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.

While Riya does not have a good film career to boast of, she has established herself as a sex symbol. She wore a bikini in Shaadi No.1; she also kissed her co-stars Sharman Joshi and Ashmit Patel in Style and Silsilay respectively. She has appeared on magazine covers such as Savvy, Femina, Cosmopolitan and Elle and walked the ramp with her sis Raima at the Wills and Lakme Fashion Weeks from 2005 to 2007. Jhankaar Beats and Shaadi No. 1 are the only notable hits of her career. Riya is often compared to her mother Moon Moon Sen because of her sex symbol status.

Riya Sen first appeared as a child artiste in the film Vishkanya, where she played the role of the young Pooja Bedi. At the age of 15 she was cast in a major role in Bharathiraaja’s Tamil film Tajmahal. Her Bollywood film debut was supposed to have been in Love You Hamesha, opposite Akshaye Khanna, but the film was stalled and she ultimately made her debut in N. Chandra’s low-budget comedy Style.

Though Style met with success at the box office, most of her other films have not done as well. An exception was Jhankaar Beats, another comedy in which she co-starred with Shayan Munshi, Juhi Chawla, Rahul Bose, Rinke Khanna and Sanjay Suri. Most of her appearances have been item numbers and cameos. Her few leading roles have been in low-budget films

Riya has also appeared in Bengali,Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam and even English films. She was slated to appear in Anjan Dutta’s The Bong Connection, with her sister, but was eventually dropped from the project. She was replaced by Peeya Rai Chaudhary. It would have been the second time the two sisters acted together, after director Ajai Sinha’s The Bachelor. She has also appeared in a Bangladeshi film, titled Money Porey Tomakey. Her most notable South Indian film to date has been director Santhosh Sivan’s Ananthabhadram, which was also the director’s first Malayalam venture.

Riya became a popular model when she appeared in numerous music videos for songs by popular singers, including Asha Bhonsle, Falguni Pathak, Jagjit Singh and Sonu Nigam. She was one of many Bollywood stars who appeared in Haath Se Haath Mila an anti-HIV/AIDS music video.

She is also an advertising model. A notable point of her modeling career was when she replaced Lisa Ray as the Lakme Girl. She herself has since been replaced by Yana Gupta. Her other notable assignments include Colgate, Limca, Vatika, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, and Margarita King.

Riya has appeared on the cover of a number of magazines. In 2004, she was featured partially nude in Indian photographer Dabboo Ratnani’s annual calendar, which is a major happening in the Indian glamor industry. In Daboo’s words, “Her mother saw it much later, after the calendar released. She thought it was too sexy, and Riya shouldn?t have done it. But the response to the photograph was superb. Riya was so thrilled that for her next ad campaign, she asked me to light her up like I did in this.” She is the only female face to be featured on the calendar on four consecutive years (2004-2007)

Movies Done By Riya Sen

1991 Vishkanya Young Nishi Hindi As a child artist
1999 Taj Mahal Machakanni Tamil
2000 Good Luck Priya
2001 Style Sheena Hindi
2001 Mone Pore Tomake Riya Bengali Bangladeshi film
2002 Dil Vil Pyar Vyar Gaurav’s girlfriend Hindi Cameo appearance
2003 Saazish
2003 Qayamat: City Under Threat Sheetal
2003 Jhankaar Beats Preeti The language of the film was a mix of Hindi and English
2004 Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa Kamini Cameo appearance
2004 Plan Shalini Item number
2004 Arasatchi Iruvathu Vaisu Tamil Item number
2005 Ananthabhadram Bhama Malayalam
2005 Shaadi No. 1 Madhuri Hindi
2005 Tum… Ho Na! Reema
2005 James – Item number
2005 Silsiilay Anushka
2005 It Was Raining That Night Savitri Banerje English
2006 Apna Sapna Money Money Shivani Hindi
2006 Rokda – Unfinished
2006 Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin – Video album
2006 Love You Hamesha Meghna Originally scheduled for release in 1999, credited as Rhea Dev Varma
2007 Heyy Baby – Item number
2008 Nenu Meeku Telusa… Madhu Telugu Dubbed into Tamil
2008 Heroes Shivani Hindi
2008 Zor Lagaa Ke… Hayya –
2008 Love Khichdi Deepti Mehta
2009 Paying Guests Avni
2010 Benny and Babloo Riya
2010 Abohoman Chandrika Bengali
2011 Noukadubi Kamala First appearance with her sister Raima Sen
2011 Tere Mere Phere Muskaan Hindi
2012 3 Bachelors Nisha Made almost 10 years ago
2013 Zindagi 50-50 Naina
2013 Rabba Main Kya Karoon
2013 My Love Story Item girl Oriya
2014 Jaatishwar Sudeshna Bengali
2014 Kolkata Calling
2015 Roga Howar Sohoj Upaye
2015 Family Album
2016 Hero 420 Riya
2016 Dark Chocolate Ishani Banerjee
2017 Lonely Girl Radhika Kapoor Hindi Short film

Web Series Done By Riya Sen

2017 Ragini MMS: Returns Simran ALTBalaji
2019 Poison Natasha ZEE5
2019 Mismatch 2 Mishika Hoichoi Originals
2020 Pati Patni Aur Woh Rimjhim MX Player