Nandita Das though is a great artist, never learnt art from any teacher. It came to her naturally as the daughter of a celebrity father Jatin Das. She studied in Delhi's Sardar Patel Vidayala. Her parents never persuaded her to take up any career. She learnt dance and music as a child, and also a bit of painting. Since her father was an artist, she grew up among the company of peoples from the field of dance, photography & theatre.

Known to never shy away from a controversial issue or an unconventional role, she has attracted the attention of artists, critics & film lovers across the globe. The passion & dedication came from her background as a social activist for Human Rights. She has worked with various NGOs. She started into direction with four short films for Civil Society Organizations. She has been featured speaker for various universities & social forums, both in India & abroad. 

After completing graduation from Delhi's Miranda College, and Post Graduation from Delhi School of Social work, she joined Safdar Hashmi's Janmnatya Manch doing street theatre. It was during those days that  she visited Mumbai and happened to meet Deepa Mehta who signed her for Fire. " I accepted the offer as the role was very challenging and the theme very bold."

Even after a dozen odd movies, this half Oriya half Gujarati girl says she takes on only those roles that she knows she'll enjoy doing. And these have included such cinematic milestones as Govind Nihlani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Shyam Benegal’s Hari Bhari, Deepa Mehta’s Fire, Earth and the unfinished Water. Besides, she is proving quite a linguist - what with roles in a host of regional films like Azhagi [Tamil], Deveeri [Kannada], Punaradhivasam [Malyalam] and Sapner Sandhane[Bengali]. Apart from Aks, her forthcoming Bollywood ventures include Mahesh Manjrekar’s Pitah opposite Sanjay Dutt as also Lal Salam. Big names never overwhelm her. She acted her Amitabh's wife in Aks but was never overawed by him. She didn't blink her eye a bit when asked to shade her hair for Water. She has no qualms about her controversial role of Sita in Deepa Mehta's Fire that sparked unrest from the conservative elements. She has won the best actress award for Bawander at Santa Monica Film Festival. 

" In a democratic society everyone has the freedom of expression. Take the issue of Vrindavan widows' in Water. Either you say the widows have been around for a long time so let's not talk about them, Or you say, okay let's try and do something about them by portraying their plight on film," she says. 

She was also the member of the jury in Cannes Film Festival 2005. More from her are yet to come.