Tannishtha Chatterjee
Tannishtha Chatterjee (Bengali pronunciation: [tonːiʃʈʰa t͡ʃaʈard͡ʒi]) (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Hindi and English independent films. For her performance in the film Dekh Indian Circus, she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film). In 2019 she directed her first feature film Roam Rome Mein which screened at Toronto International Film Festival. Chatterjee's performance in the German film Shadows of Time earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. She is also known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name for which she was nominated best actress at the British Independent Film Awards. Her other notable roles have been in Academy Award-winning German director Florian Gallenberger's film Shadows of Time, Road, Movie with Abhay Deol, Dekh Indian Circus, and Marathi film Doctor Rakhmabai for which she has won the Best Actress Award at RIFF (Rajasthan International Film Festival) and PIFF (Pune International Film Festival).
Tannishtha Chatterjee | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Chatterjee at the premiere of The Forest on 11 May 2012 | |
| Born | 23 November 1980 Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Alma mater | National School of Drama |
| Occupation | Film actress |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Tannishtha Chatterjee (Bengali pronunciation: [tonːiʃʈʰa t͡ʃaʈard͡ʒi]) (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Hindi and English independent films. For her performance in the film Dekh Indian Circus, she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film). In 2019 she directed her first feature film Roam Rome Mein which screened at Toronto International Film Festival. Chatterjee's performance in the German film Shadows of Time earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.
She is also known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name[1] for which she was nominated best actress at the British Independent Film Awards.[2] Her other notable roles have been in Academy Award-winning German director Florian Gallenberger's film Shadows of Time, Road, Movie with Abhay Deol, Dekh Indian Circus, and Marathi film Doctor Rakhmabai for which she has won the Best Actress Award at RIFF (Rajasthan International Film Festival) and PIFF (Pune International Film Festival).
Early life
[edit]Chatterjee was born on 23 November 1980 in Pune, Maharashtra, to a Bengali Hindu family. Her father was a business executive and her mother was a political science professor. Her family traveled and lived out of the country for some time, then moved to Delhi.[3] She majored in Chemistry at Delhi University before entering the National School of Drama.[4]
Career
[edit]Chatterjee's performance in the German film Shadows of Time earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.[5] Thereafter she worked on an Indo-French coproduction Hava Aney Dey (Let the Wind Blow) directed by Partho Sen-Gupta which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the best film award at the Durban International Film Festival among others. Following these, Chatterjee acted in Strings, Kasturi and the Bengali film Bibar, winning critical acclaim and best actress awards. Her work in the British film Brick Lane directed by Sarah Gavron gave her international exposure and recognition. Chatterjee was nominated for the British independent film awards along with actresses Judi Dench and Anne Hathaway.
Chatterjee played a major role in Bhopal: Prayer for Rain in which she starred with Martin Sheen.[6] She was the lead in Road, Movie with Abhay Deol and as earned the moniker Princess of Parallel Cinema in the Indian press.[7] Chatterjee was referred by the Indian media as the chief flag bearer at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. She starred in the 2009 film Bombay Summer.[8] She was the lead in Lucy Liu's film Meena based on the book Half the Sky.[9]
A trained Hindustani classical vocalist, she sang in the movies Road, Page 3,[10] among others. She sang at the Royal Opera House in London with British composer Jocelyn Pook.[citation needed]
Chatterjee was a member of the jury at the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.[11] She appeared in a T series film I Love New Year opposite Sunny Deol directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru.[12][13]
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Tannishtha's Canadian film Siddharth was in official selection at the 70th Venice Film Festival and the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. She is the only Indian actress whose films have been selected in three of the major international film festivals in the same year.[14] Her other notable projects are Parched directed by Leena Yadav which opened in Toronto, Australian romantic comedy Unindian with Brett Lee[15] Island City which won the best debut director( Ruchika Oberoi) in Venice and Garth Davies's film LION co-starring Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel.[16] Her film Angry Indian Goddesses received acclaim in Toronto and Rome international film festivals. In March 2016 Tannishtha was given a special award in a ceremony held at the BAFTA for her contribution to Asian Cinema.[17] She won the best actress for the film Parched along with three other actresses in Festival 2 Valenciennes and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2016.[18] She was the president of the jury of the MOOOV film festival in Belgium in 2016.[19] She won the best actress at the Pune International Film Festival 2017 for her role in Dr. Rakhmabai.[20] In 2019 Tannishtha made her directorial Debut Roam Rome Mein which had its World premier at Busan International Film Festival where she won the Asia Star Award.
In 2025, her second directorial film Full Plate had its World premier at 30th Busan International Film Festival on 18 September 2025.[21]
Activism
[edit]Tannishtha speaks quite often on the issue of race/colorism in Indian media. She has walked out during a roast when her skin color was the subject of jokes.[22] She explored racism in Indian film and TV industry on Mithaq Kazimi's talk show series.[23] Personally, she adopted a baby girl and has encouraged others to do the same.[24]
Filmography
[edit]Films
[edit]Web series
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Parchhayee | Lavani | ZEE5 | [28] |
| 2021 | Cartel | Romilla | Alt Balaji | |
| 2022 | Modern Love Mumbai | Rayman | 1 episode | |
| 2023 | Scoop | Leena Pradhan | Netflix | |
| 2025 | Bindiya Ke Bahubali | Imali Davan | Amazon MX Player |
Awards
[edit]| Year | Function | Award Nomination | Film | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Osian film festival | Best Actress | Bibar | Won |
| 2007 | British Independent Film Awards 2007 | Brick Lane | Nominated | |
| Bengal Film Journalists' Association | Most Promising Actress | Bibar | Won | |
| 2009 | Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council | Best Actress | Bombay Summer | Won |
| 2010 | Stardust Award | Road, Movie | Nominated | |
| 2012 | NYIFF Indo-American Arts Council | Dekh Indian Circus | Won | |
| National Film Award (Special Mention) | National Film Award | Won | ||
| 2016 | London Asian Film Festival | Contribution to Asian Cinema | Won | |
| Festival2valenciennes | Best Actress | Parched | Won | |
| Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles | Won | |||
| Rajasthan International Film Festival | Doctor Rakhmabai | Won | ||
| 2017 | Pune International Film Festival | Won | ||
| New York Indian Film Festival | Nominated | |||
| Maharashtra State Film Awards | Nominated | |||
| 2019 | Busan International Film Festival | Asia Star Award[29] | Roam Rome Mein | Won |
References
[edit]- ^ Tannishtha Chatterjee Archived 8 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. imdb.com
- ^ Nomination at BIfA Archived 27 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Zimbio.com (2007-11-28). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee Rises To The Challenge In "Brick Lane"". India Journal. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2009. [permanent dead link]
- ^ Career at NSD Archived 30 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Specials.rediff.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
- ^ Berlin International Film Festival Archived 1 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Berlinale.de (2005-02-11). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
- ^ Expected to be acting with Sheen. Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2008-07-14). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
- ^ An interview with Tannishtha Chatterjee, main actress of BRICK LANE. cinemawithoutborders.com (2008-06-13.html)
- ^ Hale, Matt (7 October 2010). "A Love Triangle Without the Bollywood". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012.
- ^ "IFFI 2009: INTERVIEW – Tannishtha Chatterjee". Reuters. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009.
- ^ Tannishtha Chatterjee. indiafm.com
- ^ "Promoting Films And Filmmakers Of The Asia-Pacific To A Global Audience". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ "A class act". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee to work with Sunny Deol". The Times of India. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012.
- ^ Festival Queen: Tannishtha Chatterjee on a roll : Glossary – India Today . Indiatoday.intoday.in (2013-08-10). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee, Bret Lee to get intimate in UnIndian". October 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ "Tannishtha, Nawazuddin, Deepti Naval in Hollywood film". Business Standard India. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee 'hugely thrilled' with award in London". The Indian Express. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Festival2valenciennes". Festival2valenciennes.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Tannishtha-C [dead link]
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee bags Best Actress Award at PIFF". Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ "A Window on Asian Cinema: Full Plate". Busan International Film Festival. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee Was 'Suffocated' on TV Show That 'Roasted' Her". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/WIONews/videos/vb.451369008407073/524063804470926 Archived 17 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine [user-generated source]
- ^ "Yahoo Search - Web Search". Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Ananth Mahadevan's Rough Book brings Indian education into sharp focus". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee's directorial debut 'Roam Rome Mein' to premiere at Busan Film Festival". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Indian Film Festival of Sydney returns with Tannishtha Chatterjee's Full Plate as opening night film". Times of India. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee In A Traditional Look On The Sets Of Parchhayee". Zee Tv. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Tannishtha Chatterjee honoured with Asia Star Award at Busan International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
External links
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