Paoli Dam

Paoli Dam (born 1980) is an Indian actress who started her career with the Bengali television serial Jibon Niye Khela. She then worked in Bengali television serials such as Tithir Atithi and Sonar Harin; the former ran for six years on ETV Bangla. Dam spent her childhood in Kolkata, earning a postgraduate degree in chemistry from Rajabazar Science College. Initially, she wanted to become a chemical researcher or a pilot. Her debut Bengali film—Teen Yaari Katha, directed by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha—began in 2004, but was not released until 2012. Dam's first film release was Agnipariksha, directed by Ravi Kinagi. Between 2006 and 2009, she appeared in five Bengali films, coming into prominence with the 2009 Kaalbela, directed by Goutam Ghose.

In 2011, she received international recognition for her role in the Bengali film Chatrak. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and also at film festivals in Toronto and the U.K. In 2012, Dam made her Bollywood debut in Hate Story and also appeared in Vikram Bhatt's Ankur Arora Murder Case, directed by Sohail Tatari. She won the Viewers' Choice Award for Best Actress for her performance in Natoker Moto at the Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival in 2016.

Early life and education Dam was born in Kolkata, West Bengal to a Bengali family, which is originally from Faridpur (now in Bangladesh). Her father and mother are Amol and Papiya Dam respectively. She also has a brother, Mainak.

Dam attended Loreto School in Bowbazar, before passing her Higher Secondary Examination. She was a good student, winning scholarships. She earned a postgraduate degree in chemistry from the Rajabazar Science College Campus of the University of Calcutta.

She learnt classical dance and was also interested in theater from an early age, but she never aspired to become an actor.

Career Television career Dam began her acting career in Bengali television serials. In 2003, she appeared in Jibon Niye Khela, for Zee Bangla and later in the ETV Bangla serial Tithir Atithi, directed by Jishu Dasgupta; the latter ran for six years.

Bengali film career

2006–2008 Dam's debut Bengali film Teen Yaari Katha, (directed by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha), began in 2004, but was not released until 2012. Her first film release was Agnipariksha (2006). The film was directed by Ravi Kinagi and produced by Debendra Kuchar; Dam played a supporting role. The actress next appeared in Tulkalam (2007), directed by Haranath Chakraborty and produced by Pijush Saha. Mithun Chakraborty and Rachana Banerjee played the lead male and female characters, respectively. Dam's third Bengali film release was I Love You, in which she had a supporting role as the heroine's friend. In 2008 the actress appeared in the Bengali film Hochheta Ki, a comedy of errors directed by Basu Chatterjee, in which Dam played a Bengali housewife.

2009–2011 In 2009 Dam appeared in seven Bengali films, and came into focus with the success of Kaalbela (directed by Goutam Ghose). Based on a Bengali novel by Samaresh Majumdar, the film's background was the Naxalite movement of the 1980s. Dam played Madhabilata, the girlfriend of a young Naxalite leader, and her performance was praised. In its review, The Times of India found Dam making "sincere efforts in portraying the role of Kamli". The actress later said in an interview that she learned a great deal from working with Ghose. The actress played Paoli, a Bengali girl, and the film triggered controversy in India when an explicit unsimulated no-body-double sex scene with Dam and Anubrata Basu was leaked on the Internet. Elar Char Adhyay was based on Rabindranath Tagore's literary work Char Adhyay, and was set in British Raj India during the 1940s. Dam played Ela, teacher of a group fighting for Indian independence. Her acting was praised; The Indian Express found Dam's characterization of Ela "wonderful" and The Times of India wrote: "Those who thought Paoli's "Hate Story" outing was all about being bold will be pleasantly surprised by her sheer maturity in reinterpreting boldness in the context of an era long left behind". In Teen Yaari Katha, the actress played a supporting role.

Dam also appeared in Mainak Bhaumik's Family Album. The film, also starring Swastika Mukherjee, deals with an MMS scandal.

In 2014, Dam acted in Chaya Manush. In the film, directed by Arindam De, she played Trisha, a journalist. Later that year, Dam acted in Obhishopto Nighty (cursed nighty), directed by Birsa Dasgupta. Dam played the character of Miss Monica, a Bengali bar singer of the 1980s in the comedy-romantic film. Dam said that she was initially reluctant to accept the role, but later realised that it was a "love story". Her next releases were the drama film Sada Canvas and the romantic comedy Hercules, directed by Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy. Dam described her character in Hercules, Minu, as "practical, grounded and not driven by emotions". Her first 2015 release was Anjan Das' Ajana Batash, in which she played Deepa, who works in an ad agency in Kolkata, "lost in depression amongst all the affluence".

Dam's upcoming films include Debesh Chattopadhyay's Natoker Moto - Like a Play which, according to Dam, was a "fictional biopic of a famous actress of the Bengali stage during the 1970s", and Swarup Ghosh's rom-com Tobuo Aparichito.

Bollywood career

In 2012, Dam made her Bollywood debut in Hate Story, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Vikram Bhatt. The film had female protagonists; Dam played Kavyah Krishna, a sex worker. In the film, she and her friend Vicky pull off a caper against one of India's biggest business tycoons.

Dam's performance in this film received a lukewarm response. The Times of India in its review:

After Hate Story, Dam appeared in Vikram Bhatt's next film Ankur Arora Murder Case. The film, directed by Sohail Tatari, is based on the true story of a young boy who died in an operating room due to medical negligence. Dam plays a lawyer fighting for justice. In an interview, she described her role: "It's something very real and close to life and it's a de-glamourised role. It's something that I really enjoyed playing". After attending a special screening of the film in Mumbai, Indian film critic and journalist Taran Adarsh called Dam and said that she should work more in Bollywood.

Dam performed an item number in the 2014 comedy-horror film Gang of Ghosts, directed by Satish Kaushik.

Dam is scheduled to appear in the Hindi film Yaara Silly Silly, directed by Subhash Sehgal.

Other films In 2012, Dam began working on the Konkani film Baga Beach, directed by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar. The actress said in an interview: "I like working in different kinds of films. I met Laxmikant Shetgaonkar at the Cannes film festival in 2011 and later heard his script for Baga Beach and liked it. I thought it would be a very unique experience working in a Konkani film. And I thought 15 to 20 days of commitment to a film is not much to give". In 2017, she made her Bangladeshi with Hashibur Reza Kallol's tragic romance Swatta, in which she played a prostitute co-starring with Shakib Khan. The film won numerous accolades including five National Film Awards in several categories including Khan's fourth Best Actor award at the 42 National Film Awards, six Bachsas Awards and two Meril-Prothom Alo Awards.

Filmography +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released Year Film Director Roles(s) Language Note 2006 Agnipariksha Rabi Kinagi Pooja Bengali 2007 TulkalamHaranath Chakraborty I Love YouRabi Kinagi Borsha (Pooja's friend) 2008 Aamar Pratigya Swapan Saha Anjali Ray Hochchheta ki Basu Chatterjee Priya 2009 KaalbelaGautam Ghosh Madhabilata Jamai Raja Swapan Saha Box No. 1313 Aniruddha Bhattacharya Mallick Bari Anirban Chakraborty, P. J. Joseph Purnima Shob Charitro Kalponik Rituparno Ghosh Kajori Roy TinmurtiRaja Sen Debolina 2010 Thana Theke Aschi Saran Dutta Sandhya Mondol Tara Bratya Basu Madhuja Takhan Teish Atanu Ghosh Mohini Mati O Manush Kagojer BouBappaditya Bandyopadhyay Preiti Hurumtaal Twinkle Banshiwala Anjan Das Nipa Bangla Banchao Anup Sengupta Moner ManushGautam Ghose Komli2011 Ajob Prem Ebong... Arindam Dey Moyna Someday Somewhere... Jete Pari Chole Sanghamitra Chowdhury Ruu ChatrakVimukthi Jayasundara Paoli Bangla BachaoAnup SenguptaMandira2012 Bedroom Mainak Bhaumik Priyanka Teen Yaari Katha Sudeshna Roy, Abhijit Guha Hate Story Vivek Agnihotri Kavyah Krishnan Hindi Elar Char Adhyay Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay Ela Bengali 2013 Hoi Choi Debarati Gupta Piyal Sweetheart Arup Bhanja Mimi Promotion Snhasish Chakraborty Shuja Ankur Arora Murder Case Suhail Tatari Kajori Sen Hindi Family Album Mainak Bhaumik Bengali Baga Beach Laxmikant Shetgaonkar Sobha Konkani 2014 Chaya Manush Arindam Mamdo De Trisha Bengali Obhishopto Nighty Birsa Dasgupta Miss Monica Gang of Ghosts Satish Kaushik item girl Hindi Sada Canvas Subrata Sen Rupa Bengali Hercules Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha Minu Parapaar Sanjoy Nag Urmila 2015 Ajana Batas Anjan Das Deepa Tobuo Aparichito Swarup Ghosh Akansha Auroni Taukhon Saurav Chakraborty Auroni Natoker Moto Debesh Chattopadhyay Kheya Yaara Silly Silly Subhash Sehgal Mallika a.k.a. Devanshi S Roy Hindi 2016 ZulfiqarSrijit MukherjeeKarishma AhmedBengaliKhawtoKamaleshwar MukherjeeDamayanti Chakraborty/Antara2017 Swatta Hashibur Reza Kallol Shikha Bangladeshi film Maacher JholPratim D. GuptaSreelaDeviRick BasuDevi2018Maati Saibal Banerjee &

Television

Web series

Playback singer Year Film Music director Notes 2009 KaalbelaGoutam Ghose