Jaya Seal Ghosh

Jaya Seal Ghosh (née Seal), born in Guwahati, Assam, around 1972, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She received her early training in Bharatanatyam under Guru Indira P. P. Bora and was also associated with Assamese theatre, working with personalities such as Dulal Roy and Baharul Islam. She later studied acting at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, completing the three-year program in 1997, which marked the beginning of her professional career in cinema and performing arts.

Jaya Seal went on to appear in numerous feature films across several Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Odia. Her notable films include Uttara, directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, for which she received a Best Actress nomination in 2000, along with films such as Pennin Manathai Thottu, Samurai, Bahala Chennagide, Magunira Shagada, and Chhal. Several of the films she acted in were recognized at international film festivals such as Venice and Busan. She has also appeared in television productions, including the series Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, and has worked in numerous commercial advertisements.

Alongside her film career, Jaya Seal has continued her engagement with Indian classical dance. She received further Bharatanatyam training under Guru Vaibhav Arekar and Guru Rajeshri Shirke at the Lasya Academy in Mumbai, later studying with Guru Naresh Pillai. After moving to Kolkata, she trained at Kalamandalam under Guru Thankamani Kutty and continued learning under Bidushi Rama Vaidyanathan. She has presented dance performances at various cultural events and international gatherings, including the Bengali Sammelan in Detroit and performances in Muscat. In addition to film and dance, she has also worked in theater productions such as Chandalika under director Usha Ganguly.