Born on August 19, 1967, actress Nandana Sen is the daughter of Nobel Laureate and Bharat Ratna economist Amartya Sen and Padma Shri winner Nabanita Dev Sen, one of the most prominent authors in contemporary Bengali literature. She was born in Delhi. Nandana is not just an actress, but also a screenwriter, children's author and child rights activist. (All photos/Nandana Sen's official Instagram account)

Nandana Sen grew up in a family of writers and since childhood has been an avid reader. "My grandmother and mother wrote extensively for both adults and children. We had the largest collection of books from all over the world. We had no TV, even later we could only watch the news. I never got bored. The games then were not video games. I read books in English and in Bengali. There was no young adult category separately. When I was 12 or 13, I read Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Tagore, Jane Austen and Dickens that were not targetted at children but I read them," said Nandana, in a candid chat with mid-day, earlier.

Nandana made her debut as Rani Mukerji's younger sister in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black. Some of the other movies she has worked in include Tango Charlie (In picture: Stills from Tango Charlie), My Wife's Murder, Prince and Strangers.

That's Nandana (to the right) with her poet grandmother Radharani Debi and Antara Dev Sen (to the left). This photo was shot when Nandana was 13.

Nandana Sen's first poem was published when she was a child. It appeared in the magazine Sandesh, that was selected by Satyajit Ray. 

In picture: Nandana Sen with her elder sister Antara Dev Sen, who is a journalist.

When Nandana Sen moved to Mumbai to begin her career as an actress, everyone in her close circle's first reaction was - "What's a Literature major from Harvard doing in films?". Yes, Nandana Sen is a highly-qualified woman.

She studied literature at Harvard University and was awarded the Detur Prize in her first year for topping her class. She won the John Harvard Scholarship and the Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Award for Academic Achievement of the Highest Distinction.

Nandana has also studied Film Producing at the Peter Stark Producing Program at the USC Film School. She also went to the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, New York, as well as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London to train as an actor.

While she has done a handful of Bollywood films, did you know Nandana Sen has starred in a number of films in different continents and languages? 

Seducing Maarya (2000), Bokshu: the Myth (2002), The Miracle: A Silent Love Story (2004), The War Within (2005), The World Unseen (2007), Sharpe's Peril (2008), Kaler Rakhal (2009), Perfect Mismatch (2009), Autograph (2010) are a few of her non-Bollywood films.

Nandana Sen went bold on the screen to play renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma's muse in the film Rang Rasiya, co-starring Randeep Hooda.

Talking about the steamy scenes in Rang Rasiya that raised eyebrows, she said, "Film is by nature a bold and transformative medium – bold because it holds up a mirror for us to see ourselves in, and transformative because it has the power to change the way we see the world. So why not use it boldly? I have never been the one to hem and haw. If you want to show something – whether it's a moment of romantic intimacy, or political hypocrisy – then just show it. Don't apologise."

On the personal front, Nandana Sen dated film producer Madhu Mantena. However, the couple parted ways after a few years. Sen went on to marry John Makinson, Chairman of Penguin Random House, in 2013. John is 13 years older to Nandana.

In 2018, Sen, who passionately worked in the area of child protection for many years, and being an ambassador and advocate for organisations such as UNICEF, NCPCR and others, adopted a four-year-old girl - Meghla Devsen Makinson.

You would be surprised to know that Nandana Sen wanted to adopt a child as early as when she was a teenager. Her sister too adopted a daughter - her niece Hiya.

Meanwhile, Nandana continues her fight against child abuse by continuing to be the ambassador of a number of child rights organisations in India and New York.

Here's wishing a very happy birthday to Nandana!