Seema Bhargava Pahwa (née Bhargava; born 10 February 1962) is an Indian actress and director known for her varied characters in films and television. She is the recipient of several awards including a Filmfare Award and a Filmfare OTT Award.
She rose to prominence for her role of Badki in the popular Doordarshan soap opera Hum Log (1984–1985). As a theatre actress, she worked with Delhi-based theatre group Sambhav, before moving to Mumbai in 1994 to work in films and continue her work in television and theatre. She directed Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi (2021), her debut as a director, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director.
Career Pahwa rose to prominence for her role of Badki in the popular Doordarshan soap opera Hum Log (1984–1985). As a theatre actor she worked with Delhi-based theatre group Sambhav, before moving to Mumbai in 1994 to work in films and continue her work in television and theatre.
Subsequently, she played Maasi, or Aunt on Kasamh Se (2006–2009), a popular Zee TV soap opera by Ekta Kapoor. 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. 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.
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).
In 2020, she starred as Nani in Chintu Ka Birthday (2019), which won her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actress (Web Original.)
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.
Personal life She was born Seema Bhargava. She is married to actor Manoj Pahwa, a co-actor in Hum Log, and lives in Versova, Mumbai along with their daughter Manukriti and son Mayank. On 2 March 2022, her son Mayank Pahwa married Sanah Kapur, whereas in September 2023, her daughter Manukriti Pahwa married Ruhaan Kapur, both siblings being children of actors Pankaj Kapur and Supriya Pathak Kapur. Sanah and Ruhaan are grandchildren of veteran character artist Dina Pathak and half-siblings of actor Shahid Kapoor.
Filmography Films +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released Year FilmRoleNotes1989Adhuri Zindagi TV movie co-starring Shah Rukh Khan1996Sardari Begum Kulsum's Mother1997...Jayate Nurse Linda TV movie1999Godmother Shanti (Veeram's sister-in-law)2000Hari-Bhari Rampyari2001ZubeidaaZainab Bi2008Roorkee By-Pass Maasi Short film2010Tere Bin Laden Shabbo2012Ferrari Ki Sawaari Baboo Didi2014Ankhon Dekhi Amma Won—Screen Award for Best Supporting ActressKhoobsuratShalini Shah2015 Dum Laga Ke HaishaSubhadra RaniReleased internationally as My Big Fat BrideAll Is Well MamijiHasmukh Saab Ki Wasihat Mrs. Sonal Mehta2016WazirPammiBHK Bhalla at Halla.KomNeelam Khanna2017Bareilly Ki BarfiSusheela MishraNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting ActressShubh Mangal SaavdhanSugandha's MotherNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress2018Khajoor Pe AtkeSushilaEverything is FineAshaShort filmBhaiyya MoreyOld womanShort film2019Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga BillauriArjun Patiala MLA Prapti MakkadBalaMausiNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting ActressShame Laundry lady Short film2020Chintu Ka BirthdayNani Won—Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actress (Web Original)Suraj Pe Mangal BhariYeshodha DhillonDas Capital: Gulamon Ki Rajdhani RashidaStreaming on Cinemapreneur2021Ramprasad Ki TehrviDirector Debut as a director Won—Filmfare Award for Best Debut DirectorYe Mard BecharaShanti Devi 2022 Badhaai Do Mrs Singh Gangubai KathiawadiSheela Raksha Bandhan Shanoo Sharma Thank GodMrs. Kapoor, Ayaan's mother2023Dream Girl 2 JumaniYaatris Saroj2025Bhool Chuk MaafRamwati2026ToasterDsouza AuntyBaby Do Die DoAnjum KhanYeh Prem Mol Liya
Television Year FilmRoleNotes1984–85 Hum Log Badki 1995–96Khushi (Season 1) 1995Sidhhi Sneha Aditya Diwan 1997Pehla Pyar Nirmala Mathur1998–01Hip Hip Hurray Mrs. Merchant1999Rishtey Leelavati Episode 70: Naya Vivah2000–01Khushi (Season 2) 2005Astitva...Ek Prem KahaniArchana's mother2002Sanjivani-A Medical BoonDes Mein Niklla Hoga Chand2003AandhiBua Ji2006–07KulvaddhuPadma Chauhan2006–09Kasamh SeBillo Masi2008Hum LadkiyanDadiji2012Lakhon Mein Ek Teejan Bai/Hema Dhawan2017The Kapil Sharma Show Herself Episode 128: Promotion of Bareilly Ki Barfi 2020 Episode 274: Celebrating Hum Log 2021 Episode 171: Promotion of Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
Web series Year FilmRoleNotes2019Aafat Rita Mohanty Web series on MX Player 2022Mai: A Mother's Rage Kalpana Netflix2022Jamtara: Sabka Number Aayega S2Ganga DeviNetflix2025Perfect FamilyKamla KakariaYouTube
Awards and nominations
YearCategoryWorkResult Filmfare Awards2018Best Supporting Actress Bareilly Ki Barfi Shubh Mangal Saavdhan 2020 Bala 2022 Best Film (Critics) Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi Best Director Best Story Best Debut Director Filmfare OTT Awards 2020 Best Supporting Actress in a Web Original Film Chintu Ka Birthday FOI Online Awards 2018 Best Supporting Actress Bareilly Ki Barfi 2022 Best Director Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi IIFA Awards 2018Best Supporting ActressBareilly Ki Barfi Shubh Mangal Saavdhan Jagran Film Festival 2017 Best Supporting Actress Bareilly Ki Barfi Screen Awards 2015 Best Supporting Actress Ankhon Dekhi (tied with Tabu for Haider) 2018 Shubh Mangal Saavdhan 2020 Bala Zee Cine Awards 2018 Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female Bareilly Ki Barfi
References
External links