Investigating Contemporary Issues in Indian Society and Film: A Conversation with Nandita Das

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By Tara Chandra

With over 40 feature film credits to her name, Nandita Das is an award-winning Indian film actor and director who has leveraged her international profile to campaign on social issues concerning women, children, and marginalized communities. She was the first Indian to be inducted into the International Women’s Forum Hall of Fame for her contributions to the arts. Firaaq, Nandita’s directorial debut feature film, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008 and has traveled to over 50 festivals and won more than 20 awards. She wrote, directed, and acted in Between the Lines, a play dealing with the subtle inequalities that exist in the relationship of an educated, affluent couple in urban India. Nandita was a member of the main jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 and 2013 and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007. In 2011, she received the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award from the French government. In 2013 she became the face of the Dark is Beautiful campaign: an effort to draw attention to the unjust effects of skin color bias in India. She has served as Chairperson of the Children’s Film Society in India, working to further its vision of producing and distributing high-quality films for children. Prior to launching her film career, Nandita earned her Masters in Social Work from University of Delhi and worked with several NGOs. She writes a monthly column for The Week magazine in India and has just completed work as an actor in a Spanish film, shot in Mumbai and Barcelona with an all-female crew. Full biography at http://worldfellows.yale.edu/nandita-das.