Shahana Goswami
Shahana Goswami is an Indian actress. She became known for her supporting role in the musical drama film Rock On!!, which won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Firaaq. She subsequently featured in films such as Heroine and Midnight's Children as well as the series A Suitable Boy. Goswami has since taken on lead roles in the independent films Zwigato and Santosh, the latter of which earned her the Asian Film Award for Best Actress.
Early life and education
Shahana Goswami was born on 6 May 1986 in New Delhi, India. She is the daughter of Indian economist and writer Omkar Goswami.She did her schooling at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi, followed by Sophia College in Mumbai. She excelled at many sports while at school, including artificial wall climbing, athletics, badminton, basketball, and volleyball. She was appointed house captain.
Goswami trained in dance under Padmashri Kiran Segal in Odissi for 10 years, touring and performing with her dance troupe. She had wanted to be an actress as a young girl, and moved to Mumbai to complete her dance training as well as looking into the possibilities of acting as a career.
Career
Goswami started working in theatre with Jaimini Pathak's group, called Working Title, as a production assistant. She then performed on stage in their productions of The Seagull and Arabian Nights.Through her theatre circle, she met talent consultant Shaanu Sharma, who asked her to audition for a role in Naseeruddin Shah's directorial debut Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota, which was released in 2006. Subsequently, she stumbled upon the small role of Boman Irani's daughter in Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., when she visited the production house for some other work.
A cinematographer who had noticed her work in Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota recommended her and she auditioned for the lead role in Percept Picture Company's Ru Ba Ru, directed by Arjun Bali, with Randeep Hooda as her co-star. This was while she was still in college completing her studies.
Her friends Shaanu Sharma and Simran, who were in the middle of casting for Rock On!! at that time, suggested her name to the director, Abhishek Kapoor. She auditioned for the film and got her big break in the role of Debbie. After the film's release in 2008, her performance earned her the Filmfare Best Actress award.
She then appeared in the music video for Dido's Let's Do the Things We Normally Do as a taxi driver in Mumbai. The video was shot by Siddharth Sikand.
She also appeared in the films Firaaq, Jashnn, Mirch, Break Ke Baad, and Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. In 2011 she starred in the action thriller Game and the superhero film, Ra.One.
Goswami's first international project was Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children, an adaptation of Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel. She played the female lead in Vara: A Blessing directed by Khyentse Norbu, which was shot in Sri Lanka. She received the Asian Award for best actress for her performance in the film.
In 2016, she reprised her role as Debbie in Rock On II, and later that year appeared in her first Bengali film, Under Construction.
In 2016, she was cast in one of the lead roles in Tu Hai Mera Sunday, which received positive review from the critics upon its release in 2017. An on-screen kiss with co-star Barun Sobti led to headlines in the media.
Goswami appeared in the 2020 Netflix series Bombay Begums directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, starring Pooja Bhatt, Amruta Subhash, Plabita Borthakur, and Aadhya Anand.
She starred in Zwigato directed by Nandita Das. Set in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, it featured Kapil Sharma as a food delivery rider and Goswami as his wife. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.
In 2024, Goswami appeared in a leading role as Sridevi in the Australian TV drama series Four Years Later on SBS Television