Shonali Bose

{{short description|Indian film director, writer and film producer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Shonali Bose

| image = Shonali Bose 2.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Bose in 2015

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1965|06|03}}

| birth_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India

| relatives = Malini Chib (cousin)

| education = The Lawrence School, Sanawar

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

}}

| occupation = Filmmaker, writer

| spouse = {{marriage|Bedabrata Pain||reason=div}}

| children = 2

| yearsactive = 1992—present

}}

Shonali Bose (born 3 June 1965) is an Indian film director, writer and film producer. Having made her feature film debut in 2005, she has since won such accolades as a National Film Award, a Bridgestone Narrative Award, and a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award.

Bose earned her breakthrough with her first feature film, the 2005 biographical drama Amu, which was based on her own novel of the same name. The film which chronicles the attacks on Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, garnered critical acclaim and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English. Bose then worked as the assistant director for the 2012 war film Chittagong, which she also co-wrote.

Bose's status as a filmmaker grew following the critical and commercial success of the dramas Margarita with a Straw (2015) and The Sky Is Pink (2019). Inspired from the life of Malini Chib—her cousin and a disability rights activist, the former earned Bose a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award and a NETPAC Award.

Bose is also an active philanthropist and supports various charitable organisations. She was married to filmmaker Bedabrata Pain, but the couple separated following the death of their son.

Early life

Shonali Bose was born on 3 June 1965 in Calcutta, West Bengal, and spent most of her young adult life in Mumbai and New Delhi. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Delhi University and master's degree in political science from Columbia University, New York. She has been an activist since her time at Miranda House in Delhi University. Bose was also involved in theatre as an actor throughout school and college. Bose did not originally plan to be involved in film, however she saw it as a better outlet for activism after realizing how far removed her Ph.D. studies were from activism.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vilcek.org/news/current-news/past-news/2015-new-american-filmmakers-shonali-bose.html|title=Shonali Bose: Activism, with a Film|website=The Vilcek Foundation|access-date=17 February 2019}} On her film work she says, "Film is the means with which I want to communicate ideas about social and political change."

Career

=Early career and breakthrough with ''Amu'' (1999-2010)=

Bose worked as an organizer for the National Lawyers Guild for about a year. She directed live community television in Manhattan before joining the MFA Directing Program at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Early in her career, Bose directed such short films as The Gendarme Is Here and Undocumented, and the feature-length documentary Lifting the Veil; the productions were screened at numerous film festivals.

Bose made her feature film debut with the 2005 drama Amu; she had also written the production's screenplay.{{cite web|title='Amu', a film by Shonali Bose|url=http://www.irr.org.uk/2009/november/ha000028.html|publisher=Institute of Race Relations|access-date=3 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115061900/http://www.irr.org.uk/2009/november/ha000028.html|archive-date=15 November 2009}}{{cite web|title=Amu (2005) – Release Info|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414713/releaseinfo|publisher=IMDB|access-date=3 July 2011}} The film released in India in January to critical acclaim and positive response from the audience. Amu was screened at international film festivals in Berlin and Toronto. Bose won several national and international awards for the film, including the FIPRESCI Critics Award, the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English and the Gollapudi Srinivas Award for Best Debut Director.{{cite web|url=http://www.fipresci.org/awards/2005|title=FIPRESCI – festival awards 2005|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=FIPRESCI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605190418/http://www.fipresci.org/awards/awards/awards_2005.htm|archive-date=5 June 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=3 July 2011}} Bose wrote the novel Amu, which based on the screenplay which released simultaneously with the film.{{cite book|last=Bose|first=Shonali|title=Amu : a novel|year=2004|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New Delhi|isbn=0-14-303232-1}}{{cite web|title=Indo-American Arts council, Inc.|url=http://www.iaac.us/amu/amupress.htm|publisher=Indo-American Arts council|access-date=3 July 2011|archive-date=17 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817231514/http://www.iaac.us/amu/amupress.htm|url-status=dead}}

=Continued critical success (2010- present)=

Bose co-wrote the Bedabrata Pain directed film Chittagong, a period drama that chronicles the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid.{{Cite news|url=http://movies.ndtv.com/television/shonali-bose-will-direct-new-tv-series-based-on-novel-about-delhis-noveau-riche-1669308|title=Shonali Bose Will Direct New TV Series Based On Novel About Delhi's {{sic|Nov|eau|nolink=y}} Riche - NDTV Movies|date=14 March 2017|work=NDTVMovies.com|access-date=19 March 2018|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Roy|first=Sandip|title=Real life RDB: the Chittagong story|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070826/asp/7days/story_8238080.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213085956/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070826/asp/7days/story_8238080.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2010|publisher=Telegraph Kolkata|access-date=3 July 2011}} Her 2014 production, Margarita, with a Straw, starring Kalki Koechlin as a girl with cerebral palsy, premiered at 2014 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim. The film won the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the event.{{cite web|url=http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/contemporary-world-cinema/margarita-with-a-straw|title=Margarita, with a Straw|work=TIFF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830043401/http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/contemporary-world-cinema/margarita-with-a-straw|archive-date=30 August 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=4 September 2014}} She had begun working on the script a year after the death of her son; the film's initial draft won the Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Bose was inspired to make the film by her real life experiences of studying in New York, her relationship with her cousin Malini Chib who has cerebral palsy, and her and Chib's sexuality as queer and disabled people respectively. The film was originally rejected by the censor board in India, but won an appeal and was released shortly after the ban on homosexuality in India was lifted.

In 2019, Bose has written and directed The Sky Is Pink, a film based on the motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary, starring Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim. The film was theatrically released on 11 October 2019 and was critically acclaimed.{{Cite news |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-sky-is-pink-movie-review-priyanka-chopra-farhan-akhtar-film-is-all-shades-of-life-2340281.html |title=The Sky Is Pink Movie Review: Priyanka Chopra-Farhan Akhtar Film is All Shades of Life |last=Sinha Jha |first=Priyanka |date=10 October 2019 |work=CNN-News18 |access-date=10 October 2019}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/the-sky-is-pink-movie-review-priyanka-chopra-lends-this-unmissable-film-a-starry-edge-3-5-stars-out-2114432 |title=The Sky Is Pink Movie Review: Priyanka Chopra Lends This Unmissable Film A Starry Edge |last=Chatterjee |first=Saibal |date=10 October 2019 |website=NDTV |access-date=10 October 2019}}{{cite news|title=Zaira Wasim to play Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan's daughter in next?|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/zaira-wasim-to-play-priyanka-chopra-abhishek-bachchan-s-daughter-in-next/story-BsgMSeHSrW2Yt76SE8xrIJ.html|work=Hindustan Times|date=18 May 2018|access-date=18 May 2018}}

She directed the short Raat Rani, featuring Fatima Sana Shaikh, for the 2022 anthology Modern Love: Mumbai.{{Cite web |date=18 May 2022 |title=Fatima Sana Shaikh on Modern Love Mumbai: 'The connection I share with director Shonali Bose reflects in my performance' |url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/fatima-sana-shaikh-on-modern-love-mumbai-the-connection-i-share-with-director-shonali-bose-reflects-in-my-performance-10686891.html |access-date=13 June 2022 |website=Firstpost |language=en}}

==Upcoming project==

Bose has committed to write the pilot episode for an untitled television series based on Diksha Basu's novel The Windfall.

She is currently shooting for the Amazon Original, The Notorious Girls of Miranda House, produced by Pritish Nandy Communications.{{cite web | url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/news/simran-revathi-and-nandita-das-to-star-in-new-series-notorious-girls | title=Simran, Revathi and Nandita das to star in new series Notorious Girls | date=24 July 2023 }}

Personal life

She was married to Bedabrata Pain but is now separated.{{cite web|author=IIT Foundation |url=http://www.iitfoundation.org/?p=127 |title=IIT Foundation [ "AMU", an award winning film by a KGP Alumnus — Releasing in San Francisco ] |publisher=Iitfoundation.org |date=22 July 2007 |access-date=8 October 2012}} The couple's son Ishan Bose-Pain died on 13 September 2010 at age 16.{{Cite web|title=NRIs lose case against US firm on son's death|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/nris-lose-case-against-us-firm-on-sons-death-504104.html|website=News18|date=3 September 2012|access-date=4 May 2020}} Bose identifies as bisexual.{{Cite news|url=http://www.afterellen.com/movies/478147-bisexual-director-shonali-bose-revolutionary-queer-film-margarita-straw|title=Bisexual director Shonali Bose on her revolutionary queer film "Margarita, with a Straw" – AfterEllen|date=10 March 2016|work=AfterEllen|access-date=8 September 2017|language=en-US}}

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Writer	Producer
class="wikitable sortable"
2005 \| Amu	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2012 \| Chittagong	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2015 \| Margarita with a Straw	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	also Story, Dialogue writer {{Cite news\|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/film-review-margarita-with-a-straw-1201406266/\|title=Film Review: 'Margarita, With a Straw'\|last=Harvey\|first=Dennis\|date=16 January 2015\|work=Variety\|access-date=8 September 2017\|language=en-US}}
2019 \| The Sky Is Pink	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2022 \| Modern Love: Mumbai	{{yes}}	{{no}}	{{no}}

Awards

Film	Year	Category	Award/Film Festival
class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
rowspan="4" \| Amu	2004	Best Feature Film in English	National Film Awards{{cite web\|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/52nd_nff_2005.pdf\|title=52nd National Film Awards\|publisher=Directorate of Film Festivals\|pages=82–83\|access-date=21 March 2013}}
2005	FIPRESCI Critics Award.{{Cite web\|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2007/05/indiewire-interview-amu-director-shonali-bose-74499/\|title=indieWIRE INTERVIEW {{!}} "Amu" Director Shonali Bose {{!}} IndieWire\|last=Indiewire\|website=www.indiewire.com\|date=25 May 2007\|language=en\|access-date=8 September 2017}}	International Federation of Film Critics
2005	Best English Language Film	Star Screen Award
2005	Sundance Global Filmmaker Award
rowspan="22" \| Margarita with a Straw	2015	NETPAC Jury award for Best Asian Film {{Cite news\|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/margarita-a-straw-toronto-review-732839\|title='Margarita, With a Straw' : Toronto Review\|work=The Hollywood Reporter\|access-date=8 September 2017\|language=en}}	Toronto International Film Festival
2015	Audience Award	Filmfest DC – Washington DC International Film Festival
2016	Audience Award - Best Feature	Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival
2015	Youth Jury Award	Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
2015	Audience Award for Best Feature Film	Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
2015	Feature Film Award - Best International Film	Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland)
2015	Best International Feature	Gaze International LGBT Film Festival (Ireland) – Spirit of GAZE Award
2015	Audience Award	Montclair Film Festival (MFF)
2015	Audience Award for Best Feature Film	Brussels Extraordinary Film Festival
2015	Best Film	Grand Prix Jury Award for Best Film
2015	Best Film	Image Out. Rochester LGBT Film Festival
2015	Jury Award – Best Narrative Fiction	MIX Copenhagen
2015	Best Feature Film	Lili Award
2015	Best Feature Film	Casa Asia Film Week, Spain
2015	Audience Award for Best Feature Film	North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2015	Best Film	Utah Film Center – Damn These Heels
2015	Audience Award for Best Feature Film	Teaneck International Film Festival - Best Feature Award
2015	Best Screenplay	Nashville Film Festival – Bridgestone Narrative Competition
2015	Audience Choice Award	Hamburg Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
2015	Best Film, Best Script, Best Direction - Filmmaker of the Year	Stardust COLORS {{Cite news\|url=https://sszeemedia.com/2016/02/20/a-toast-to-filmmaker-shonali-bose-and-margarita-with-a-straw-2/\|title=A Toast to Filmmaker Shonali Bose and Margarita, with a Straw!\|last=CREATIVEJOYC\|first=CREATIVEJOYC\|date=20 February 2016\|work=sszeemedia\|access-date=8 September 2017}}
2015	VIWIFF Award	Vancouver International Women in Film Festival
2014	NETPAC Award	Toronto International Film Festival
rowspan="3" \| The Sky Is Pink	rowspan="3" \| 2020	Best Film (Critics)	Filmfare Awards
Critics Award for Best Film	Screen Awards