Nandita Das

Nandita Das is an Indian film actress and director. She has acted in over 30 feature films in ten different languages. As an actress, she is known for her performances in Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Azhagi and Before The Rains (2007). Firaaq, her directorial debut feature film, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008, and has traveled to over 50 festivals, winning over 20 awards. She has been on the jury of Cannes Film Festival twice—2005 and 2013—among others. She has been awarded the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France for her contribution towards arts.

Nandita Das was the first Indian to be inducted into the International Women's Forum's hall of fame for her contributions to the arts. She was born in 1969 to Jatin Das, a popular artist, and Varsha, a writer. Das is of Odia descent on her father's side and Gujarati on her mother’s side. She has a younger brother who works as a creative designer. Despite being born in Mumbai, she was largely brought up in Delhi, where she was schooled at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya.



Later, she received her bachelor's degree in Geography from Miranda House and a Master of Social Work degree from the Delhi School of Social Work, both affiliated to the University of Delhi. Nandita Das was a Yale World Fellow 2014. She was among the 16 emerging global leaders who were chosen from close to 4000 applicants. The mission of the fellowship is to cultivate and empower a network of globally engaged leaders committed to positive change through dialogue and action.