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Meet actor who belongs to affluent family, worked in notable movies but disappeared from Bollywood after MMS controversy and is now a certified Yoga teacher
Let’s take a look at an actress’ career graph who rose to fame with notable films but took a hiatus from Bollywood after a MMS controversy and is now a certified Yoga Teacher.
The glitzy glamorous world has not left anyone devoid of being swayed away from its magic. Several stars from Royal families have forayed into the industry and tried their luck. Here we’re also talking about one such actress who belonged to an affluent family background and worked in notable films only but one controversy led to her downfall.
We’re talking about none other than Riya Sen, the daughter of veteran actress Moon Moon Dutta and Bharat Dev Varma. She is also the granddaughter of late actress Suchitra Sen. You might be surprised to know that the actress’ father hails from the royal family of Tripura.
She made her debut in Bollywood as a child artist in 1991 with Vishkanya. Nearly 8 years later, she then made her big debut as a lead in 1999 with Taj Mahal followed by the 2001 release, Style which also turned out to be a claim to fame. After this, there was no looking back for her as she worked in movies like Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Qayamat, and Jhankaar Beats over the next couple of years.
Apart from acting, she has several iconic music videos to her credit, including Falguni Pathak's Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi. This was followed by Asha Bhosle's Jhumka Gira Re, Jagjit Singh and Bhosle's Jab Samne Tum and Kahin Kahin Se, Sonu Nigam's Jeena Hai Tere Liye among others.
She has been a face for numerous leading magazines, walked the ramp in fashion shows, and did commercials for leading brands.
Riya Sen’s professional front was going pretty well until it hit a rough patch, miring herself into a controversy. In 2005, an obscene video of Riya and her then-boyfriend, actor Ashmit Patel, was leaked on the internet. The MMS video caused a huge ruckus, forcing them to seek a legal route. The actors eventually broke up, and Riya even accused Ashmit of leaking the video himself. The case was later settled.
The controversy brought her unwanted negative publicity. Though she appeared in movies later, she couldn’t touch her career heights later. Despite featuring in several multi-starrer films like Apna Sapna Money and Love Khichdi, Riya took a hiatus from Bollywood.
In an interview with PTI in 2020, reflecting on her decision, the actress revealed that “looking glamorous” became increasingly tough to handle. She stated she was very young when she entered Bollywood. She recalled while she would watch herself doing such roles "wearing a mini skirt, running around and acting ‘cute’" she wouldn’t like it.
“I found myself very uneasy, very uncomfortable. It wasn’t me. I couldn’t go on set every day, get my hair curled for hours and sit with all that make-up. It just didn’t do it for me. I took a conscious decision to stop working in Bollywood movies at that time,” she had said further adding what was a loss for Bollywood, turned out to be a gain for Bengali cinema.
The actress got married to Shivam Tewari in August 2017, in a private Bengali Hindu ceremony. Additionally, she is now a certified Yoga Teacher. The actress shared the update on the same on her social media. "Proud to be a Certified Yoga Teacher embracing the journey with mindfulness and bliss," a post was captioned shared in November 2023.
Apart from Hindi movies, Riya Sen worked in regional cinema like Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. She was last seen in Bekaaboo Season 3 on ALTT Balaji.
