REQUEST A SPEAKER

Nandita Das​

Bollywood actor, social activist and filmmaker. 
​
Nandita Das wears many hats and her fiery passion to make a difference is evident in the choices she has made in her life and work. She is known to never shy away from controversial issues and unconventional roles and has chosen to be part of stories that she feels need to be told. 
 
She has acted in over 30 feature films in ten different languages with many eminent directors like Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, Deepa Mehta, Mani Ratnam and others.
 
Firaaq, her directorial debut feature film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008, and has traveled to over 50 festivals, winning over 20 awards and much appreciation from audiences and critics.
 
She has been on the jury of Cannes Film Festival twice (2005 and 2013), among others. The French Government conferred her with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), their prestigious civilian award. In 2011 Nandita Das was the first Indian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Women’s Forum.
 
Nandita did her Masters in Social Work from University of Delhi and worked with various NGOs, before she made forays into films. She continues to advocate issues of social justice, especially those of women, children and the marginalised communities, through various platforms. She has been a featured speaker at many reputed universities and social forums, both in India and abroad.

Nandita Das wears many hats and her fiery passion to make a difference is evident in the choices she has made in her life and work. She has acted in over 30 feature films in ten different languages with many eminent directors like Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, Deepa Mehta, Mani Ratnam and others. Firaaq, her directorial debut feature film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008, and has traveled to over 50 festivals, winning over 20 awards and much appreciation from audiences and critics. She has been on the jury of Cannes Film Festival twice (2005 and 2013), among others. The French Government conferred her with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), their prestigious civilian award. In 2011 Nandita Das was the first Indian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Women’s Forum.

Nandita did her Masters in Social Work from University of Delhi and worked with various NGOs. She continues to advocate issues of social justice, especially those of women, children and the marginalised communities, through various platforms. She has been a featured speaker at many reputed universities and social forums, both in India and abroad. She writes a monthly column called the Last Word, for the magazine, The Week. She was the Chairperson of the Children’s Film Society, India, where she made many big and small changes to revamp the organization. Nandita has written, directed and acted in the play, Between the Lines that deals with gender inequalities. The play has garnered a lot of praise from both, critics and audiences and has been traveling to many cities across the country.

TOPICS
  • Creativity
  • Diversity
  • Women Empowerment
  • Cultures
  • Inclusive Development

Social Concerns  Talks

Although globally recognized for her performances on screen as a critically acclaimed Indian actress, Nandita Das remains deeply involved with her activism and social work. She holds a Masters degree in Social Work and is involved with various Civil Society organizations and movements. Over the years, she has actively campaigned against communal violence, violence against women, stigma concerning HIV/ AIDS and has raised a strong voice on the issues of child rights, disability and human rights. Not only has she voiced her concerns at relevant platforms, but she has also actively advocated for certain issues close to her heart at various social forums in India and abroad. In recent times, she has also produced & directed short public service films on issues like Education & Rainwater Harvesting.
 

International Talks

Speaker at:

  • American India Foundation Event, USA, March 2014, Topic : Social Work & Cinema - A personal Journey
  • Hunter College Human Rights Program, New York, USA, March 2014, Topic : In conversation with University Professors on Films and Social Work
  • World Bank, Washington, USA, March 2014, Topic : Changing Minds & Mindsets - Social Inclusion through the Arts
  • Crossing the Frame: The Women's Media Festival, Brown University, USA, March 2014, Topic : Art and social change'
  • South Asia Conclave on The Power of Collaboration, Lahore, Pakistan, Nov. 2013, Topic : Dialogue on Collaboration through the Arts
  • Hay Festival, UK, June 2013, Topic : Firaaq Screening and post film Discussion
  • EL SOMNI, Barcelona, May 2013, Topic : Special Invitee by City Council of Barcelona and the Celler de Can Roca for EL- SOMNI (The Dream) - A gastronomy event with 'an opera in 12 courses, a banquet in 12 acts'
  • Harvard University (Prof. Amartya Sen & Prof Sugata Bose's Class), Cambridge, USA, Oct 2011, Topic : Screening of Firaaq followed by talk
  • MIT, Cambridge, USA, Oct- 2011, Topic : Screening of Firaaq followed by talk
  • Art Transforming the World - IWF's World Cornerstone Conference, Rome, May 2011, Topic : Role of Art/Cinema in Transforming the World 
  • ImagineIndia Film Festival, Madrid, Spain, May 2011, Special guest and a previous year Awardee
  • Maximum India Festival, Kennedy Centre, Washington DC, March 2011, Topic : Bollywood and Beyond
  • South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), key note speaker, Lahore, Pakistan, October 2009.Topic : The Gender Identity in media
  • Eranos Tagung, Eranos Foundation, Ascona, Switzerland, June 2008, Topic: Identity and the Notion of the Other
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),Cambridge, USA, April 2007, Topic: Women in Films, with focus on Fire
  • Hamilton College, NY Sate,USA, November 2006, Topic: My journey of films and social work
  • AAPI (American Association of Physician of India Origin) Convention,Atlanta, USA, July 2006, Topic: The role of women in society
  • Rietberg Museum for Lange Nacht Der Museen (long night of the museum),Zurich, Switzerland, September 2005, Topic: A personal journey social work and cinema
  • The Alliance for a New Humanity (ANH) conference in Puerto Rico, USA, December 2005, Topic: The power of the feminine
  • 15th National Convention of AFMI (American Federation of Muslims of India),Dallas, USA, September 2005
  • Topic: Equitable education for sustainable development
  • Cornell University, NY State,USA, April 2005, Topic: Personal journey from films to social work
  • Pan-Asian Youth Leadership Summit, Hiroshima, Japan, September 2004, Topic: Building youth leadership
  • The Capital Women's Conference in London, UK, 6th March 2004, Topic: Domestic violence
  • AAHOA's (Asian- American Hotel Owner's Association) Annual Convention,Houston, USA, April, 2004, Topic: Women's empowerment
  • The Children's World Congress on Child Labour, May 2004, Florence, Italy, Topic: Child rights and our responsibility
  • Annual Gala, SAKHI, a South Asian women's organization, October 2004, New York City, Topic: What creates change?
  • Emory India Studies and Emory Vaccine Center (EVC), August 2003, in Atlanta, USA, Topic: Stigma of prejudice - AIDS and social perceptions
  • Festival of India, August 2003, Atlanta, USA, Topic: What is it to be an Indian?
  • South-Asian Conference for Youth Leadership, April 2003, Singapore, Topic: Youth leadership and media
  • Annual Event of Manavi, a South Asian women's organization, November 2002, New Jersey, USA, Topic: Rising communalism in India and its impact on women
  • Event of AASRA (Shelter), a South Asian women's organization, November 2002, Boston, USA, Topic: A personal journey - from social work to cinema
  • Annual Event for Apna Ghar (Our Refuge), a South Asian women's organization, November 2002, Chicago, USA
  • Topic: Representation of women in society and cinema
  • DePaul University Women s Day Celebration, March 2001, Chicago, USA, Topic: Women's empowerment and society

Bring Nandita's Play' Between the Lines" to your Organization/ Event

Synopsis
 
Between the Lines is a contemporary play set in urban India, where well-educated, affluent couples find themselves caught between modernity and tradition. Maya and Shekhar are a lawyer couple, who have been married for 10 years. Shekhar is a high-profile criminal lawyer, while Maya balances work and life, drafting routine contracts for a law firm. As destiny would have it, they end up arguing on opposite sides of a criminal trial, resulting in the blurring of their personal and professional lives.