Aparna Sen (, Ôporna Shen) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards and thirteen Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. For her contribution in the field of arts, the Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award. Early life and education Sen was born in a Bengali Baidya family on 25th October 1945 in Kolkata. Her family originally hailed from Cox's Bazar in Chittagong District (now in Bangladesh). Her father was the veteran critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta. Her mother Supriya Dasgupta was a costume designer and earned the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for Chidananda's directorial venture Amodini (1995), at the age of 73. Sen is a cousin of Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. Sen spent her childhood in Hazaribagh and Kolkata and had her schooling at Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata. She studied for her B.A. in English at Presidency College, but did not complete the degree. Career Actor Sen's foray into the world of entertainment happened when she was fifteen and was photographed by Brian Brake for the well-known photo from his 1960 "Monsoon" series of photographs; the photo appeared on the cover of Life. Sen made her film debut at the age of 16, when she played the role of Mrinmoyee in the Samapti portion of the 1961 film Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) directed by Satyajit Ray (who was a longtime friend of her father's). She went on to appearing in up to four films made by the director including Aranyer Din Ratri, Jana Aranya and Pikoo. Four years after her first film, in 1965, Sen acted in Akash Kusum, a Mrinal Sen film where she played the part of Monica. Sen has been an imminent part of the Bengali film industry, playing the lead in popular films like Basanta Bilap(1973) and Memsaheb(1972) amongst others. Sen has also been a part of Hindi films such as Imaan Dharam(1977), Ek Din Achanak(1989) and Ghaath(2000). In 2009, Sen appeared with Sharmila Tagore and Rahul Bose in Annirudh Roy-Chowdhary's Bengali film Antaheen. The film went on to win four National Film Awards. In 2019, Sen acted in prominent Bengali films including Bohomaan and Basu Poribar. Director In 2009, Sen announced her next Bengali film