Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series Mahabharat. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she is known for her versatility and accent adaptation. She has worked with directors such as Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh. She is a trained Rabindra Sangeet vocalist and a classical dancer. She received several awards including a National Award and two BFJA Awards. In October 2016, she was nominated as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, by the President of India. She served as the President of BJP Mahila Morcha in West Bengal. She served as the General Secretary and the Vice President for the West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes' Forum, a body representing cine artistes. Her films have commulatively grossed more than US$100 million worldwide. Her first acting assignment was Bijoy Chatterjee's Hindi short film Nirupama (1986) based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali short story Dena Paona and broadcast on DD National. Her breakthrough role came with the Bengali TV series Muktabandha (1987) directed by Ramaprasad Banik. She made her big screen debut opposite Chiranjeet in Prabhat Roy's Bengali film Prateek (1988). In 1988, she achieved national recognition for her role in the Hindi TV series Ganadevta and shot to wider fame and popularity after she played Draupadi in B. R. Chopra's Mahabharat (1988–90). Her performance in this TV series earned her several awards including Smita Patil Memorial Award. She reprised the role of Draupadi in Chopra's Mahabharat Katha. She acted in popular Hindi TV series such as Kanoon (1993), Chandrakanta (1994), Karam Apnaa Apnaa (2007), Kasturi (2009), Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo (2009). Popular Bengali TV series, she acted in, include Janmabhoomi (1997), Draupadi (2000), Ingeet (2001), Tithir Atithi to name a few. She achieved critical acclaim for her performance in National Award winning Bengali films such as Padma Nadir Majhi (1993) by Goutam Ghose, Janani (1993) by Sanat Dasgupta and Yugant (1995) by Aparna Sen. She received BFJA Award for Best Supporting Actress twice for her roles in Amal Ray Ghatak's Ujan (1995) and Rituparno Ghosh's Antarmahal (2005). In the same year, she acted in the role of a conceited actress in Anjan Dutt's Tarpor Bhalobasa, which once again earned her critical acclaim. She was conferred with Osian's Cinefan Festival Special Jury Mention for her