Riya Sen, once a renowned Bollywood actress, faced a setback in her career after a controversial video led to her exit from the industry. Despite staying active in Bengali films, she couldn’t replicate her earlier success.
Beginning her journey in showbiz during childhood, Riya achieved fame on the big screen as an adult. Despite being part of several hit films, a significant incident caused a downturn in her career, prompting her to step away from Bollywood. However, she continued working on films in languages such as Bengali, Telugu, and Tamil.
At 42, Riya Sen maintains her beauty and fitness, defying age expectations. Her recognition as a model came through Falguni Pathak’s 1998 music video ‘Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi’ when she was just 17. Subsequently, she ventured into films, music videos, and fashion shows.
Hailing from a royal background, Riya’s father, Bharat Dev Varma, belonged to the royal family of Tripura, with familial ties to Cooch Behar and Jaipur. Her mother, Moon Moon Sen, and grandmother, Suchitra Sen, were esteemed veteran actresses.
Riya’s acting career commenced at the age of five in the film ‘Vishkanya‘ (1991), where she played her mother’s daughter on screen. Her breakthrough came with the commercial success of ‘Style‘ in 2001. Noteworthy films in her career include ‘Jhankaar Beats (2003) and the Malayalam horror film ‘Ananthabhadram’ (2005).
During her career peak, Riya’s personal life made headlines with alleged relationships with Akshay Khanna, Salman Rushdie, and former cricketer Sreesanth. However, it was in 2005 that a controversy surrounding an alleged affair with actor Ashmit Patel emerged. An MMS of the two was leaked, leading to significant controversies. While some accused Riya of orchestrating the leak for attention, both she and Ashmit denied its authenticity.
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Despite the MMS being declared fake, Riya’s career took a hit, forcing her to distance herself from Bollywood. Over the years, she ventured into other film industries and appeared in web series from 2016 to 2019, including ‘Alisha’, ‘Ragini MMS: Return‘, ‘Poison’, and ‘Mismatch 2’, but failed to recreate her earlier success even in the realm of OTT platforms.