Nandita was born on 7th Nov 1969 in Delhi, India. Dissimilar to the majority Indian actors, she declined to shift to Bombay ("Bollywood") and at a halt lives in Delhi.Her father is the well-known painter Jatin Das.Her mother, Varsha Das, is a writer.She began acting with a street theatre group called Jannatya Manch and did this for six years.
She educated at the Rishi Valley School (started by J. Krishnamurti). After she did her Master’s in Social Work (MSW), she commenced working with an NGO called Ankur and then for Alarippu, a children’s organization which is about making learning more likeable for children from underprivileged homes.
Her first appearance was in Prakash Jha’s "Pariniti" in 1987, a small film made for TV and the film festival circuit. She had a small but influential role in the film. Nandita was also chosen as a Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005