Film & Theater
Nandana was a film student at USC when she was cast in the lead in Gudia (The Doll), an acclaimed independent film about freedom of expression, which inaugurated the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and launched her career as an international actor. Nandana has always been drawn to diverse films powered by a social or political consciousness, examining themes such as disability rights (Black, India), religious fundamentalism (The War Within, USA), gender-based violence in conflict (Tango Charlie, India), lesbian love during apartheid (The World Unseen, UK/South Africa), the exploitation of women in the arts, now the “Me Too” movement (Autograph, India), or censorship and religious intolerance (Rang Rasiya, India). Her nuanced performances have earned her the Kalakar, BIG Bangla, and TeleCine Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Whenever possible, Nandana combines her commitment to child rights with her acting work, especially her campaign to end violence against women and children. She originated the role of the traumatized protagonist, a survivor of child sexual abuse, in the immensely successful play, 30 Days in September, in India's leading repertory Prithvi Theatre, and explored this topic further in Chuppee (The Silence), sponsored by UNIFEM (now UNWOMEN).
“A fresh-faced actress draws a powerful movie star out of his protective shell in Autograph… Sen effortlessly combines warmth and intelligence.”
—Variety
“Nandana’s portrayal in Rang Rasiya poignantly brings alive the lustrous power of a woman, divinely in love.”
—The Times of India
“Sen’s performance in the The War Within demands special notice: she conveys compassion, yearning, and confusion with the poise of a true ingénue. Without resorting to bombast or histrionics, she commands absolute attention in every frame.”
—The Harvard Crimson
Film Reviews
“Nandana's portrayal poignantly brings alive the lustrous power of a woman - divinely - in love.” TIMES OF INDIA
“Nandana Sen is pitch-perfect as Sugandha. She is the ideal foil to the moody male protagonist, traversing an entire gamut of emotions - from the charmingly coquettish to the deeply conflicted and anguished, from moments of ecstatic love to the trough of a death wish - without losing her poise.” NDTV
http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/rang-rasiya-movie-review-1048
“Nandana Sen looks radiant in every frame, bringing poignancy to her performance. Vulnerable in love, drawing strength from the same, it’s her heartbreak and breakdown of faith that makes the climax so surreal… Ketan Mehta brings out the best from his actors Randeep and Nandana; especially the latter who unleashes on screen much beyond her sublime beauty, the vulnerability of her character.” KOIMOI
http://www.koimoi.com/reviews/rang-rasiya-review/
“Nandana plays Varma’s muse and paramour with great gusto. Her performance is as refined as it is bold.” FILMFARE
http://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-rang-rasiya-7662.html
“Nandana Sen looks divine, elegant and enticing. She does justice to her role and doesn’t look vulgar or out of place in that hugely publicised love-making scene. On the other hand, she makes it appear graceful and prevents the plan from backfiring.” HINDUSTAN TIMES
“Nandana Sen is superb as Sugandha, bringing out the nuances of the character's naivety and sensuality expertly. It's quite difficult to imagine someone else cast in this role.” SIFY
“Nandana Sen plays Sugandha, a fascinating muse figure pathbreakingly bold enough to bare herself so the artist could paint the stories he most cherished.
At a time when Hindi cinema still blushes at the thought of a nipple, Sen -- in one tasteful, elegantly shot scene -- exposes herself and, like Sugandha, puts herself out there so we can all dwell on the censorship issue. It is a fearless, uninhibited performance and Sen is particularly well-cast.” REDIFF
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-rang-rasiya-is-an-important-film/20141107.htm
“Beautiful and charming, innocent and vulnerable, Nandana Sen is another strong performer. Her body has been used more as a metaphor than as a vulgar object to lust after.” STARDUST
http://www.magnamags.com/live-feed/movie-reviews/rangrasiya-review-a-stunning-visual-treat/5551
“Nandana Sen, as the muse of Ravi Varma, looks stunning in every attire of Goddesses.” TARAN ADARSH
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/507692
“Nandana Sen looks beautiful and acts with effortless ease.” KOMAL NAHTA
http://komalsreviews.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/367/
“Full marks to Nandana for going the distance to keep her character alive.”
http://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/rang-rasiya-movie-review.asp
“Nandana Sen as Sugandha plays her part well. It's brave of her to accept this role and pull it off the way she does.” INDIA TODAY
“Nandana plays his muse with equal sincerity and lethal sensuality, making the character of Sugandha so alive, and so respectable. None of the mainstream actresses could have justified the role to this extent.” JUST SHOWBIZ
http://www.just-showbiz.com/rang-rasiya-colors-of-imagination/
International Film Reviews
"A fresh-faced actress draws a powerful movie star out of his protective shell… Sen effortlessly combines warmth and intelligence" - Jay Weissberg
http://variety.com/2010/film/reviews/autograph-1117944016/
“Nandana Sen has the dark-eyed good looks of a story-book princess. She’s easy to fall in love with, but difficult to know…She is excellent.” – Marke Andrews, The Vancouver Sun
“Sen’s performance in the ‘The War Within’ demands special notice: she conveys compassion, yearning, and confusion with the poise of a true ingénue. Without resorting to bombast or histrionics, she commands absolute attention in every frame.” – Bernard L. Parham, The Harvard Crimson
“Sen, a lissome young woman, is a lively presence as the eager Rosemary.” – David Stratton, Variety
“’Seducing Maarya’ stars a seriously enchanting actress named Nandana Sen…You never get tired of watching Nandana.” – Jay Stone, The Ottawa Citizen
“A solid performance from the seductive Sen.” – Bill Brownstein, The National Post (Canada)
“A stellar performance of great complexity and range from rising Indian star Nandana Sen.” – Ken Anderlini, FilmReviews, viff@viff.org
Theatre Reviews
“Nandana Sen plays the writer Beatrice Hastings. Her portrait of a sensual, cajoling egoist has lots of color and personality. Driven by a variety of desires, her performance as Hastings has fine texture.” – Barbara and Scott Siegel, TheatreMania.com
“Very convincing is Nandana Sen as his muse and lover Beatrice.” – Micheal Lazan, Backstage
“Nandana Sen plays Beatrice with a no-nonsense bravura.” – Chance Muehleck, nytheatre.com
“Sometimes the temptress, often the victim, occasionally overcome by shrewish temper, Nandana Sen as Mala, a victim of child abuse in Mahesh Dattani’s play ’30 Days in September’, is always engaging.” – Himanshi Dhawan, India Today
“Incest isn’t an easy subject, and all eyes were on the lovely Nandana, who played the protagonist with edgy zest.” – Shernaaz Engineer, The Times of India
“Nandana Sen puts in a very charged performance as the abused victim, bringing out her character’s vulnerability and brittleness.” – Manisha Vardhan, 3to6.com
Early Film Reviews
“Nandana Sen handles a complex role with panache in ‘Black’. An outstanding sequence worth noting: Sara’s engagement. Nandana Sen impresses.” – Taran Adarsh
“Nandana’s star turn is informed with an amazing range of emotions. She fills in the emotional and psychological details with a degree of skill and subtlety that is rare.” – Saibal Chatterjee
“Nandana, the actress, comes through undaunted. She plays her part with ease and intensity. She emerges as the lynchpin holding the whole film together.” – Lekha Shankar, The Asian Age
“Nandana Sen’s dusky, sensuous presence fits the role like one of the slinky dresses she sports…Sen has stunning screen presence. She is definitely worth watching.” – Maithili Rao, The Hindu
“Nandana Sen as the jealous but kind sister is flawless.” – Subash K. Jha
“Nandana Sen has deep impact. She captures with great skill and subtlety the emotions of a girl whose parents neglect her.” – Juhi Singhal, Indiaddaily.com
“Nandana Sen is a revelation. She puts in that extra something in every scene that adds to her character.” – Martin D’Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network, glamsham.com
“Nandana adds magic touches to her character…Her face filled with confusion when she begins to understand the loneliness of Arun, or laughing away in gay abandon during those loving moments with Shubho, are memorable…The scene in which she weeps bitterly inside the cab as she moves out is touching.” – Shoma Chatterji, www.upperstall.com, calcuttatube.com
“Nandana Sen as Srinandita is a revelation. She gives a brilliant performance.” – Aditya Chakrabarty, www.washingtonbanglaradio.com
“Nandana will remind you that youth, passion, exuberance, professionalism, emotion, diplomacy can all go hand in hand.” – Subhashish Biswas, www.gomolo.in
“Nandana Sen looks lovely and is a natural on screen, with a great voice, modulated well. She’s a pleasure throughout ‘Strangers’.” – Sonia Chopra, Sify.com
“Nandana Sen’s scenes are absorbing and dramatic. She leaves quite a mark in her role of the tragic Bengali bride.” – Shahid Khan, planetbollywood.com
“Nandana Sen returns to the Indian screen with a performance that’s impressive and a smile that has a voice.” – Rediff.com