Sudipto Sen

Sen started as a film director and is known for his work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. He has directed various films such as Lucknow Times, The Last Monk, The Kerala Story and the Bastar: The Naxal Story. Sudipto has begun his career with directing documentaries in the late 1990’s  His early works were the documentary The Other Wealth released in 1997.  He had described his experience as an experimental short documentary.  Around that period, he had also produced numerous development-focused films and had collaborated with the institutions like the World Bank.  

The National Film Award winner had made his debut with The Last Monk in 2006 which was screened at the International Film Festivals like Cannes, Rotterdam, Raindance and in Singapore. Following which Sudipto had directed Akhnoor in 2009 an Indo French co produced for which he had received awards at the Golden Gate Film Festival in Brussels and in San Francisco.

His works also included the Gurujana in 2022, a biographical film on an Assamese philosopher Srimanta Sankardeva which is with the back drop of the 15th century. The film was officially selected for the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India called the IFFI. 

In 2023, Sudipto Sen directed The Kerala Story, a movie based on the alleged cases of religious conversion and terrorism in the state of Kerala. It generated widespread debate and went on to be a very successful film grossing over 242 crores in India and thus making the film one of the highest grossing Hindi films of 2023. 

In 2024, Sudipto directed Bastar: The Naxal Story which was released with the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh. The film had received attention from mass public as the film depicted the internal conflicted in India. 

The most recent that he is in news is Sudipto Sen has won the 71st National Award for the Best Director for his movie, The Kerala Story. The Award ceremony was received at the hands of the President of India in New Delhi on September 2025. The award thus recognized Sen’s significant contribution in the film industry. Though the film initially after its release had raised controversies, it had derived commercial success. It had disputed debate across India for its portrayal of the assumed radicalization of Hindu Women.

The film was a box office success despite the widespread controversies and claims that were factual inaccuracies.

Sen was super excited and called his award ‘a double whammy’ as he had already earlier received the award with the audience accepting the film and it did well at the box office and was also streaming on OTT. The spotlight of the National Award was its recognition despite the divided opinions surrounding it.