Nandita Das wears many hats and her fiery passion for making a difference is evident in the choices she has made, both professionally and personally. She has acted in over 40 feature films in 10 Indian languages, and in several professional plays. She directed her debut feature, Firaaq, in 2008 that won her much appreciation and accolades in India and abroad. After her Masters in Social Work, she continues to advocate issues of social justice and human rights.
'Between The Lines' marked her debut as a playwright and theater director. She writes a monthly column called the Last Word, for a national weekly. She was the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society, India, where she made many big and small changes to revamp the organization.She was on the jury of Cannes Film Festival twice (2005 and 2013). The French Government conferred her with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l`Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), their prestigious civilian award. In 2011, Nandita Das became the first Indian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Women's Forum.
Nandita is a Yale World Fellow 2014, among 16 other emerging global leaders who were chosen from close to 4000 applicants. The mission of the fellowship is to cultivate and empower a network of globally engaged leaders committed to positive change through dialogue and action.