Sudipto Sen is an Indian film director known for his work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. He directed various films and short films as Lucknow Times, The Last Monk, The Kerala Story, and Bastar: The Naxal Story. Sen also established Sipping Tea Cinemas, which serves as the production banner for many of his films.
Sudipto Sen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Siliguri, West Bengal, India |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
Sen received the National Film Award for best direction for his film The Kerala Story.
Early life and education
Sudipto Sen was born in a Sen family in Siliguri, West Bengal. He has a bachelor's in physics and a master's in Applied Psychology from University of Calcutta.
Career
Early work
Sen began his career directing documentaries in the late 1990s. His early work includes The Other Wealth (1997), described as an experimental short documentary. During this period, he also produced several development-focused films, reportedly collaborating with institutions like the World Bank.[citation needed]
Feature films
Sen made his feature film debut with The Last Monk (2006), which was screened at international festivals such as Cannes, Rotterdam, Raindance, and Singapore. This was followed by Akhnoor (2009), an Indo-French co-production that received awards at the Golden Gate Film Festival, Brussels, and San Francisco.
His later feature works include Gurujana (2022), a biographical film on 15th-century Assamese philosopher Srimanta Sankardeva, which was officially selected for the Indian Panorama section at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Recent work and impact
In 2023, Sen directed The Kerala Story, a film based on alleged cases of religious conversion and terrorism. It generated widespread public debate and commercial success, reportedly grossing over ₹242 crore domestically—making it one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year. The film also received heavy criticism for its screenplay, cast performances, its failure to maintain factual accuracy and was characterised as an propaganda film.
In 2024, he released Bastar: The Naxal Story, which dealt with the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh and received attention for its depiction of internal conflict in India. Yet, the film received negative reviews and turned out to be a box office bomb.
Filmography
As Director
| Year | Title | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Last Monk | |
| 2011 | Amrit Kumbh | |
| 2015 | Lucknow Times | |
| 2022 | Gurujana | |
| 2023 | The Kerala Story | |
| 2024 | Bastar: The Naxal Story | |
| TBA | Saharasri |
As Producer
| Year | Title | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Charak: Fair of Faith |
Projects in development
- Chandni Bar
- Basera
As jury member
- International Art Culture and Cinema Festival (IACCF) 2021
- IFFI 2022
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | National Film Award | Best Director | The Kerala Story | Won |