Seema Pahwa

Pahwa rose to prominence for her role of Badki in the popular Doordarshan soap opera Hum Log (1984–1985).^[3] As a theatre actor she worked with Delhi-based theatre group Sambhav,^[4] before moving to Mumbai in 1994 to work in films and continue her work in television and theatre.^[5][6][7]

Subsequently, she played Maasi, or Aunt on Kasamh Se (2006–2009), a popular Zee TV soap opera by Ekta Kapoor.^[5] The character is very kind and loving towards her nephew and his wife Bani Walia, the protagonist. She won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2015 Screen Awards for the film Ankhon Dekhi (2013).

In 2014, she received acclaim for experiential theatre performance of Bhisham Sahni's satire on the middle-class, Saag Meat, where she cooked during the performance, and the food was served to the audience.^[4] She was also very popularly loved for her role in the series Hip Hip Hurray, where she played the role of a single mother of Mazhar^[8].

At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, she was nominated twice for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the films Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (both 2017). She received her third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 65th Filmfare Awards for her role in Bala (2019).^[9]

In 2020, she starred as Nani in Chintu Ka Birthday (2019), which won her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actress (Web Original)^[10].

She made her directorial debut with the film Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi which premiered at Mumbai Film Festival in 2019 followed by a theatrical release in 2021. The film earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director at the 67th Filmfare Awards.^[11][12][13]

She was born Seema Bhargava. She is married to actor Manoj Pahwa,^[14] a co-actor in Hum Log,^[5] and lives in Versova, Mumbai along with their daughter Manukriti and son Mayank.^[4] On 2 March 2022, her son Mayank Pahwa married Sanah Kapur^[15], whereas in September 2023, her daughter Manukriti Pahwa married Ruhaan Kapur^[16], both siblings being children of actors Pankaj Kapur and Supriya Pathak Kapur. Sanah and Ruhaan are grandchildren of veteran character artiste Dina Pathak and half-siblings of actor Shahid Kapoor^[17].