Koel Mallick

Koel was born in Kolkata to Bengali film actor Ranjit Mallick and Deepa Mallick, of Kolkata's notable Mallick Bari of Bhowanipore (i.e., the Mallick family, which is closely associated with the powerful Barat and Gupta families), known for its Durga Puja. Koel did her schooling from Modern High School for Girls, and completed a BSc (honors) in psychology from the Gokhale Memorial Girls' College, an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta.

Film

Mallick's screen debut was in Nater Guru – opposite Jeet. Nater Guru was a "runaway success" at the box office. The film, released in 2003, marked Mallick's entry into Tollywood. She also won her very first award for Best Actor in Leading Role Female from 4th Tele Cine Awards 2004 for Nater Guru. Nater Guru, which has Jeet in the male lead, sees Mallick playing the role of a 23-year-old girl named Monica. Since the release of Nater Guru the pair has worked together often, appearing in eleven films.

In 2004, she starred in Debipaksha, Shudhu Tumi, Badsha The King and Bandhan. While the first two performed poorly at the box office, Bandhan was a huge success in Bengal and was a blockbuster at the box office. It was also the highest grossing Bengali film of 2004.

In 2005, Mallick appeared in Shubhodrishti, Manik, Yuddho and Chore Chore Mastuto Bhai. She appeared in Yuddho opposite actors Mithun Chakraborty and Debashree Roy. The film recorded an initial collection of ₹ 12 million (12 million) in its first week. In 2006, she took on a more serious role in MLA Fatakeshto in which she played a reporter. She also starred in the Bengali remake of Love Story, the 2008 film Love.

Television

Mallick made her television debut with her talk-show Katha O Kahini. The show went on to the channel Star Jalsha. In 2013 Koel was on TV again as a celebrity judge in the Bengali version of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa along with renowned Bollywood choreographer Remo D'Souza. The show aired on ETV Bangla.

Mallick has also appeared on the popular soap Bojhena Se Bojhena which is also aired on STAR Jalsha. Apart from these, she has been Maa Durga in Mahalaya , a show which was aired on STAR Jalsha on the morning of Mahalaya in 2011.

Brand endorsements

Mallick has endorsed a variety of multi-national brands and has done television commercials for TVS Motor Company, Fair & Lovely, Panasonic, Vaseline etc.

Koel Mallick married Nispal Singh (Rane) on 1 February 2013. They had been in a relationship for seven years before that, but both of them had decided to keep their relationship away from the glamour world of Tollywood.

• 4th Tele Cine Awards 2004 for the film Nater Guru 2003
• Kalakar Awards
• BFJA Awards 2013 for Best Actress Hemlock Society 2012
• ZEE Bangla Gourav Samman Award for Best Actress (Bolo Na Tumi Amar)
• Star Jalsha Award for Best Actress (Dui Prithibi)
• ZEE Bangla Gourav Samman Award for Best Actress (Hemlock Society)