Paoli Dam

Biography

Paoli Dam is an Indian television and film actress who started her career in Bengali TV serials. Dam completed her early education at Loreto school, after which she attended Vidyasagar College, affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and pursued a degree in chemistry. She then pursued her master's in Chemistry at Rajabazaar Science College.

Dam started her acting journey in 2003 with Jibon Niye Khela, a Bengali TV serial for Zee Bangla. She continued working with the Bengali TV serial industry- her ETV Bangla serial Tithir Atithi ran for almost six years.

Subsequently, Dam was first seen in the film industry in Rabi Kinagi's Agnipariksha, released in 2006, in a supporting role. The actress was again seen in a supporting role in Tulkalam (2007), directed by Haranath Chakraborty, and I Love You (2007), directed by Rabi Kinagi. 

Her fourth Bengali film Hochheta Ki? (2008), was a comedy of errors by Basu Chatterjee. She played the role of a Bengali housewife in this film.

Dam first came into focus after the success of Kaalbela (2009), directed by Goutam Ghose. The film was based on the novel written by Samresh Majumdar, which revolved around the Naxalite movement in the 1980s. 

Dam was seen in the role of Madhabilata -the lover of the young Naxalite leader. She was praised by many critics for her integral role in the film. 

After this, she had several other releases that same year - Jamai Raja (2009) by Swapan Saha, Box No 1313 (2009), Shob Charitro Kalponik (2009) directed by Rituparno Ghosh and Teen Murti (2009) by Raja Sen.

In 2010, Dam appeared in several films, including Tara (2010) by Bratya Basu, Moner Manush (2010) by Goutam Ghose, When He Was 23 When He Was 23 (2011) by Atanu Ghosh, Banshiwala (2010) by Anjan Das, and Kagojer Bou (2011) by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay.

 Moner Manush (2010) was Dam's second film that Goutam Ghose directed- she played the role of Komli in the movie.

In 2011, Dam received global recognition for her role in the Bengali film Mushrooms (2011). This film was featured at the Cannes Film Festival and was also screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

She went on to appear in Teen Yaari Katha (2012), a Bengali film directed by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha in 2012. She also made her Bollywood debut in the same year with Vivek Agnihotri's film Hate Story (2012). 

After this, she was seen as a lawyer fighting for justice in Sohail Tatari's Ankur Arora Murder Case (2013). The film was based on the true story of a young boy who lost his life due to medical negligence. 

In 2020 She was seen in a supporting role in Netflix's Bulbbul (2020), where she played the role of Binodini.

In 2022, she was seen in the Bengali film Byomkesh Hatyamancha (2022), in which she played the role of Sulochona. Later that year, she appeared in Karm Yuddh (2022), a Disney Plus Hotstar web series revolving around the life of a wealthy family in Kolkata.

Dam won the Viewers' Choice Award for Best Actress at the Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival for her role in Natoker Moto: Like a Play (2015) in 2016.