Brake for Life Magazine

  • Aparna was 16 years old when she made her debut with Satyajit Ray’s film Teen Kanya.
  • In 1994, she played the role of Sarojini in the Bengali film Unishe Apri.

    Aparna Ssen as Sarojini in a still from the film Unishe Apri (1994)

    Aparna Ssen as Sarojini in a still from the film Unishe Apri (1994)

  • She has appeared in several Bengali films including Basanta Bilap (1973), Mohonar Dike (1984), Swet Patharer Thala (1992), Indira (1984), Ek Din Achanak (1999), Titli (2001), Antaheen (2009), and Chatushkon (2014).

    Aparna Sen as Anuradha Singha in a still from the Bengali film (1974)

    Aparna Sen as Anuradha Singha in a still from the Bengali film (1974)

  • Apart from acting in films, Aparna paved her way in the direction of films as well. She directed several award-winning Bengali films including Paroma (1984), Yugant (1995), and 15 Park Avenue (2005).

    The poster of the film 15 Park Avenue (2005)

    The poster of the film 15 Park Avenue (2005)

  • From 1986 to 2005, Aparna worked as an editor of Sananda, a Bengali women’s magazine. Later, she worked as a creative director at Kolkata TV, a Bengali 24×7 infotainment channel for a year.
  • In 1989, she was a member of the jury at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival.
  • In 2008, she was elected to the International Jury of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
  • In 2011, she became the editor of Paroma magazine. Two years later, Aparna and the editorial team of Paroma magazine launched a new magazine ‘Prothoma Ekhon.’
  • In 2013, she headed the jury of the second Ladakh International Film Festival.
  • In an interview, Aparna said that she once read the Mahabharata and found Lord Krishna fascinating. [9]The Telegraph
  • In 2022, she directed a Hindi film, The Rapist, starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Arjun Rampal.

    The poster of the film The Rapist (2022) directed by Aparna Sen

    The poster of the film The Rapist (2022) directed by Aparna Sen

References/Sources:[+]