Indian stage and screen actor and social advocate, Priyanka Bose is known for playing strong female roles and presenting raw portrayals of human rights struggles and abuses.
Born in 1982 in Delhi, India, Priyanka Bose currently resides in a flat on Madh Island in Mumbai. She graduated from the University of Delhi in sociology. She began her career in acting onstage before having her first role on screen as an dancer opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh in the song Ola-Ola in the 2007 Bollywood film “Johnny Gaddar.” Her first screen acting credit came a year later, playing the role of Shruti in the film “Sorry Bhai!”
She had her global theatrical debut in August 2013 when she performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the controversial and critically acclaimed stage production “Nirbhaya” about gang rape and murder in Delhi. The production won two festival awards: the Angel Award and the Scotsman Fringe First Award. It also won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award for its raising of awareness about human rights. Bose considers this play to be the greatest thing she’s done in her life.
Also in 2013, she gave another performance that brought her great acclaim. This one was in an advertisement for the Tanishq brand of jewelry called “A Wedding to Remember.” In it, she played a woman with a child who remarries. The ad, filmed in India, was praised across social media as bold, groundbreaking and original.
That same year, she also shared the big screen with Bollywood sensation Konkana Sen Sharma in the movie “Shunyo Awnko.” She proceeded to perform in several more films before appearing in the 2014 Bollywood hit “Gulaab Gang” featuring Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla.
Today, she is perhaps best known for her 2010 debut big screen performance as the title character in the film adaptation of one of political activist Mahashweta Devi’s short “Breast Stories” called “Choli Ke Peeche” about police violence in West Bengal. The film was called “Gangor – A film by Italo Spinelli,” and among the many accolades it received was a Best Actress Award for Priyanka Bose at the New Jersey Independent South Asian Film Festival.
Many of Priyanka Bose’s films have an activism element, because, if there’s one thing people know about Priyanka Bose, it’s that she’s an activist herself as much as she is an actress. In that vein, she spends much of her time with filmmaker Megha Ramaswamy co-hosting a platform for producing cause-related outreach programs and content called Cause Effect. She’s well-known for her modeling work with different independent design labels that have an eco-conscious focus, such as Nor Black Nor White, Myoho and Anavila. She has also made herself renowned as a vocal advocate for author-backed roles in film, theater and experimental performance.
In all, actress Priyanka Bose has 34 acting credits in TV and film, including as Sex Worker in “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” (2013) and Kamla in “Lion” (2016) opposite Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. In 2016, she also appeared as the character Aai in the film “Half Ticket,” which went on to win the Ecumenical Jury Award at the 2017 Zlin International Film Festival. She also won the 2017 Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar, aka Zee Gaurav Award, for Best Supporting Actress for her role in that film.
That year, she also appeared as herself in the TV movie “The Sun and Her Flowers” based on the book of the same name by Rupi Kaur about love, relationships, growth, healing, ancestry and transcendence.
Aspiring to be a cross-cultural actor, she appeared as well in the Hollywood film “The MisEducation of Bindu” opposite American actor David Arquette.
Priyanka Bose was most recently seen in the streaming series “Wheel of Time” as the character Alanna Mosvani. Upcoming roles for her include Arundhati in the film “Taabeer,” Priti in the film “Agra,” Mother in the short “Meow (Voice of the Voiceless)” and Geeta in the short “35 mm.”
In addition to acting, Priyanka Bose is also a film producer with her own small production company called PaapiPet Pictures.
Some tidbits a general biography of Priyanka Bose might overlook include her love of travel and the works of the writer Maheshweta Devi’s. Her favorite food is pizza, and her favorite actress is Sridevi. Her look in the film “Ashcharyachakit” supposedly took 16 hours to complete.
FAQs
Priyanka Bose grew up in Delhi, India.
Priyanka Bose is married to singer Paresh Kamath. They have a daughter named Naiima who was born in 2009.
Priyanka Bose has appeared in 30 films. She’s also appeared in four TV series.
