Occupation Actress Role Film actress Years active 1956–present Spouse Dhruv Seth | Children Divya Seth Name Sushma Seth | |
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Education Convent of Jesus and Mary, Delhi, Lady Irwin College, Briarcliff College, Carnegie Mellon University Nominations Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress Movies and TV shows Similar People Divya Seth, Saeed Jaffrey, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Reema Lagoo, Dalip Tahil | ||
Sushma Seth | Full Interview | Dream Treaders | Bollywood Mother
Sushma Seth (born 20 June 1936) is an Indian stage, film and television actress. She started her career in the 1950s, and was a founder member of the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik. Her first movie was Junoon in 1978. She is known for playing the mother and the grandmother in movies and television, and is best remembered for her role of Dadi in the pioneering TV soap Hum Log (1984–1985). She has worked with famous directors like Dev Raj Ankur, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Manish Joshi Bismil, Chander Shekhar Sharma.
Contents
- Sushma Seth Full Interview Dream Treaders Bollywood Mother
- Indian actress sushma seth speaks to young indian filmmakers
- Early and personal life
- Career
- Filmography
- Television
- References
Indian actress sushma seth speaks to young indian filmmakers
Early and personal life
Brought up in Delhi, she is the elder sister of renowned Manipuri dancer Charu Sija Mathur, the wife of Padma Shri awardee Rajkumar Singhajit Singh. She completed her schooling from Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi. Thereafter she did a teachers training diploma in home science, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, Associate in Science diploma, Briarcliff College, New York, USA and later Bachelor of Fine Arts, from Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, USA.
Sushma Seth and her husband, businessman Dhruv Seth, have had three children. Among them is actress Divya Seth, who acted alongside her mother in Hum Log.
Career
Seth started her career on stage in the 1950s. With Joy Michael, Rati Bartholomew, Roshan Seth and others, she was one of the founders of the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik in 1964. In addition to acting, she has directed many plays. In the 1970s, she founded and ran the Children's Creative Theatre, an ensemble that put up plays and conducted workshops for children.
She made her big screen debut with Shyam Benegal's 1978 period film Junoon, in which she played Shashi Kapoor's aunt. She has starred in some of the biggest hits in the Indian industry including Silsila,Prem Rog, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Chandni, Deewana, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho. She also appeared in the legendary Punjabi film Chann Pardesi (1980).
She received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in the 1985 B R Chopra film Tawaif. She has played the mother and grandmother of many Bollywood stars including Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor and Preity Zinta.
Apart from acting in Bollywood films, she has also appeared in TV series like the sitcom Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993), directed by Anand Mahendroo, where she played the matriarch of the Divan family. She has also worked with eminent theatre directors like Ram Gopal Bajaj and Manish Joshi Bismil. Her most memorable role, however, remains for the TV soap Hum Log, telecast in the early 80s on Doordarshan, in which she played Daadi (the grandmother). Seth was so popular that her character, who was shown suffering from throat cancer, had to be extended on viewer's demand.
Since the early 2000s, Seth has been working with an NGO called Arpana, directing plays and dance dramas. She has even written a play called Sitaron Ke Paas inspired by the life of astronaut Kalpana Chawla.