Konkona Sen Sharma (Bengali: কঙ্কনা সেন শর্মা Kôngkôna Shen Shôrma; born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sharma appears primarily in Indian arthouse and independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema.
Making her debut as a child artist in the film Indira (1983), Sharma debuted as an adult in the Bengali thriller Ek Je Aachhe Kanya (2000). She first gained attention with the English-language film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), which was directed by her mother, and received the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
Her appearance in the drama Page 3 (2005) got her wider recognition from audiences, and she has since starred in a number of films, most of which have garnered her critical praise rather than commercial success. She won two consecutive Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards for her performances in Omkara (2006) and Life in a... Metro (2007), respectively. Her performance in the former won her a second National Award under the Best Supporting Actress category.
In 2009, she appeared in the low-budget English-language film The President Is Coming, directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur. The film opened to generally positive reviews. Reviews were favorably directed toward her. Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India wrote, "Performance-wise, it's the uptight and complex-ridden Ms Konkona who walks away with laurels and laughs even as the film takes a healthy snigger at the desi self."
Sen Sharma next starred in Zoya Akhtar's Luck by Chance, opposite Farhan Akhtar. Upon release, the film met with highly positive reviews from critics, as did her performance, but its financial income was modest. Sen Sharma's latest 2009 release was Ayan Mukerjee's romantic comedy Wake Up Sid in which she starred alongside Ranbir Kapoor. Upon release, the film received universally positive reviews, and her performance received rave reviews. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Konkona is natural to the core and the best part is, she's so effortless. Here's another winning performance from this incredible performer." The New York Times wrote, "Ms. Sharma has made a specialty of characters like Aisha: independent urban women, whose dreams involve careers as well as love. Her Aisha is a nuanced creation — ambitious, sympathetic, believable — and Mr. Mukerji, making his directing debut, is right to let her run away with the film."
In 2010, Sen Sharma starred in Ashwani Dheer's comedy Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge opposite Ajay Devgan and Paresh Rawal. Her latest release was Neeraj Pathak's Right Yaa Wrong where she played a lawyer.
She has completed shooting for Rituparno Ghosh's comedy film Sunglass and Vinay Shukla's Mirch. As of September 2009, Sen Sharma plays the leading role in Aparna Sen's Iti Mrinalini, which is targeted to release in early 2011. She will also appear in Amitabh Verma's Jackpot opposite Ranvir Shorey.
