Riya Sen, best remembered for her glamorous and bold film and music video appearances, has now stepped behind the DJ console, making her debut as Riyaa Senn. With a new name and a fresh vibe, the actress and model who got married in August 2017 and has since appeared in a few films and shows like Call Me Bae, is now diving into Bolly-tech beats and preparing to connect with desi audiences worldwide. In this chat, she opens up about her DJ debut, the reason behind the extra ‘a’ and ‘n’ in her name, and more.

It all started when Riyaa’s friend, who owns an artiste management and booking agency, texted her saying he loved the music she posted on her social media handles. “He was the first to tell me that I should think about DJ-ing. I took the cue, enrolled in a short DJ course, and voila – I was hooked!” says Riyaa.

Honestly, it feels overwhelming. I’m shy, nervous, and excited all at the same time. I’m getting numerous calls to perform across India, and feeling truly grateful for this platform and all the love coming my way.

Bolly-tech all the way. It’s fun, desi, and connects me with the huge Indian diaspora worldwide. One can expect a mix of nostalgia, energy, and total dance vibes.

It’s just me reinventing myself with new energy and a new vibe.

I’m looking at gigs globally – UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and of course America, now that I’ve got my O1 visa. There’s such a huge desi community everywhere, and our music makes them feel right at home. I can’t wait to connect with them through music.

As an actress, model, and influencer, I love evolving and changing. DJ-ing started as fun, but now it feels like a strong new chapter that adds beautifully to everything else I do.

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At first, my family thought this was just another phase, because I love enrolling in courses, but after the success of my first event, they’ve been immensely supportive

Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 20, 2017)

A report put out by a website claiming that a newbie had been “sexually harassed” by Riya Sen, while shooting for Ekta Kapoor’s Ragini MMS Returns, has caused embarrassment to the young actor Nishant Malkani.

He says, “We were shooting a bedroom sequence where we had to get intimate. In the bid to make it as real as possible we were both improvising. Riya pulled my trackpants down, and that too just a bit.” This is where the scandal erupted.

Says Malkani, “I was stunned with all the reports of Riya sexually harassing me. For God’s sake, I would know if I was sexually harassed. And I am man enough to own up to it if it happened. It is ridiculous to even suggest that Riya took advantage of me. If she pulled my pants down she did it for the scene. I am okay with it. She’s okay with it. Her husband is okay with it. Then who are these people shouting about sexual harassment?”

Malkani feels reports on sexual violation need to be more responsible. “Sexual harassment is a very serious matter. Please don’t trivialise it by using it for sensational headlines. Man or woman, it is equally important to come forward if you are sexually harassed. And I don’t think my mardaangi would be challenged if I owned up to being harassed.”

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 12, 2017)

Requesting that explicit content be muted in an adult film may seem ludicrous, but Riya Sen, close on the heels of her wedding last month, has approached the makers of Ragini MMS Returns with a request of similar nature.

Sen, who tied the knot with long-time beau Shivam Tewari in an intimate ceremony, "had reservations" about certain scenes in the third instalment of Ekta Kapoor's horror sex franchise, which sees her in a prominent role.

Talking about the show that will release on Kapoor's digital platform Alt Balaji, a unit hand says, "Riya, who essays the pivotal role of Simran in the show knew that the series would involve intimate scenes featuring her and co-star Nishant Malkani. They were meant to be explicit, but Riya was uncomfortable while filming them." The actor, the source adds, raised her concerns with director Suyash Vadhavkar, who keeps his cast's comfort in mind. "He toned down the intimate scene and shot it aesthetically. Although Riya has done a fair share of steamy roles, she wasn't at ease this time since she is now married."

Sen confirms the news to mid-day, saying, "I had reservations while shooting the intimate scenes and convinced Suyash to tone them down."

Given that this series will exploit the horror genre more than the sexual content, abiding by Sen's request wasn't difficult, the source says. "The director worked his way around with cheat shots."

Ruman Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; August 19, 2017)

MUMBAI MIRROR (August 18, 2017)

Riya Sen tied the knot with long-term beau Shivam Tewari in a hush-hush ceremony in Pune on Wednesday. The day-long ceremony took place in the presence of family and close friends.

Riya recently made news with her acting comeback in Ekta Kapoor’s series Ragini MMS 2.2. But more than the shooting schedule, her Instagram page led to a feeding frenzy as her timelines were flooded with pictures of her vacationing with Shivam in Prague and Shanghai, among other places. He is a photography enthusiast and the couple have travelled together on his overseas assignments.

When Mirror had quizzed her on Tuesday regarding the rumours that she was getting hitched, her publicist had categorically denied it. Maybe it was just a snap decision!

Mahima Chaudhry plays a character inspired by Indrani Mukerjea in a film based on the Sheena Bora murder case
Upala KBR (DNA; January 19, 2016)


Mahima Chaudhry
The plot is based on the premise: Can a mother kill her own child? If I hadn’t read it in the papers, I would have found the story over-the-top and not possible in real life. I have heard about infanticide, but having grown, nurtured and provided that child financial support, if the mother reaches a point where she can’t tolerate that child, it’s something to think about. The film doesn’t really solve the mystery, so it’s fuzzy. The story is like chocolate, which people can’t resist and yet leaves a bitter taste in their mouths, but they still crave it. Agnidev came to meet me in Mumbai and said, ‘It’s a story of a mother suspected of killing her daughter and is loosely inspired by the Sheena Bora murder case.’ I said it’s very interesting and far easier for me to do than wear chiffon sarees and dance around trees. I asked him to give me a couple of months to get myself regimented into a diet and workout. He said that would defeat the purpose as he wanted me to look simple and not even wear makeup. He wanted the audience to wonder how an ordinary girl could have had so many lovers, so many people falling in love with her, how she got lucky, what was so special about her. I got up and hugged him! He said if I said yes, I would have to come to Kolkata in two days and start shooting. My first scene was the interrogation. I speak Bengali, so the language wasn’t a problem. Also my character travels from Assam and Mumbai to Kolkata, so apart from Bengali, I also speak in Hindi and English. I guess I can say now that I debuted in a Bengali film...

The story had to be told
If I hadn’t read the true story I would have told my director to cut off some scenes as they look so unreal. I had just two days to prepare for my role. It was a story that needed to be told. It’s very tough playing a real life character in a controversial story. Yes it’s dark, but I am not the only dark character in the film. As the story unfolds you will see my three husbands are darker than me. I come out looking light grey and not dark when the film gets over. What was tough was that it’s the first character that I have not understood but just played blindly according to the director’s vision. Being a mother myself (she has a daughter) I just couldn’t be convinced why she did it. I don’t want to know the motive or understand or live the character or do method acting! It’s just a story which has never been told on cinema so I agreed to do it. I am not convinced there can be a woman like that… There can be no motive big enough for a mother to kill her child. She must have gone through some evil stuff to make her like that. While accidental murder is different this one was a planned one. How can there be so many evil people amongst us? It’s ironical. I had done a reality show Jalwa Four 2 Ka 1 for the 9X channel which was then owned by Peter and Indrani.

The film drained me
In real life stories like this you can’t give your own inputs —the only one person who controls the story is the director and where he wants to take the story or play it up. You can’t bring in your own take as you already know so much. The film drained me… It’s not a good feeling to play characters like this. You start feeling who should I trust now? These are the same evil people from your society moving around you. I met a lot of people in Kolkata who said Saneeiv Khanna is a wonderful, well-spoken man. They all said, ‘How could Sanju have done something like this?’ They would refer to him so fondly and called him Sanju. In the film my characters are presumed to be evil, they are not who we think they are, so the audience will think could I have done it?

Riya plays my daughter in the film and she was a lot of fun. Her sister Raima and mother came on the sets and the Sens were a riot. It was very good to hang out with them. Some scenes like the hacking scenes which we shot in Shantiniketan made me feel very depressed and Riya and I would feel yucky doing them while shooting them in a remote jungle but she always cheered me up. Riya is a very pretty girl and we got along very well.

Subhash K Jha (DNA; September 23, 2015)


Ritu decided to opt out of the project, despite her being a favourite of director Agnidev Chatterjee — she was part of nearly all his Bengali films and his first Hindi film Tera Aane Se. Apparently, there was a lot of pressure on her to not do the film, as it treaded on too many toes.

The actress confirmed her exit from the project, “No. I am not doing the role. There was a possibility that I would do the role. And, I admit I was considering it. But now, I’ve declined the offer,”

Strangely, Riya Sen who plays Sheena Bora, seemed unaware of Ritu’s exit from the cast. “Yes, I am playing a character inspired by Sheena Bora. Rituparna Sengupta plays Indrani Mukherjea,” says Riya excitedly. Tell her Sengupta is out of the project and she replies, “I don’t know then. All I know is I am very excited about my role.”

BOMBAY TIMES (September 16, 2015)

Music videos have launched a thousand stars. From Deepika Padukone to Riya Sen, meet the actors who started their careers on a musical note before Bollywood came calling
Ria Lawrence (MID-DAY; August 3, 2015)

How often do you find yourself humming to a tune from an indie music album? It might be rare to do so today, but if you are a ’90s kid, you probably still cherish the memory of listening to Palash Sen and his band’s euphoric tunes.

There was also pop singer Alisha Chinai’s Made in India, which set the nation’s collective pulse soaring. The bestselling album was noteworthy for reasons other than the money it raked in and its anthemic tunes. It also, very memorably, introduced Milind Soman.

Last week, Vidya Balan featured in a music video about women’s rights, but she is hardly the first actor to do so (see her in Euphoria's album, pictured above). A-listers Deepika Padukone and Malaika Arora Khan have all acted in music videos, before Bollywood came calling.

We take a trip down memory lane by recalling Bollywood celebrities’ memorable appearances in music videos.


Celina Jaitly
Remixes and fusion songs continue to rule the charts, although at one point, sometime in the early 2000s, songs such as Kaanta Laga, Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar and Pardesiya had everyone swaying to their beats.

The song Zara nazron se kehdo (see pic), originally sung by Hemant Kumar, also tasted such success when it was remixed by Bombay Vikings, starring a relatively-unknown Celina Jaitley. The model and actress impressed viewers with her cute-girl-meets-sultry siren looks and dance moves. She also starred in Jazzy B’s music video, Oh Kehri in 2001. In the year 2003, she landed a role in Janasheen which failed at the box-office.


Deepika Padukone
The actress was a force to reckon with in the world of modelling, stunning everyone with her stellar looks and poise on ramp. But her appearance in Himesh Reshammiya’s music video in 2006, Naam Hai Tera (see pic), got Bollywood to sit up and take notice. Reshammiya, himself a rage at the time, saw the video turn into the perfect launchpad for the actress. A dream debut with Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om (2007) followed and the rest, as they say, is history.


Milind Soman
Long before he became the country’s Ironman and poster boy for fitness, Milind Soman was noticed during his appearance  in the title song of singer Alisha Chinai’s Made in India The album, and Soman, went on to become a huge hit, putting both the singer and the model on the map. The video saw a chiselled Soman, who played a prince from India, emerge from a box to woo Chinai. There were scores of women who wished they were in Chinai’s shoes.


John Abraham
When ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas wasn’t too busy writing haunting melodies, he sang another number,  Chupke Chupke, starring a little-known model John Abraham, with cute dimples and long, floppy hair. The actor, more recently, was appreciated for his role as producer in the small budget 2012 movie, Vicky Donor.


Bipasha Basu
As an established model, Bipasha Basu garnered much attention when she starred in Sonu Nigam’s Tu Kab Ye Janegi. The pop singer was at the peak of his career. She made her Bollywood debut in Ajnabee in 2001 in a supporting role. What followed were a spate of some good and some cringe-worthy movies. But one can’t deny that the Bengali beauty has climbed the ladder quite well.


Riya Sen
Singer Falguni Pathak sang her way into the hearts of listeners with her 1998 song, Yaad piya ki aane lagi. The song gained cult status and fetched Pathak her status as Dandiya Queen. The song also launched actress Riya Sen, who went on to act in Hindi as well as regional films.


Ayesha Takia
Falguni Pathak introduced Ayesha Takia to the audience through her hit song, Meri chunnar udd udd jaye. The song also featured south Indian actress Trisha Krishnan, whose role added an element of fantasy to the video. The soulful song was picturised on two lovers, one of them played by Takia.


Dia Mirza
Actors and actresses rarely get the chance to star in a music video that features the versatile and legendary Asha Bhonsle, before their big Bollywood break. Actress and model Dia Mirza is among the lucky few. Long before the movies, advertisements and international titles, Mirza starred in Asha Bhonsle’s melodious track, Na marte hum in 2001.

Mirza and television actor Aashish Chaudhary starred as lead characters in the song. The song rose up the popularity charts and was even featured regularly on radio and television programmes. Mirza, who is half-German, also acted in the title song of the album, Khoya Khoya Chand, before she landed the lead role in her debut Hindi movie, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein in the year 2001.


Malaika Arora
Gur naal ishq mitha continues to be a popular song played at weddings when it’s time to hit the dance floor. Part of the video’s charm came from its lead actors, Malaika Arora and Jas Arora. Malaika, who is married to Arbaaz Khan, was a popular VJ, now a reality show judge, host, model and dancer as well.


Shahid Kapoor
Before bowling us over with his performances in Haider and Kaminey, Shahid was seen as a scrawny, love-struck teenager in the song  Aankhon mein tera hi chehra by the band Aryans. Kapoor went on to wow audiences with his  dancing prowess on stage and acting in praise-worthy movies.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2015)

Director Chandrakant Singh, who has directed films like Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa and Bin Bulaye Baarati, approached Riya Sen for his next, titled Six X.

According to a source, the actress agreed to come on board after a narration. Then she learnt that her former boyfriend Ashmit Patel will feature in one of the six stories in the film and Riya pulled out of the project even though she didn't have any scenes with Ashmit. A leaked MMS clip had ended their relationship in 2009.

When contacted, Chandrakant Singh admitted that Riya had 'confirmed' her presence, before backing out. "There are various reasons for her not coming on board, mainly date problems. We've already shot with Ashmit and Shweta Bhardwaj has replaced Riya."

When contacted, Riya stated that she did not wish to comment.