Nandita, Saumya remain friends

By: Upala KBR, Mid-Day
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Nandita Das has separated from her husband, adman Saumya Sen. The actress, who got married in December 2002, prefers to keep the matter private.

Talking to us from her home in Delhi, she says, "I separated from Saumya four months ago. But we remain good friends. As for the reasons for our separation, it's a personal matter and I would appreciate if the media respect our privacy."

When we try to prod her a little more to find out if this is a temporary separation or a permanent split, Nandita says, "I don't want to sensationalise the issue by talking about it. I do believe that one's life is about personal choices. I do not want to be drawn into it. I hope you will understand, empathise and respect my decision."

Workaholic

Point noted. So we move on to her professional work. Nandita has just completed four films: Santosh Sivan's Kerala - Road To The Sky, Chitra Palekar's Marathi film Maati Maaye, Suman Ghosh's Bengali Podokkhyep and KNT Shatri's Telegu film Kamli, and is looking forward to their release. She is also gearing up to direct her own film, the script she has already co-written by her. Nandita says, "I am deeply involved in my work. Not entirely in my film right now, because that's still in a very early stage, but the work that I do with my other hat on - that of social work."

The marriage

Saumya Sen, the creative director of the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, and Nandita Das were married at a simple, low-profile ceremony in New Delhi on December 22, 2002.

Sen was her long-time boyfriend. After a private ceremony, the couple held a reception for close friends and relatives at a friend's farmhouse in Delhi. Das is the daughter of noted painter Jatin Das and social activist Varsha Das.

Social work

In 2003, Nandita joined hands with the Delhi-based NGO the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in an attempt to inform people about how to harvest rainwater and create a water literacy movement. Nandita and Saumya Sen even directed 90-second public service advertisements to promote rainwater harvesting.

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