July 25,26 and 27 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Nandita Das Retrospective

Nandita Das is a film star who never shied away from polemical issues or unconventional roles. She hit the headlines for her powerful character in director Deepa Mehta's movie "Fire" and for several other critically acclaimed movies that have proven that there is life for Indian actresses beyond Bollywood.

More interested in exploring the complex social realities of India on camera than the escapist fare that dominates commercial cinema, Nandita has drawn both tremendous admiration and vicious opposition for her portrayal of provocative themes. The difficulties of taking on subjects that critics claim "show India in poor light" has never daunted her spirit in bringing forward such eristic topics as homosexuality in India ("Fire"), religious politics ("Earth"), sexual violence ("Bawandar"), revolutionary ways of changing the status quo ("Lal Salaam") and the struggles of a lower caste woman "(Maati Maay") among others.

One of her recent films "Before the Rains" with Rahul Bose, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, had a wide theatrical release across the United States in May 2008. She has also acted in "Ramchand Pakistani", a film based on actual events that recounts the story of a Pakistani Hindu Dalit boy and his father, who accidentally cross the border into India, at a time of war-like tension between the two countries. They end up spending 5 years in an Indian prison while the mother is left behind not knowing what happened to them. Both these films were showcased at the Tribeca film festival recently.

Nandita has recently completed her first major full-length movie directorial debut, "In Such Times". The film touches on the effects of violence on human relationships and human psyches. The ensemble cast includes some of the best-known and well-regarded actors from Indian cinema such as Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval and Paresh Rawal.

Besides her passion for cinema as a platform to make a difference, Nandita also is strongly involved in a range of social advocacy movements. She has been a featured speaker at various social forums and universities around the world, like Cornell University (2005), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2007) and recently at the conference of the Eranos Foundation in Switzerland.

Nandita has also been a member of the jury at the prestigious Cannes festival in 2005 and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007. She has also won several awards including Best Actress for "Bawandar" at the Santa Monica Film festival in 2001, for "Amar Bhuvan" in 2002 at the Cairo Film Festival and for the Marathi film "Maati Maay" at the Madrid International Film Festival in 2007. As testament to her numerous achievements, Das has recently been awarded the highly coveted French award "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres", the most prestigious recognition given by the Government of France, to those making a difference in the Arts.

Ms. Nandita Das will be in Toronto, as part of the Masala! Mehndi! Masti! South Asian celebration that will be held at the Exhibition Place, over the weekend of July 25-27. Several of her seminal films will be screened including "Maati Maay"; " Podokkhep"; "Deveeri"; "Earth"; and "Bawandar". As part of the film component of M!M!M!, Ms. Das will discuss her work and her social activism at a Master Class.