Sudipto Sen (Director) Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Writer, Director
Known for	Directing the Hindi film The Kerala Story (2023)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 161 cm in meters- 1.61 m in feet & inches- 5’ 3”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Career
Debut	Film (Documentary): The Other Wealth (1997) Film (English): The Last Monk (2006) Film (Hindi/French bi-lingual): Akhnoor (2007) Film (Malayalam): Anthiponnovettam (2008)
Awards	• 1997: Won Global 500 Role of Honor Award for the documentary The Other Wealth at the Geneva Human Right Film Festival, Switzerland • 2006: Best Cinematography for the English feature film The Last Monk at the Cine International Film Festival • 2007: Best Film Award for the short feature film Akhnoor at the Golden Gate Film Festival, USA • 2007: Integrated Realization Award for the short feature film Akhnoor at the Belgium International Film Festival • 2007: Best Director for the short feature film Akhnoor at the San Francisco International Film Festival, USA • 2018: Best Film Award for the documentary film In the Name of Love! at the London Independent Film Awards • 2020: National Film Award for the documentary film Guru Ji - Ahead of Time in the category of Best Music Direction (Non-feature film)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	16 January
Birthplace	Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India [1]Sudipto Sen - Facebook
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India
School	• Jalpaiguri Zilla School in West Bengal (from 4th to 7th standard) • BT Road Government School, in Kolkata
College/University	University of Calcutta
Educational Qualification(s)	• A bachelor's degree in physics • A master's degree in applied psychology [2]Sudipto Sen - LinkedIn
Ethnicity	Bengali [3]Lokmat Times
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian
Hobbies	Cooking, travelling
Controversies	• Assaulted physically during the screening of a film at JNU On 28 April 2018, Sudipto’s film “In The Name of Love — Melancholy of God’s Own Country" was screened at the Sabarmati Dhaba, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, which was organised by the Global Indian Foundation and the Vivekanand Vichar Manch. During the screening of the film, members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) and the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment obstructed and stopped the event alleging that the film encouraged communal differences as it was based on the concept of love jihad. (illegal religious conversion of women to Islam under the pretext of love) While protesting against the film, the students created a chaotic situation as several students were injured, female students were pushed and mistreated, and a security guard was badly injured after a car ran over him. Sudipto claimed that during the riot, he was assaulted physically and even some protestors tried to break his laptop and hard disk. In an interview, Sudipto expressed his anger and talked about how scared he felt after the incident at JNU and said, The film is not anti-Muslim or anti-community for that matter. It is basically about the pattern we identified in Kerala, the bigger ISIS plan to convert Kerala into an Islamic state which was predicted by V.S.Achutanandan. The kind of intolerance they have shown, the kind of abuses they have shown, the kind of attitude they have shown against an artwork. What I did is my art, if you are choking the truth, if you are stopping art being displayed, then it is basically an anti-democratic situation prevailing in JNU. We are not illogical, we didn’t use a single emotional word. Every word in the film is backed by a supporting document. We have the documents, infuriating documents we have. So we have just spoken about the documents we have collected. It is so so scary.” • Case registered for promoting enmity between different religious groups through the film "The Kerala Story" Sudipto released the teaser of his film “The Kerala Story” in November 2022. The film was based on the forceful conversion of 32,000 girls to Islam, who belonged to Kerala, and were taken to the Islamic State-held areas in Syria and Afghanistan following which they received training for joining the terrorist group "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS). After the teaser was released, it sparked controversy and received severe criticism on the internet for allegedly showcasing Kerala as "the hub of Islamic terrorism." BR Arvindakshan, a Tamil Nadu-based journalist, lodged a complaint against the film and its director for claiming the facts without validation and allegedly destroying the unity, peace, and integrity of the state, which might encourage hatred among different religious groups. A case was registered under sections 153 A &B (promoting disharmony and enmity between different groups based on the ground of faith) and other sections of the Indian penal code. [4]Hindustan Times Arvindakshan, in his complaint, wrote, It is a very bad thing to try and make the state of Kerala look like a state that supports terrorism through the film. This is not only against the unity and sovereignty of India, but also a disgrace to the country’s intelligence agencies, observing that the film aims to show Kerala in a bad light. The teaser mentions that 32,000 women have been forcibly converted and joined ISIS. If that is the case, it means that nine women from Kerala have been converted and have joined ISIS every day in the past 10 years. That means 3,000 women have joined ISIS every year. This does not seem acceptable unless the information can be verified.” [5]The News Minute In an interview, on being asked about the criticism received on the trailer of the film The Kerala Story, Sudipto replied, I said 32,000 girls went missing. If you go to northern Kerala, to areas like Kasargod or Mallapuram, you will find locals claiming the numbers to be as high as 50,000. Why and how it happened, that’s what the film is about. I can’t reveal the whole story of the film just yet. I have also personally talked to the NIA. Give me some time I will give you all answers.” [6]The Print
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Not known
Family
Wife/Spouse	N/A
Parents	Name not known

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sudipto Sen

• Sudipto Sen is an Indian writer-director, who made headlines in November 2022 after the release of the trailer of the Hindi film The Kerala Story, which was based on the story of 32,000 girls from Kerala, who were forcefully converted to Islam and sent to serve the terrorist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

• In 1998, Sudipto directed the documentary film Land Within Ripples. From the period of 1998-2002, he worked as an empanelled producer for the World Bank.

• In 2006, Sudipto was nominated for Best Direction for the film The Last Monk at the Singapore International Film Festival.

• Sudipto directed a few feature films like Lucknow Times (2015), Aasma (2018), Guru Ji: Ahead of Time (2018), Gurujana (2022), and The Kerala Story (2023).
  

  Poster of the feature film Gurujana (2022)

• In 2006, Sudipto’s English feature film ‘The Last Monk’ premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

• In November 2022, Sudipto Sen was selected as the only Indian to represent as a jury member at the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

• During the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, on 28 November 2022, Nadav Lapid, the Chief Juror at the IFFI, attracted controversy after he remarked the Bollywood film The Kashmir Files “disturbing and vulgar.” Further, he said that the film was propaganda, and he was disappointed with the film’s inclusion in the IFFI. In an interview, Sudipto addressed Nadav’s comment as “unethical” and said,
  

  As a practice, etiquette and ethic, the jury board is supposed to talk about films that are awarded. We don’t talk about films that are not awarded. The jury board has nothing to do with someone bringing out a rejected film for discussion in a public forum. If one of us randomly goes to talk about a film which wasn’t even awarded at some platform, I would find it unethical. That single incident at the closing ceremony ruined the entire mood of the festival.” ^[7]Lokmat Times

• Sudipto directed a commercial for an oil company, Shell plc in which Pakistani vocalist and musician, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, gave his voice to the advertisement song.

• Sudipto occasionally enjoys consuming alcohol with friends at events and parties.
  

  Sudipto Sen’s (extreme left) Instagram post, where he is seen consuming rum with his friends

• Sudipto worked at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – School of Arts & Aesthetics in New Delhi as the Education Council Member.

• Sudipto’s film, Gurujana, was selected for the Indian Panorama section of the 53rd International Film Festival of India in 2022.