Tillotama Shome is an acclaimed Indian actress known for bringing honesty and depth to every character she plays. She was born on 25 June 1979 (47 years old) in Kolkata, West Bengal.
She is famous for her work in independent cinema, Hindi films, international productions, and streaming series. She made her acting debut as Alice in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001. The role brought her early recognition and opened the way for a wide range of film roles.
Tillotama’s best-known films include Shadows of Time, Qissa, A Death in the Gunj, Sir, and Lust Stories 2. She has also appeared in popular streaming shows such as Delhi Crime, The Night Manager, and Paatal Lok.
Shome has received several honours for her performances. She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for Sir and a Filmfare OTT Award for her role in Delhi Crime Season 2.
Quick Facts Tillotama Shome
| Full Name | Tillotama Shome |
| Profession | Actress and theatre artist |
| Age | 47 years old |
| Date of Birth | June 25, 1979 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Zodiac/Sun Sign | Cancer |
| Birthplace | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Current Address | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Gender | Female |
Tillotama Shome Education
Tillotama Shome was born in Kolkata, West Bengal, into a Bengali family. Her father served in the Indian Air Force, and his postings meant that the family lived in different parts of India while Tillotama was growing up. As a result, her childhood was spent across several places rather than in a single city.
Shome attended Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. During college, she joined Arvind Gaur’s Asmita theatre group and developed an interest in acting.
She received an Inlaks scholarship in 2004 and studied Educational Theatre at New York University. She completed a Master of Arts degree in the subject.
During her time in New York, she also used theatre while working with prisoners at a high-security facility.
| Alma Mater | Lady Shri Ram College and New York University |
| Highest Qualification | Master of Arts in Educational Theatre |
Tillotama Shome Personal Life
Tillotama Shome is married to entrepreneur Kunal Ross. They married in 2015. Kunal runs the coffee business, The Indian Bean. He is the son of Nita Bhaduri, who is Jaya Bachchan’s sister. This makes Kunal Jaya Bachchan’s nephew.
Parents
Tillotama’s father is Anupam Shome. He served in the Indian Air Force, and her mother is Baisakhi Shome.
Siblings
Tillotama has a brother, but his name and other details are still to be determined.
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Husband | Kunal Ross |
| Parents | Father: Anupam Shome Mother: Baisakhi Shome |
| Siblings | Brother: Yet to be updated |
Tillotama Shome Career
Tillotama Shome developed an interest in acting while studying at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi.
She joined Arvind Gaur’s Asmita theatre group and performed in stage productions before entering films.
Theatre gave her early training in voice, movement, and character work.
2001: Film Debut with Monsoon Wedding
Shome made her film debut in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding. She played Alice, a domestic worker who falls in love with wedding planner P. K. Dubey, played by Vijay Raaz.
The film’s main cast also included Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, Vasundhara Das, Randeep Hooda, and Rajat Kapoor. Her performance as Alice introduced her to Indian and overseas audiences.
2003–2008: Studies, Theatre Teaching, and International Films
After her debut, Shome worked in short films such as Butterfly and Long After.
In 2004, she played Deepa in Florian Gallenberger’s Bengali-language film Shadows of Time. Her main co-stars were Tannishtha Chatterjee, Prashant Narayanan, Irrfan Khan, and Soumitra Chatterjee.
During this period, she moved to New York to study educational theatre at New York University. Apart from studying, she taught theatre to prisoners at Rikers Island.
This work involved using theatre exercises and storytelling with inmates. She returned to India in 2008 and continued acting.
2009–2016: Independent and Multilingual Films
In 2009, Shome played Sister Tessila in the Australian film The Waiting City. The film starred Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton, Samrat Chakrabarti, and Isabel Lucas.
She later appeared as social worker Medha in Gangor and as Aruna Ahmedi in Dibakar Banerjee’s political thriller Shanghai. The main cast of Shanghai included Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Farooq Shaikh, and Supriya Pathak.
In 2013, she played Kanwar Singh in Anup Singh’s Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost. Her main co-stars were Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, and Rasika Dugal. The role required her to portray a girl raised by her father as a boy.
Her other films during this period included Aatma, Tasher Desh, The Letters, Sold, Children of War, Ludo, and the short film Nayantara’s Necklace.
In 2016, she played Sukanti in Budhia Singh: Born to Run, alongside Manoj Bajpayee, Mayur Patole, Gajraj Rao, Shruti Marathe, and Chhaya Kadam.
2017–2020: Lead Roles and Wider Recognition
Shome played Bonnie Bakshi in Konkona Sen Sharma’s A Death in the Gunj. The cast included Vikrant Massey, Kalki Koechlin, Ranvir Shorey, Gulshan Devaiah, Jim Sarbh, Om Puri, and Tanuja.
She also appeared in Hindi Medium, The Song of Scorpions, Union Leader, and Kadvi Hawa in 2017.
In 2018, she played Ratna in Rohena Gera’s Sir. Ratna is a widowed domestic worker who hopes to become a fashion designer.
She acted opposite Vivek Gomber, while Geetanjali Kulkarni, Rahul Vohra, Anupriya Goenka, and Divya Seth appeared in supporting roles. The film became one of her best-known lead performances.
She also appeared in Nandita Das’s Manto. Her later films included Raahgir: The Wayfarers, Angrezi Medium, and Chintu Ka Birthday. In Chintu Ka Birthday, she played Sudha Tiwary alongside Vinay Pathak, Seema Pahwa, Vedant Chibber, Bisha Chaturvedi, and Khaled Masso.
Shome also entered long-form streaming content with Mentalhood in 2020. She played Preeti Khosla in the series.
2021–2023: Growth on Streaming Platforms
In 2021, Shome played Mitul in the Bengali film Deep6. She gained more attention on streaming platforms through the second season of Delhi Crime in 2022.
She played Lata Solanki, also known as Karishma, alongside Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain, Jatin Goswami, and Gopal Datt.
In 2023, she played intelligence officer Lipika Saikia Rao in The Night Manager. Her main co-stars were Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Saswata Chatterjee, and Ravi Behl.
She also appeared as Meera in Tooth Pari: When Love Bites. In Konkona Sen Sharma’s segment of Lust Stories 2, she played Ishita opposite Amruta Subhash.
The anthology also featured actors such as Kajol, Neena Gupta, Tamannaah Bhatia, Vijay Varma, Mrunal Thakur, and Kumud Mishra.
2024: Films and Major Streaming Roles
Shome joined the third season of Kota Factory as chemistry teacher Pooja Agarwal, also called Pooja Didi. She worked with Jitendra Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Mayur More, Alam Khan, Ahsaas Channa, Ranjan Raj, and Revathi Pillai.
She then played Bindi Jain in Netflix’s Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper. The main cast included Manav Kaul, Shweta Basu Prasad, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Faisal Malik, Naina Sareen, Sumit Gulati, and Ashok Pathak.
Shome also acted in Raam Reddy’s The Fable, later released in India as Jugnuma. She shared the screen with Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal, Hiral Sidhu, and Awan Pookot.
2025–2026: Recent Film and Series Work
In 2025, Shome played police officer Meghna Barua in the second season of Paatal Lok. Her main co-stars included Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Gul Panag, Nagesh Kukunoor, Jahnu Barua, and Prashant Tamang.
She also starred as Maya in the Bengali film Baksho Bondi, also titled Shadowbox. Chandan Bisht, Sayan Karmakar, and Suman Saha played the other central characters. The film was screened at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
Shome appeared in the spy series Saare Jahan Se Accha with Pratik Gandhi, Sunny Hinduja, Suhail Nayyar, Kritika Kamra, Rajat Kapoor, and Anup Soni. She played Mohini, the wife of intelligence officer Vishnu Shankar.
In 2026, she played public prosecutor Madhura Banerjee in the Netflix courtroom film Ikka. The film also starred Sunny Deol, Akshaye Khanna, Dia Mirza, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Shishir Sharma, and Akansha Ranjan Kapoor. It premiered on Netflix on July 10, 2026.
Work Apart from Acting
Apart from screen acting, Shome has worked as a theatre artist and theatre educator. She taught theatre to inmates at Rikers Island while living in New York.
She also moved into film production as a co-producer of Baksho Bondi: Shadowbox.
In 2025, she was selected for the first Women in Film India producers fellowship connected with the Cannes Producers Network.
Upcoming Projects
- Mujhe Jaan Na Kaho Meri Jaan: Shome is set to act with Shweta Tripathi in this queer love story directed by Sanjoy Nag. Its confirmed release date is yet to be updated.
Tillotama Shome Awards and Achievements
Here are the major wins and nominations of Tillotama Shome:
Key Wins
- 2013: Tillotama Shome won the Best Actress award in the New Horizons Competition at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival for Qissa. She shared the award with Norwegian actress Julia Wildschutt.
- 2019: She won the Best Actress award at the Brussels International Film Festival for her performance as Ratna in Sir.
- 2019: She received the Best Actress award at the New York Indian Film Festival for Sir. The film also won the Best Film award.
- 2019: She won the Best Actress award at the Jagran Film Festival for Sir.
- 2021: She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for Sir.
- 2021: She received the Best Actor award at the UK Asian Film Festival for Raahgir: The Wayfarers.
- 2023: She won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actor, Series (Female): Drama for Delhi Crime Season 2.
- 2026: She won the Best Actor award at the UK Asian Film Festival for Shadowbox. The film also received the Emerging Curators’ Choice Award.
Key Nominations
- 2018: Tillotama Shome was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bonnie Bakshi in A Death in the Gunj.
- 2023: She received a Filmfare OTT Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Series (Female): Drama for her performance as Lipika Saikia Rao in The Night Manager.
Tillotama Shome Controversies
- Air India Delay Complaint in 2024: In October 2024, Shome criticised Air India after her Mumbai to London flight was delayed by about eight and a half hours. She said passengers did not receive proper notice and that one traveller needed to reach London for medical treatment. Air India stated that delay notifications had been sent and that passengers were receiving updates. The matter was a public disagreement about airline service and communication. It was not an allegation of misconduct against Shome.
- Comments on Film Industry Working Hours: In July 2026, Shome spoke about the debate over eight-hour work shifts in the film industry. She said the discussion should focus on fair working conditions for all crew members. She also stated that some senior actors already work fewer hours while newer actors often face longer shifts. Her comments received media coverage, but they did not lead to a confirmed personal controversy.
Tillotama Shome Net Worth
Tillotama Shome’s net worth and annual salary are yet to be updated.
| Net Worth (Approx.) | Yet to be updated |
| Salary (Approx.) | Yet to be updated |
Tillotama Shome Height, Weight, and Physical Stats
Below are the physical stats of Tillotama Shome:
| Height | In centimetres: 161 cm In meters: 1.61 m In feet and inches: 5 feet 3 inches |
| Weight | In kg: Yet to be updated In lbs: Yet to be updated |
| Body Measurements | Yet to be updated |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
Tillotama Shome Instagram, X, Facebook
 @tillotamashome | |
| X |  @TillotamaShome |
 @100063489979403 |
Interesting Facts About Tillotama Shome
- While living in New York, she taught theatre to inmates at a high-security prison as part of her work in educational theatre.
- She returned to India in 2008 and continued building her acting career across independent, Hindi, Bengali, and international productions.
FAQs
Who is Tillotama Shome?
Tillotama Shome is an Indian actress known for independent films, Hindi cinema, and streaming series. Her major works include Monsoon Wedding, Qissa, Sir, Delhi Crime, The Night Manager, and Paatal Lok.
How old is Tillotama Shome?
Tillotama Shome is 47 years old. She was born on June 25, 1979, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
What is the qualification of Tillotama Shome?
Tillotama Shome studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. She later completed a master’s program in Educational Theatre at New York University.
Which was the first film of Tillotama Shome?
Tillotama Shome’s first feature film was Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, released in 2001. She played Alice and acted alongside Vijay Raaz, Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, and Shefali Shah.
Who is the husband of Tillotama Shome?
Tillotama Shome is married to Kunal Ross. They married in 2015. Kunal is the nephew of Jaya Bachchan.
Is Tillotama Shome related to the Bachchan family?
Yes, Tillotama Shome’s husband, Kunal, is Jaya Bachchan’s nephew. This connects Tillotama to the Bachchan family through marriage.
Which award did Tillotama Shome win for Sir?
Tillotama Shome won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing Ratna in Sir.
What did Tillotama Shome do apart from acting?
Tillotama Shome worked in educational theatre. While living in New York, she taught theatre to inmates at a high-security prison and also worked with the Creative Arts Team.
