Seema Biswas

Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam who shot into prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen (1994). She has a reputation for performing strong character roles. Biswas won the 1996 National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the film Bandit Queen. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta's Water (2005). --- Biswas was born in Nalbari, Assam, to Jagdish and Meera Biswas. Her mother, an early influence, was a history teacher and a pioneering figure for female theatre artistes in Assam; and she came into contact with artists like Bhupen Hazarika, Phani Sarma and Bishnuprasad Rabha early in life. She studied Political Science at Nalbari College, and later joined the National School of Drama, New Delhi. After graduating from NSD in 1984, she joined the NSD Repertory Company. Seema Biswas acted as the heroine in Kishan Kartha's Amshini (Hindi) which entered the Indian Panorama Section of Filmotsav 1988. However the general belief is that Biswas debuted after Shekhar Kapur watched her perform in NSD Repertory Company, and offered her a role in Bandit Queen. Although she had earlier acted in Assamese cinema, this was her first big break into Hindi cinema, and she arrived with a bang.