Konkona Sen Sharma, born December 3, 1979, is a two-time National Award-winning Indian actress. 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. Konkonas 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. Stephens College, Delhi which she received in 2001. She was a student of the Modern High School for Girls, Calcutta, as well as the Calcutta International School.
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.
She 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. Konkonas 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.
She followed it up with even more acclaimed performances in 15 Park Avenue (2005) and Omkara (2006). For the latter, she received the both Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her next release Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante (2006) got average reviews.
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.
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 Sarkars 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 isnt afraid of making a fool of herself and she doesnt worry about being laughed at. As a result, her performance in Aaja Nachle is fearless and uninhibited."
As of December 2007, she is set to star in Zoya Akhtars forthcoming film Luck by Chance opposite Farhan Akhtar.She also has completed shooting for Rituparno Ghoshs comedy film Sunglass. Other confirmed future projects include Neeraj Pathaks Right or Wrong and Kunaal Roy Kapurs The President Is Coming where she plays as Bengali writer and social activist .Moreover, she will play a small but vital part in Mira Nairs Shantaram.Then, she will be seen opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Karan Johars next production, Wake up Sid ,directed by Ayaan Mukherjee.
Konkona is in a relationship with actor Ranvir Shorey. In July 2008, Aparna Sen confirmed that Konkona was engaged to Ranvir Shorey.
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