Nandita Das is an actor and director, one of the leading figures in the Indian film industry. She has acted in more than 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das has been acclaimed for numerous performances, including in Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Azhagi (2002), Kamli (2006), and Before The Rains (2007). Her directorial debut was with Firaaq (2008), which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, traveled to more than 50 festivals, and won more than 20 awards.