I was three when my mother Swatilekha, decided to marry theatre icon Rudraprasad Sengupta. As a result I was initiated into the world of theatre and the legendary theatre group Nandikar. That was the first turning point in my life.

The next turning point came in 1996 when I acted in the play Gotraheen. Before that I hadn’t considered getting into theatre formally but the success of Gotraheen helped me gain a strong foothold. Filmmaker Aparna Sen’s Paromitar Ekdin (1998) was another major milestone. The film earned me my first National Award.

Of all my other milestones in my career, I believe Shiboprasad Mukherjee’s Ichhe, a film about the complexities in a mother-son relationship, was by far the biggest. In fact, according to me, the film is a milestone for Bengali cinema in general.

On the personal front, life changed course when I decided to end my marriage with theatre director Gautam Haldar and take up a job as a school teacher in 2006. Not only did this decision make me economically independent, it helped me grow as a person. Gautam held a pivotal position in Nandikar. After the split, he left Nandikar and much of the group’s responsibility came upon me. This taught me a lot in life. In fact, this made a difference in another way — people could no longer say that I performed well ‘only’ in Gautam’s plays. Receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for my contribution to theatre was also a special achievement.

But to me, evolving as a person is bigger than awards and accolades. Which is why one of the achievements I am most proud of is having learnt to swim recently, despite my fear of water.

In fact, my mother started taking swimming lessons — at 57 — just to encourage me. Needless to say, it worked.

(As told to Priyadarshini Chatterjee)