Riya was first recognised as a model when she performed in Falguni Pathak's music video Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi at the age of sixteen. Since then, she has appeared in music videos, television commercials, fashion shows, and on magazine covers. She has been a heartthrob sensation throughout India and is known for her gorgeous smile. Riya has worked as an activist and appeared in an AIDS awareness music video with the aim of dispelling popular myths about the disease. She also helped raise funds for pediatric eye-care. Riya has faced controversies such as a MMS clip with actor Ashmit Patel, her semi-nude photograph on photographer Dabboo Ratnani's annual calendar and her on-screen kisses in a conservative Indian film industry.
Contents
* 1 Acting career
o 1.1 Non-Hindi films
* 2 Modeling career
* 3 Personal life and family
o 3.1 Public persona
* 4 Filmography
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links
Acting career
Riya first appeared as a child artist in the film Vishkanya in 1991, where she played the role of the young Pooja Bedi. At the age of 18, she did National Film Awards winning director Bharathiraja's Tamil film, Taj Mahal 2000 which did not achieve commercial success. was scheduled to make her Bollywood film debut in Love You Hamesha, opposite actor Akshaye Khanna; however, the film was stalled, and she finally made her debut in N. Chandra's Style in 2001This low-budget sex comedy was the first commercial success in over a decade for the director. A launch pad for Riya, cast in the female lead along with fellow-newcomers, Sharman Joshi, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal, the film pioneered a trend of commercial success for small budget films in India Riya and the second female lead of the film were replaced by aspirant actresses Sunali Joshi and Jaya Seal in Xc'
Her next success was Jhankaar Beats, a comedy revolving around the music of legendary composer R D Burman, which saw her playing a small and glamorous role alongside Shayan Munshi, Juhi Chawla, Rahul Bose, Rinke Khanna and Sanjay Suri. Produced by Pritish Nandy, publishing director of The Times of India the film was made on a budget of Rs. 25 million US 525,000 the sixth in a row of small to medium budget films made by Pritish Nandy Communications PNCDespite being part of a wave of offbeat films that mostly failed to make an impact at the box officeit drew public attention upon its release, which led to a commercial success among a restricted audience targeted by a selective release in twenty cities. It was one of the first films made in Hinglish, a mixture of Hindi and English. In 2005, she starred in Shaadi No. 1, which had no female lead. comedy, based on the theme of modern marriage, was directed by David Dhawan, a renowned film director from this genre.
Although films like Style and Jhankar Beats succeeded commercially, most of her later films have generated less A number of them remained unfinished. While many of her appearances have been item numbers and cameos, few of her leading roles have been in low-budget films. Though she had small roles in Dil Vil Pyar Vyar 2002 2003 and Plan 2004 was drawn to her item numbers in all three, especially the one in Qayamat that featured her in a bubble-bath. Besides this, she performed another item number in James on director-producer Ram Gopal Varma's behest, who has a history of casting aspirant actress-models like Sameera Reddy, Isha Koppikar and Koena Mitra in similar roles., she took part in a dance number for Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy 2007 that featured several mainstream Bollywood actresses.
-Hindi films
With its and critical Ananthabhadram was a high watermark in Riya's career
Riya has, in addition to Bollywood films, appeared in Bengali, Tamil,Telugu, Malayalam and English films. Her film career began in the earnest with Tamil films such as Bharathi Raja's Taj Mahal, co-starring Manjoj Bharatiraja in the male lead, and Manoj Bhatnaghar's Good Luck, oppsite Prasanth. Both of the films failed commercially, and she had a brief reappearance in Tamil cinema only to perform in a dance number for N. Maharajan's Arasatchi. dead link
Her first English language movie was It Was Raining That Night, a remake of the Bengali film Hei Brishtir Raat, scripted by Sudeshna Roy and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. In the film, she collaborated with mother Moon Moon Sen. was slated to appear in Anjan Dutta's Bengali-English bilingual film The Bong Connection with her sister, but she was eventually dropped from the project and replaced by Peeya Rai Chaudhary. two sisters were later cast together in director Ajai Sinha's The Bachelor, a Bengali film that, as of 2008, is yet to be finished.
Her most successful non-Hindi film has been director Santhosh Sivan's Ananthabhadram 2005. The first Malayalam venture for both Riya and Sivan,was both a critical and commercial success. It won five Kerala State Film Awardsand surfaced as one of the biggest Malayalam successes that yearShe played the role of Bhama in the film, a village girl who is lured by Digambaran, the evil magician portrayed by Manoj K Jayan. In a song-and-dance sequence showing Digambaran turning Bhama into a medium for demonic rituals, the choreographer Aparna Sindoor made abundant use Kathakali movements. The use of Kathakali has been a high point in the resurgence of the classical dance form in other major Indian films as well including Shaji Karun's Vanaprastham 1999 and Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair made her Telugu Debut with Nenu Meeku Telusa...?, in which she was paired opposite Manoj Manchu.Modeling career
In the famous page of Dabboo Ratnani's calendar's 2004 edition.
Riya became a popular model when she appeared in numerous music videos for songs by popular singers, including Falguni Pathak's Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi (alternative title: Chudi Jo Khankayi), Asha Bhosle's Jhumka Gira Re, Jagjit Singh and Bhosle's Jab Samne Tum and Kahin Kahin Se, Lata Mangeshkar, Bhonsle and Singh's Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin, Sonu Nigam's Jeena Hai Tere Liye and Shaan's Sutta Maro. She shot for her first music video, Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi, at the age of sixteen. This led to her being identified primarily as a performer for music videos early in her career, image she aimed to shed in 2005. has appeared on several magazine covers, including Femina, Elaan, Man's World, Gladrags, Savvy and Indian versions of Elle, Maxim and Cosmopolitan, as well as on the ramp of major fashion shows like Lakmé Fashion Week 2005–07 Wills Fashion Week 2006–2007 She participated in fashion shows along with her elder sister, Raima Sen. Besides modeling, Riya has ventured into the advertisement world as well. A high point of her modeling career came in 2006, when she became the soft drink, Limca's brand ambassador, replacing Deepika Her other notable assignments include Colgate, Dabur Vatika, Reliance Industries, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, and Nirma.
In 2004, she was featured partially nude in leading Indian photographer Dabboo Ratnani's annual calendar, which is a major happening in the Indian glamor According to Daboo, "Her mother saw it much later, after the calendar released. She thought it was too sexy, and Riya shouldn't have done it. But the response to the photograph was superb. Riya was so thrilled that for her next ad campaign, she asked me to light her up like I did in this." A career highlight for the model, led to a three year contract with Ratnani to feature her on his annual calendar. is the only female face to be featured on the calendar in five consecutive years 2003–07 Personal life and family
Born on 24 January 1981 in Kolkata, West Bengal, Riya is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen, a former actress, and granddaughter of Suchitra Sen, a legend in Bengali cinema. moving to Mumbai, she lived in Kolkata with her parents and sister Raima Sen, also an actress. Her father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch Behar, whose younger sister Gayatri Devi was the Maharani of Jaipur. Her paternal grandmother Indira was the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda.[ Riya's maternal great-grandfather Adinath Sen was a prominent Kolkata businessman, whose father Dinanath Sen - a relative of former Union Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen- was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of sisters are credited on-screen under their mother's maiden name, although their official papers carry the surname Dev Varma.
Riya completed her schooling at Loreto House and Rani Birla College, both in Kolkata, she studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, she took up jewellery-designing as a hobby designs most of the clothes that she wears in films and commercials. is trained in Kathak and is still pursuing it under Vijayshree Chaudhury. is taking kickboxing lessons and has completed Level I of the 5 levels in belly dancing. entered the film industry through small-time modeling assignments, commuting between Mumbai and Kolkata and traveling by public transport during the her early career After breaking into the film industry, she shifted from her mother's house in Ballygunge Circular Road in south Kolkata to Mumbai. she moved into the family house in Juhu, where she stays with her sister. During her stay in Mumbai, the media romantically linked her to model and actor John Abraham. the Bollywood press, she was, in 2008, speculatively linked to the novelist Salman Rushdie, although both stated that they were simply good friends
Riya has suffered a number of untimely incidents. During the filming of Shaadi No. 1 in France, she was knocked unconscious after being accidentally run over by a stuntman's motorbike, but she was not seriously before the release of Silsiilay, in which she starred opposite her boyfriend Ashmit Patel, a 90-second video clip was circulated through Multimedia Messaging Services and the internet, showing the pair in compromising This was one of a number of controversies that erupted when celebrities were caught in similar situations using cameraphones Following this incident, the couple split up, although Riya denied that she was the girl in the MMS clip. commentator claimed that the footage was an orchestrated publicity stunt In Public persona
Riya's on-screen performances have established her as a sex symbol and youth icon in India. entering the film industry, she has gained attention for wearing a bikini in Shaadi No. sharing on-screen kisses with co-stars Ashmit Patel in Silsiilay and Sharman Joshi in Style, respectively. Such performances garnered attention because of the relatively conservative outlook of Indian cinema and her own statements about such becoming a film identity, she had a reputation for partying, which started at the age of fifteen.'s public persona is compared to her mother Moon Moon, who was seen as a sex symbol of her her sister Raima is mostly compared their grandmother Suchitra.
Although her film career has yet to achieve large-scale success, Riya has generated considerable media attention. She was ranked ninth on Femina 50 Most Beautiful Women, published in the magazine's September 2007 issue. She was a jury member for the 2008 Final of the Mr. India contest. with Bollywood actors such as Waheeda Rehman, Shilpa Shetty, Dia Mirza, Raveena Tandon, Jackie Shroff, Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu and Lara Dutta, Riya appeared in Haath Se Haath Mila, an HIV/AIDS awareness music She made charity appearances at McDonald's India to raise money for paediatric eye-care during World Children's Weekb 14–20 November in 2003. Filmography
Year Film Director Role Co-artists Language Other notes
1991 Vishkanya Jag Mundhra Young Nishi Pooja Bedi, Kabir Bedi, Moon Moon Sen Hindi As a child artist
1999 Taj Mahal Bharathi Raja Machakanni Manoj Bharatiraaja Tamil
Good Luck Manoj Bhatnaghar Priya Prashanth, Raghuvaran, Sukanya Tamil
2001 Style N. Chandra Sheena Sharman Joshi, Sahil Khan, Shilpi Mudgal, Tara Deshpande Hindi
2002 Dil Vil Pyar Vyar Anant Mahadevan Gaurav's girlfriend R. Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Namrata Shirodkar, Jimmy Shergill, Sonali Kulkarni, Hrishitaa Bhatt Hindi Cameo appearance
2003 Saazish Rajat Rawail – Milind Soman, Aryan Vaid, Reshmi Ghosh, Usha Bachani, Suhas Khandke, Rajpal Yadav Hindi
Qayamat: City Under Threat Harry Baweja Sheetal Ajay Devgan, Sunil Shetty, Sanjay Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan, Isha Koppikar, Neha Dhupia Hindi
Jhankaar Beats Sujoy Ghosh Preeti Sanjay Suri, Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla, Shayan Munshi, Rinke Khanna Hinglish The language of the film was a mix of Hindi and English
2004 Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa Atul Agnihotri Kamini Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Bhoomika Chawla, Helen, Rati Agnihotri, Renuka Shahane Hindi Cameo appearance
Plan Hriday Shetty Shalini Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay Suri, Dino Morea, Priyanka Chopra, Sameera Reddy Hindi Item number
Arasatchi N. Maharajan Iruvathu Vaisu Arjun Sarja, Lara Dutta, Raghuvaran, Vivek, Lakshmi Tamil Item number
2005 Ananthabhadram Santhosh Sivan Bhama Kavya Madhavan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manoj K Jayan, Kalabhavan Mani, Biju Menon, Revathi Malayalam
Shaadi No. 1 David Dhawan Madhuri Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Esha Deol, Soha Ali Khan, Ayesha Takia Hindi
Tum... Ho Na! N.S. Raj Bharath Reema Preeti Ganguly, Sumit Nijhawan, Nethra Raghuraman, Jackie Shroff Hindi
James Rohit Jugraj – Mohit Ahlawat, Mohan Agashe, Snehal Dabi, Nisha Kothari Hindi Item number
Silsiilay Khalid Mohammed Anushka Tabu, Bhoomika Chawla, Jimmy Shergill, Rahul Bose, Celina Jaitley, Ashmit Patel, Divya Dutta Hindi
It Was Raining That Night Mahesh Manjrekar – Riyaz Ahmed, Victor Banerjee, Mahesh Manjrekar, Dawn Moeller, Moon Moon Sen, Sushmita Sen English
2006 Apna Sapna Money Money Sangeeth Sivan Shivani Ritesh Deshmukh, Celina Jaitley, Anupam Kher, Koena Mitra, Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff Hindi
The Bachelor Ajay Sinha Nisha Sharman Joshi, Raima Sen, Manoj Pahwa, Himani Shivpuri, Manish Nagpal Hindi Unfinished
Rokda Ramesh Kotar – Arshad Warsi, Ashmit Patel, Aashish Chaudhary, Shamita Shetty, Tanushree Dutta Hindi Unfinished
Love You Hamesha Kailash Surendranath Meghna Rishma Malik, Sonali Bendre, Akshaye Khanna, Nirupa Roy Hindi Originally scheduled for release in 1999, credited as Rhea Dev Varma
2007 Heyy Baby Sajid Khan Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan Hindi Item number
2008 Nenu Meeku Telusa...? Ajay Shastri Madhu Manoj Manchu, Sneha Ullal Telugu Dubbed into Tamil.
Heroes Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Sohail Khan Hindi
Zor Lagaa Ke... Hayya Girish Girija Joshi Mithun Chakraborty, Mahesh Manjrekar, Seema Biswas, Gulshan Grover Hindi Unfinished
Love Khichdi Srinivas Bhashyam Randeep Hooda, Rituparna Sengupta, Divya Dutta, Rakhi Sawant Hindi Announced
2009 Paying Guests Paritosh Painter Avni G. Asrani, Sayali Bhagat, Aashish Chaudhary, Neha Dhupia, Javed Jaffrey, Celina Jaitley, Viju Khote, Inder Kumar, Johnny Lever, Paintal, Chunky Pandey, Delnaaz Paul, Vatsal Seth, Shreyas Talpade Hindi
2010 Benny and Babloo Yunus Sajawal Riya Kay Kay Menon, Rajpal Yadav, Shweta Tiwari Hindi
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