Basics on Riya
Riya Dev Verma is an Aquarian born on 24th January 1981 in Kolkata, West Bengal. Her father is Bharat Dev Verma belonging to the royal family of Tripura and her mother is Moon Moon Sen, a former actress. Her sister Raima Sen is also an actress. Her maternal grandmother is Suchitra Sen, a renowned actress in Bengali cinema. Her paternal grandmother was the Princess of Cooch Behar and Maharani of Jaipur Gayatri Devi’s sister. On her maternal side, her great-great-grandfather Dinanath Sen was the Diwan of the Maharaja of Tripura.
Riya studied in Kolkata at the Loreto House, Rani Birla College and National Institute of Fashion Technology. She is into jewellry-designing. Her interests also include belly dancing, kick boxing and kathak which she has trained under Vijayashree Chaudhry.
Riya had trouble calling, when an MMS clip was circulated that showed her in a compromising position with ex-boyfriend Ashmit Patel.
Riya Sen played girlfriend with actors like John Abraham, Ashmit Patel and Akshaye Khanna.
Riya has appeared in ads for Colgate, Dabur Vatika, Reliance, Cadbury’s, Limca and Nirma. She has been the cover girl for magazines like Elle, Cosmopolitan, Gladrags, Femina and Maxim. She stirred conservative feathers when she struck a semi-nude pose for Daboo Ratnaani’s annual calendar.
At sixteen, she looked gorgeous in Falguni Pathak’s music video “Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi”. She was a music video favourite as she appeared in Asha Bhonsle’s Jhumka Gira Re, Sonu Nigam’s Jeena Hai Tere Liye, Shaan’s Sutta Maro and others.
Riya played the character of Nishi as a child in the movie Vishkanya (1991) which starred her mother Moon Moon Sen.
In 1991, she acted in two Tamil movies Taj Mahal and Good Luck both of which fell flat. She appeared in the comedy Style (2001) which did pretty well. Jhankaar Beats, a tribute to R.D.Burman in 2002 was popular. In 2004, she appeared in item numbers in Plan and the Tamil movie Arasatchi.
Apna Sapna Money Money (2006) showed her as Shivani and danced to an item song in Heyy Babyy (2007). She tried her hand in Telugu movies with Neenu Meeku Telusa in 2008 and Heroes with Salman Khan and Preity Zinta that was a moderate success.
She has worked with her sister Raima Sen in a Bengali movie The Bachelor, which is yet to be released.
Birth Name: Riya Dev Varma
DOB: 24 January 1981
Status: Single
Dated: Ashmit Patel, John Abraham
Debut film: Vishkanya as a child
artiste and as an adult in Style (2001)
Famous pairing: With Shayan Munshi in Jhankaar Beats
Marriages: None
Most remembered for: For her dare-bare photo in Dabboo Ratnani’s 2004 Calendar and her controversial MMS clip with former boyfriend Ashmit Patel.
Riya Sen is yesteryear’s actress’ Moon Moon Sen’s daughter, Suchitra Sen’s granddaughter and current actress Raima Sen’s sister. Her father, Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the Royal Family of Tripura. Ila Devi of Coochbehar, whose younger sister is Gayatri Devi, is Riya’s grandmother. Both sister’s use their maternal grandmother, Suchitra Sen’s surname. Riya is a student of Loreto House and Rani Birla College and she also did a stint at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. She designs most of her clothes in commercials and films.
Riya was first noticed as the delicate beauty in Falguni Pathak’s video, Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi, though she made her film debut in Vishkanaya in 1991. She has appeared in many other music videos like Shaan’s Sutta Maro and Sonu Nigam’s Jeena Hai Tere Liye.
Riya was first recognised as a model when she performed in Falguni Pathak 's music video Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi at the age of sixteen. Since then, she has appeared in music videos , television commercials , fashion shows , and on magazine covers .she has been a heart throbbing sensation throughout india and is known for her gorgeuos smile. Riya has worked as an activist and appeared in an AIDS awareness music video with the aim of dispelling popular myths about the disease. She also helped raise funds for pediatric eye-care. Riya has faced controversies such as a MMS clip with actor Ashmit Patel , her semi-nude photograph on photographer Dabboo Ratnani 's annual calendar and her on-screen kisses in a conservative Indian film industry.
Born on 24 January 1981 in Kolkata , West Bengal , Riya is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen , a former actress, and granddaughter of Suchitra Sen , a legend in Bengali cinema . Before moving to Mumbai , she lived in Kolkata with her parents and sister Raima Sen , also an actress. Her father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura . Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch Behar , whose younger sister Gayatri Devi was the Maharani of Jaipur . Her paternal grandmother Indira was the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda . Riya's maternal great-grandfather Adinath Sen was a prominent Kolkata businessman, whose father Dinanath Sen - a relative of former Union Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen - was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of Tripura. The sisters are credited on-screen under their mother's maiden name, although their official papers carry the surname Dev Varma.
Riya completed her schooling at Loreto House and Rani Birla College, both in Kolkata. Thereafter, she studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology , and she took up jewellery-designing as a hobby. She designs most of the clothes that she wears in films and commercials. Riya is trained in Kathak and is still pursuing it under Vijayshree Chaudhury. She is taking kickboxing lessons and has completed Level I of the 5 levels in belly dancing . Riya entered the film industry through small-time modeling assignments, commuting between Mumbai and Kolkata and traveling by public transport during the her early career. After breaking into the film industry, she shifted from her mother's house in Ballygunge Circular Road in south Kolkata to Mumbai. There she moved into the family house in Juhu , where she stays with her sister. During her stay in Mumbai, the media romantically linked her to model and actor John Abraham . In the Bollywood press, she was, in 2008, speculatively linked to the novelist Salman Rushdie , although both stated that they were simply good friends.
Riya has suffered a number of untimely incidents. During the filming of Shaadi No. 1 in France, she was knocked unconscious after being accidentally run over by a stuntman 's motorbike, but she was not seriously injured. Shortly before the release of Silsiilay, in which she starred opposite her boyfriend Ashmit Patel, a 90-second video clip was circulated through Multimedia Messaging Services and the internet, showing the pair in compromising situations. This was one of a number of controversies that erupted when celebrities were caught in similar situations using cameraphones . Following this incident, the couple split up, although Riya denied that she was the girl in the MMS clip. One commentator claimed that the footage was an orchestrated publicity stunt. In 2007, she underwent a brief detoxification session in Bangkok for addiction to chocolate.
Riya has suffered a number of untimely incidents. During the filming of Shaadi No. 1 in France, she was knocked unconscious after being accidentally run over by a stuntman 's motorbike, but she was not seriously injured. Shortly before the release of Silsiilay, in which she starred opposite her boyfriend Ashmit Patel, a 90-second video clip was circulated through Multimedia Messaging Services and the internet, showing the pair in compromising situations. This was one of a number of controversies that erupted when celebrities were caught in similar situations using cameraphones . Following this incident, the couple split up, although Riya denied that she was the girl in the MMS clip. One commentator claimed that the footage was an orchestrated publicity stunt. In 2007, she underwent a brief detoxification session in Bangkok for addiction to chocolate.
Daughter of actress Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma, a descendant of the royal family of Cooch Behar. Her maternal grandmother is the legendary actress Suchitra Sen.
First stepped into the limelight at the age of 15 when she faced the camera for the Tamil film 'Taj Mahal' directed by 'Bharati Raja'.
