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- Actor
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Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, British India (present-day Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India) to legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan & Teji Bachchan. He also has a brother named Ajitabh. He completed his education from Uttar Pradesh and moved to Bombay to find work as a film star, in vain though, as film-makers preferred someone with a fairer skin, and he was not quite fair enough. But they did use one of his other assets, his deep baritone voice, which was used for narration and background commentary. He was successful in being cast in Saat Hindustani. He got his break in Bollywood after a letter of introduction from the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, as he was a friend of her son, Rajiv Gandhi. This is how Bachchan made an entry in Bollywood, starting with Zanjeer, co-starred with his future wife Jaya Bhaduri, and since then there has been no looking back.
He married Jaya Bhaduri, an accomplished actress in her own right, and they had two children, Shweta and Abhishek. Shweta is married, lives a non-filmy life and has two children.
Being friends with Rajiv Gandhi, got him to decide to run for seat in the Indian National Congress (political party) from his home town but had to leave mid-term because of controversies, particularly after Rajiv and he were implicated in the now infamous "Bofors" case along with the U. K. based Hinduja Brothers.
After a four year break, he was back in the unsuccessful Mrityudaata (1997), a comeback which the actor wanted to forget. Critics written him off but his career was saved with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998). But four flops in 1999 and incurring debt of over 90 crore rupees of his sinking company ABCL saw him at an all-time low. To make matters worse, after the defeat of the Congress party, Bachchan lost considerable political support, the opposition made him a target, and his credit rating deteriorated to such an extent that a leading nationalized bank, Canara Bank, sued him for outstanding loans. He did bounce back, presenting the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire called Kaun Banega Crorepati? (2000). After a series of hits with Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Baghban (2003) and Khakee (2004), Bachchan is showing no signs of slowing down and proving the critics wrong once again.
Amitabh and Jaya were interested in getting their son Abhishek married to Karisma Kapoor, the daughter of Babita and Randhir Kapoor, they went through a formal engagement, but later broke it off.
The former Miss World and Bollywood actress, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek, were formally engaged on Sunday January 14, 2007, at the Bachchan residence in Juhu, Bombay, with the marriage taking place at the Bachchan residence on April 20, 2007.
On November 16, 2011, he became a Dada (paternal grandfather) when Aishwarya gave birth to a daughter in a Mumbai Hospital. He is already a Nana (maternal grandfather) to Navya and Agastye - Shweta's children.
He continues to be one of the busiest actors and singers in Bollywood as well as on TV, as can be seen from the commercials that he appears on, especially on Sahara One. Looks like there are no limits for this super-star and once the "Angry Young Man" of Bollywood.- Actress
Amrita was born in the Rao family on June 7, 1986 in Mumbai, She speaks Konkani. She comes from a well to do Hindu family. Her dad owns an Advertising Agency.
Amrita did not want to purse any career with Bollywood as she wanted to graduate in psychology, which she eventually did.
No stranger to cameras and bright lights, she has modeled for approximately 35 advertisements. Her first assignment was for Fairever Face Cream. Amongst other assignments that got her noticed were Hindustan Lever's 'Close-up' Cadbury's Perk, & Nestle Bru Coffee. Ken Ghosh approached Amrita for his debut movie Ishq Vishq after seeing her in the perk commercial, where she plays a hungry bride eagerly awaiting the arrival of her husband on the religious occasion of 'Karva Chauth'. Ishq Vishq was a world-wide hit and made her famous virtually overnight. Amrita Rao is also a Brand Ambassador for D'Damas Gold Jewellery, Parachute Hair Oil, and Miss Players Apparels.
Her other hit movies Masti (2004), Main Hoon Na (2004) and Vivah (2006) added to her popularity and stardom. While 'Pyare Mohan', 'Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi', 'Shikhar' 'Deewar' were average at the box office. So far she has won 6 awards, mostly related to her performances in 'Ishq Vishk' and 'Vivah'.
Barely 12 movies' old, she is already quite well-known for her skilled performances and her dancing talent. Madhuri Dixit went gaga over her performance at the Filmfare Awards 2007. Renowned artist M.F Hussain chose her as his Muse and theme of paintings after Madhuri Dixit.
She also has a Telegu movie to her credit which turned out a huge box office hit. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Marathi. She is passionate about reading short stories. Allergic to spicy Indian food, she prefers bland continental, and loves dessert such as Gulab Jamun
She has co-starred with Shahid Kapur, Zayed Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Akshay Khanna, and Mahesh Babu.
A winner of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award at the young age of 25, Amrita Rao is all set for her successful innings at Bollywood.- Actress
Aquarian Amrita was born on February 9, 1958. Her parentage is Sikh-Muslim. Her dad's name is Shivinder Singh, and her mom's maiden name was Rukshana Sultana. She is the great-grand daughter of Shobha Singh, who knighted and had his prefixed by 'Sir'. She is the niece of writer/author Khushwant Singh, who was also known for his column in leading Indian newspapers.
She is of the most attractive actresses of her time, and perhaps the only one who had a lead role with both Dharmendra and his son, Sunny Deol, and has proved to an actress who is not afraid of doing negative roles.
Amrita Singh has been a dedicated Bollywood actress for years. Amrita Singh left her career as an actress when she married Bollywood actor, Saif Ali Khan, in 1991, even though he was years younger than her.
Saif Ali Khan is the son of Bollywood actress, Sharmila Tagore, and Indian cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan. Amrita and Saif have two children, a daughter, Sara Ali Khan, and a son, Ibrahim Ali Khan.
In 2004 Amrita and Saif Ali Khan have decided to separate, and eventually divorced. The children, Sara and Ibrahim, are now with their mother in India, while Saif is courting an Italian girlfriend.
Amrita Singh has made it known now that she intends to make a come-back in Bollywood, as well as considering doing TV pro grammes.- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Living in a Chawl in Tilak Nagar, Punjabi-speaking Anil was born in 1959 to Surinder and Nirmal aka Suchitra Kapoor. He has an elder brother, Boney, a sister, Reena, and a younger brother, Sanjay. His dad used to be Shammi Kapoor's Secretary.
A loner, without many friends, he studied in the nearby O.L.P.S. (Our Lady of Perpetual Succor) School, and was an ardent fan of Bollywood flicks that were telecast during the Ganesh Maha Utsav every year. He was a fan of Raj Kapoor, and it was this that influenced his acting, and people saw him as a mimic of the legendary showman. He landed a role as a child artiste with Shashi Kapoor in the lead, but the movie (Tu Payal Main Geet) was never released.
After school, he went to study in St. Xaviers College. He commuted by bus and train from Chembur to Bombay V.T., and the walked the rest of the way. It was here that he met Mazhar Khan. A distracted Anil was kicked out of College in the second year due to his lack of presence. His attempts to join the Pune Film Institute were in vain, as he failed in the written examination. He then decided to join Roshan Taneja's Acting school.
He first appeared on the silver screen in Hamhare Tumhare in a character role. His first lead role was in 'Woh 7 Din' and from thence on there has been no looking back. He has acted in close to a 100 movies, and has 5 in production. He has produced two movies (Gandhi My Father & Badhaai Ho Badhaai), as well as been a Casting Director/Outdoor In charge for 'Hum Paanch'.
Kapoor's first role in an international film was in Danny Boyle's 2008 Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. His performance in the eighth season of the action series 24 generated rave reviews from the American press Globally, Anil Kapoor is one of the most recognized Indian actors.
Anil met wealthy and chic model, Sindhi-speaking Sunita Bhambhani, and married her in 1984. Since then they have given birth to 3 children, kapoor has two daughters and a son Harshwardhan Kapoor.Kapoor's elder daughter is actress Sonam Kapoor. Rhea Kapoor attended school in New York and is now a producer in Mumbai.- Actress
Anjori was born in the Hindi-speaking Alagh family in India. Her mom, Maya, is an accomplished Bollywood actress, and her dad, Sunil, was the Chief Executive Officer of Britannia Industries. She has a sister named Sawari, who is married to Sameer Nair (Chief of NDTV), and they have a daughter, Midori. 'Anjori' means the first beam of moonlight.
Anjori started modeling from the age of 4 in a number of advertisements e.g. Maggi and Kodak with Prahlad Kakkar, and continued doing so until she was 10. Giving priority to her education, she re-located to the United States to study economics and business management in Ohio. During the summer break she joined the Stanford Acting School, and made up her mind that she wanted to become an actress, quit her studies, returned to India and joined the Namit Kapoor Acting Academy. She is proficient in the Indian classical dance form of Kathak and is learning 'Bollywood' dancing styles from Saroj Khan.
Her mom helped her pave the way to an acting career and introduced her to several producers and film-makers. She bagged a role in 'Life Mein Kabhie Kabhie' after being introduced to Vikram Bhatt.- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Ashwini was born in the Marathi-speaking family Bhave family on May 7th. Her family are Koknastha Brahmins.
She acted in a number of Marathi language movies, before graduating to Bollywood in 1991 with 'Henna'. She is a versatile actresses and has been a lead as well as a character actress. Her career spanned from the mid-eighties through onto 1998.
After getting married to software engineer, Kishore Bopadikar, she quit acting, relocated to San Fransico, USA, where she subsequently gave birth to two children.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Asin was born in Cochin, Kerala, India in the Malayalam-speaking Thottumkal family which consists of her businessman dad, Joseph, and mom, Dr. Seline, who practices in Ernakulam. She attended Naval Public School in Cochin, and after obtaining her Matriculation, was enrolled in St. Theresa's Higher Secondary School. After successfully obtaining her Higher Secondary School Certificate, she enrolled in St. Theresa's College to continue studying in the Arts Faculty. After obtaining a Degree in B.A. English Literature, she assisted her dad in his business (which includes software, export of furniture and antiques) and also took up modeling on the side. Her modeling assignments included Colgate Toothpaste, and Fairever Cream.
This exposure got her noticed and she made her debut on the tinsel screen through director Sathyan Anthikad's "Narendaran Makan" with Malayalyee actor Kunjachacko Boban.
After her initial success, she was offered Telugu movies, and warmly welcomed in the Telugu film industry. It was a smooth transition from Telugu to Tamil with the film "M Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi". Asin starred in the original Telugu version, so she was the obvious choice for the Tamil remake, opposite Jeyam Ravi. The movie was a super hit. What makes Asin hot in the Tamil film industry, apart from her looks, is that she has teamed up with all the top heroes -- Vijay, Ajith, Surya and now Vikram, in "Maja".
She speaks a wide range of languages such as Malyalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit, English, French, and may well be the only Indian actress with a Blogspot in French. She is very active in various functions throughout Southern India, and credits her good upbringing to her parents, who she considers her role models. She was the winner of an entrepreneurial award as a teenager. She is fond of reading and has a huge collection of books.
Asin, along with her mom and dad, have left their Harrington Road apartment at Chetpet, Chennai, and have re-located to an apartment in Lokhandwala Complex, in Andheri (West), Mumbai, in order to enable her to debut in Bollywood movies.
She has had a taste of success at a very young age in Indian regional movies, it remains to be seen if her success will continue in Bollywood also.- Actress
Ayesha was born in Srinagar, Kashmir on July 28th. She dad is a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force, & she has a sister named Aparna.
Due to her dad's frequent transfers, they re-located to Delhi, where she developed her gregarious ways. Lived in Delhi, India till her early teen days. She moved to Bombay to act in films after her childhood lover Rajat Mathur jilted her.
She debuted in Kaise Kaise Log in 1983, and up until has starred in over 45 movies. Her performance in 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' was her best. She is currently modeling for Prafful Sarees.
She married Sameer Vashi, who is the construction business, and they live in Tirupati Apartments, Andheri (west), Bombay, India.- Ayesha Takia was born in Mumbai on April 10th 1986. Her father's name is Nishit, a Gujarati and her mother's name is Faridah, who is half Maharashtrian and half Caucasian British.
Ayesha had never let her lack of speaking Hindi fluently come in her way. A go-getter, she is no stranger to the silver screen and has faced cameras even at the tender age of 4. Her continuity was what got her noticed and the makers of 'Socha Na Tha' approached her in 2004 to play the lead role opposite Dharmendra's nephew Abhay Deol which she accepted.
She also signed up for another film 'Tarzaan The Wonder Car' which proved to be her debut in Bollywood, as the release of 'Socha Na Tha' was delayed.
With 'Tarzaan The Wonder Car' Ayesha quickly made her mark in Bollywood and not only was noticed but also received an Award - The Best Filmfare Debut.
Thereafter her films have done poorly at the Box Office, although she scored highly with teenaged audience in India and abroad, especially with her performance in 'Dil Maange More' and 'Shaadi No. 1'.
She also appeared in a 2006 Telegu movie named 'Robbery', which was later dubbed into Hindi and released as 'Super'.
And then came Dor in which she played the role without any glamor - the film that brought a lot of praise and much needed recognition for her. Here she has proved that she can enact both good and glamorous on one hand and the more ordinary next door type girl roles with ease.
Now Ayesha is one of the most gorgeous and beautiful actresses much sought after by movie makers and a force to be reckoned with, especially for other leading ladies of Bollywood. - Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Babita Shivdasani was born in a prominent Sindhi family based in Bombay. Encouraged by the success of her cousin, actress Sadhana Shivdasani, in Hindi movies, Babita too decided to enter the film industry as a leading actress. Her first release was with another débutante, Rajesh Khanna, in the musical thriller "Raaz" (1967). It wasn't a hit, but her next film "Farz" (1967) was a hit, and as a result, she became a star. Thereafter there was no looking back for this beautiful actress. In the mid-70s Babita ended her acting career when she married another movie star, Randhir Kapoor, settled down as a housewife, and gave birth to two lovely daughters, actresses Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. She became a stage-mother by managing Karishma and Kareena's careers, and they both dominated the Indian Film Industry as it's two topmost leading ladies. Babita became a grandmother when Karishma gave birth to two children. Kareena married 'Saif Ali Khan' (son of actress Sharmila Tagore.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Bhagyashree Patwardhan was born in a royal, though very conservative Marathi-speaking, Patwardhan family on February 23, 1969. Her father is the former Maharaja of Sangli, whose qualifications include MBA and LLB. Since her childhood she was taught Sanskrit, as her dad recites Slokas.
She was contemplating going overseas to pursue her studies in Management, when Sheela, the former wife of actor/film-maker, Amol Palekar, approached her to act in a television serial 'Kaachi Dhoop', which she accepted. The TV serial proved to be very popular, and as a result she also ended up appearing in 'Honi Anhonee', and 'Kisse Miya Biwi Ke'.
The popularity of this charming, beautiful Piscean with an innocent fresh face got her the lead in Sooraj Barjatya's 'Maine Pyar Kiya', opposite Salman Khan, which went on to be a blockbuster. She also ended up starring in a total of 6 movies: 2 from Bangladesh, 2 in Kannada, and 2 in Telugu. The change in language did not prove to be a challenge as languages in India are based in Sanskrit and this is where her childhood education came to her aid.
'Maine Pyar Kiya' could have been an ideal step to popularity, but shortly after its release, Bhagyashree decided to get married to her boyfriend, Himalay Dassani.
She conditionally offered to act in movies provided a lead role was provided to Himalay. She did star with him in three movies 'Qaid Main Hai Bulbul', 'Tyaagi', and 'Paayal', but all three failed at the box office.
She then turned her attention to her family, and soon became the mother of two children. She gives priority to her family and will only work 15 days a month.
She did a come-back to the small screen with with a TV serial in which she played the role of a mature politician. She also appeared in a TV commercial for Parag Sarees.
She made a special appearance in 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye', and 'Janani'.
This suave and gentle young woman is also involved in 'Kagaz Ki Kashti' which is being produced by her husband for the small screen, and is to be aired on Sahara One.- Bhanu Priya was the dancing sensation of the South. Studying dance professionally she communicated her deep love for it by being selected for a film role while still at school when the renowned Tamil Director, "Bharathi Raja came to see her. Being so confident of her dancing prowess and acting capabilities after screen-test he gave her a role in Mella Pesina.
Her acting matches her dance abilities when given [performance oriented roles. Bhanu Priya acted as a dignified elderly house-wife in Pedaruyuda and thinks such roles should be grabbed at the first offer and the role she was offered in Annamaya which the production unit thought that only she would justify. But there was a huge gap in her film-career when she was at the top place in the "Tollywood" especially- due to her sheer fault that instead of building her career which was
- Actress
- Additional Crew
5' 3" tall, Bhoomika Chawla was born on August 21 in New Delhi. Her father was a military officer who was posted in various places across the country, so she saw much of India. Her elder brother is also a military officer. Bhoomika finished her schooling in Delhi and moved to Mumbai in 1997 for work on her career starting in ads and music videos. Her campaign for Ponds talcum powder became popular and inevitably, film offers followed. She got an offer from the Telugu film industry and though "Yuvakudu" (2000) was her first movie, she became popular with mega hit "Khushi" (Telugu). She won the "Best Actress Award" for the film Kushi.- Bindu was born on April 17th in the Gujerati-speaking Desai family, consisting of her film producer dad, Nanubhai, and stage actress mom, Jyotsna.
Due to her Bollywood connections she was able to find a niche in movies as early as 1962 with 'Anpadh' in which she plays the 'well educated' daughter of an 'illiterate' Mala Sinha. But the real meaty and negative role came her way with 'Do Raaste' in which she plays the wife of Prem Chopra, and the movie that type-cast her in as a vamp was 'Kati Patang' with 'Meraaa Naam has Shabnam, Pyar Se Log Mujhey Shaboo Kahete Hain...' in which she belittles and then blackmails Asha Parekh - a song that is still popular and has also been remixed.
Quite unlike her screen characters, Bindu's life was not an easy one, especially at the age of 13 when her dad passed away, leaving the onus on her to fend for the rest of the Desai family.
She got married to Champaklal Zaveri, who supported her talents and encouraged her to continue to act in movies.
She has acted in over 160 movies in a career that spanned from 1962 through on to the 2004 hit 'Main Hoon Na'.
Bindu is now a Bollywood legend, a vamp, a character actress, a stern mother-in-law, a dancer, a singer, a seductress but above all - an excellent actress. - Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Fate intervened when Bipasha recoiled and passed out when dissecting a rat. Thus ended her dream of being a medical professional. She was enrolled in the science faculty until 12th standard, but switched to commerce thereafter. After acquiring a degree in commerce she planned to be a chartered accountant but ended up being the Ford Supermodel of the World when she was just 17 years old.
Bipasha was born on January 7th 1979 in New Delhi. subsequently the Basu family re-located to Calcutta. Bipasha is the second of three sisters, born and brought up in a Hindu Bengali family, she is fluent in Hindi, English, and Bengali. The names of her sisters are Bidisha and Bijoyeta. Unbelievable as it may sound, sexy Bipasha was considered 'ugly' in her younger years due to her dark complexion. Her name means 'Dark Deep Desire', and is also the name of a river.
After her triumph as the Ford Supermodel, she went on to be crowned Miss Vivacious sponsored by Tulips.
Bipasha made her foray into Bollywood with Ajnabee (2001) in 2001, and subsequently acquired a place for herself in the tinsel world. She went to star in Raaz (2002), Jism (2003), No Entry (2005), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Corporate (2006) & Dhoom 2 (2006). All of these movies did fairly well at the box office, and escalated her position as not only a leading lady, but one who can dare to bare. Dhoom 2 (2006) also credits her as a playback singer.
She has also appeared in two music videos, and was one of the judges in the 2004 Femina Miss India beauty pageant.- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Bobby Deol (Vijay Singh Deol) is the second son of Bollywood mega-star Dharmendra. His older brother is another Bollywood mega-star, Sunny Deol. Deol began his career as a child artiste in the movie Dharam Veer (1977), playing a young Dharmendra.
He has two step-sisters, namely Bollywood actress Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. His step-mother is the Bollywood "Dreamgirl" Hema Malini. Bobby Deol married Tanya Ahuja and has been blessed with two sons. The second son was born on November 5, 2004 at 5:00 am, and is named "Dharam" after his grandpa. The elder son is named Aryaman.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Chunky Pandey was born in Bombay, India on September 26, 1962 in a non-film household.
Chunky's real name is Suyash Sharad Pandey, but is also known as Chandrakant Pandey. He shot into fame with a secondary role in 'Tezaab' which had Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles. He continued to meet considerable success in secondary and supportive roles, but has yet to make a name for himself as a lead hero.
After his marriage to Bhavna in 1998, he decided to act in Bangla movies, and achieved considerable success there, even though he has no knowledge of Bangla, and had his voice dubbed.
After the birth of two daughters, he decided to make a comeback to Bollywood during 2002 and ended up appearing in over a dozen movies.
He has appeared in over 55 movies, and has been nominated once for his supportive role in 'Tezaab'.
Apart from appearing in movies, Chunky is also involved in a business 'Bollywood Electric' which hosts stage shows. He and Bhavna also run a health food restaurant in Mumbai, India.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born on September 30, 1967, Deepti caught the media spotlight when she was crowned Eves Weekly's Miss India contest in 1990. She went on to represent India in the Miss World contest and actually ended up finishing in the 5th place.
She continued to receive modeling assignments from Singapore based organizations, and eventually ended up running a handicrafts factory in her hometown of Meerut, where she had earlier attended a Meerut University-affiliated College.
When she came to Bombay in 1992 to promote her handicrafts, she received an offer to model for 'Roopmilan Sarees'; signed up for about a dozen more campaigns; gave up her in interest in handicrafts and took up modeling as a profession.
This attractive young woman was noticed and was approached to act in Sanjay Gupta's 'Ram Shastra'. Unfortunately, moved failed to make any impact at the box office.
Not discouraged she signed up for a few more films, however, none of them were able to launch her career. She has acted in a total of approximately 9 Hindi movies, 2 Telegu movies, and 1 English movie, from 1995 through to 2004. Two of the Hindi movies have been opposite Mithun Chakraborty.
She got married to Randeep Arya, and started her own production company 'Deepti Bhatnagar Productions'; hired about 20 staff, and acquired facilities of dubbing, editing, and post-production. She has managed to do this without any external financing or even loans.
Since 2001 she is involved in the production of 'Musafir Hoon Yaaron', a travel guide show; a religious travel show called 'Yatra'; and a TV serial called 'Kabhi Aaye Na Judaai'. All of these shows are telecast on Star Plus.
This move on her part actually benefited her more than anything else, she loves traveling, and since then has traveled in over 80 countries, and admits that she enjoys this work more than modeling and acting in movies.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
One of the most beloved, charismatic and accomplished actors as well as one of the most imaginative and pathbreaking directors in the history of Indian cinema, Dev Anand was a leading man for more than five decades in over 110 motion pictures and continues to bestride Indian film fraternity even after his passing. He gave a new dimension to that magical state known as Stardom. And for his exemplary work he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 by the President of India. From the time he embarked on his career as a Film Actor in the mid-forties till his demise, his movies had been a journey filled with enriching experiences for the 'Evergreen Living Legend' of Indian Cinema. And he had always remained eternally youthful by his remarkable ability to live always in the present and the future; never in the past.
Also, as head of his film production company Navketan International Films, which was founded in 1949, Anand introduced a multitude of talent to the Indian Film Industry by way of actors, directors, music composers and cinematographers. He introduced new talent to cinema and experimented with new ideas for movies. He also headed one of the finest Film Sound Post-Production facilities in India - Anand Recording Studios - which has to its credit more than 3,000 Indian feature films that have been mixed/ surround mixed for worldwide release.
Anand won two Filmfare Awards - India's equivalent of the Oscars - in 1958 for his performance in the film "Kala Paani" (Black Water) and in 1966 for his performance in Navketan International Films' "Guide". "Guide" went on to win Filmfare Awards in five other categories including 'Best Film' and 'Best Director' and was sent as India's entry for the Oscars in the foreign film category that year. He co-produced the English Version of "Guide" with the Nobel Laureate Pearl S. Buck ("The Good Earth"). Eventually, his creative sensibilities got the better of him and he started writing and directing his own movies.
In 1993, he received a Filmfare 'Lifetime Achievement Award' and in 1996 he received a Screen Videocon 'Lifetime Achievement Award'. Then in 1997 he was given the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images Award for his Outstanding Services to the Indian Film Industry. In 1998, he was given a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' by the Ujala Anandlok Film Awards Committee in Calcutta. In 1999, he received the Sansui 'Lifetime Achievement Award' for his 'Immense Contribution to Indian Cinema' in New Delhi. In the year 2000, he was awarded the Film Goers' 'Mega Movie Maestro of the Millenium' Award in Mumbai. And then in July 2000, in New York City, he was honored by an Award at the hands of the then First Lady of the United States of America - Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton - for his 'Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema'. And again Anand was awarded the Indo-American Association 'Star of the Millennium' Award in the Silicon Valley, California. The President of India honored Anand with the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award on India's Republic Day - January 26th, 2001. And yet again, Donna Ferrar, Member New York State Assembly, honored him with a New York State Assembly Citation for his 'Outstanding Contribution to the Cinematic Arts Worthy of the Esteem and Gratitude of the Great State of New York' on May 1st, 2001.
Most recently, in April 2003, Anand was given a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' by the F.I.F.A. Committee in Johannesburg, South Africa. For an Indian Movie Icon who has hobnobbed with royalty, heads of State and celebrities, he did it all.
Anand passed away on December 3rd, 2011 in London's Washington Hotel, aged 88.
There are some who might remember Anand for not hanging his boots at the right time like his rival Dilip Kumar. But for millions of his admirers, both India and overseas, he shall remain the embodiment of someone who just never learnt to give up and being one of the pivotal figures who shaped the destiny of Indian Cinema in its formative years post independence and with his peerless intellect combined with his killer good looks gave it a footing on the map of world.- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Dharmendra is one of the biggest stars of Indian cinema. Dharmendra Deol played the romantic hero in woman Cedric films from 1960-1968 and became romantic hero from 1968-69 and played the role of action hero from 1971-1997. Dharmendra has appeared in 306 films.
He is known as 'Garam' Dharam in Bollywood. Had the looks of a real gentle man, masculine body of a he-man and when it came to his films, he had a very humorous touch in his dialog-delivery and the timing.
Dharmendra's original name is Dharam Singh Deol. He was born in a Jat Sikh family in Phagwara in Kapurthala district in the Indian state of Punjab to Kewal Kishan Singh Deol and Satwant Kaur. He spent his early life in village Sahnewal and studied at Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan, Ludhiana. He did his intermediate from Ramgarhia College, Phagwara in 1952.
The heroics in his films - Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Jugnu (1973), Raja Jani (1972) and Loafer (1973) - are all quite remarkable and unforgettable. He got nominated for Filmfare best actor 4 times in his career though he couldn't get one but got "The Life Time Achievement" award in 1997 from Filmfare for his achievements, splendid performance during his times and wonderful career in Bollywood. Dharmendra was fond of movies from a young age. He participated in the Filmfare new talent contest, which he won and came to Mumbai from Punjab looking for work. He made his debut with Arjun Hingorani's Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960). After which he got supporting roles in the film Boy Friend (1961) and was cast as the romantic interest in several woman oriented films from 1960-1967, where the story revolved around the heroine's character and, he was usually cast as a romantic hero opposite senior established leading actress of the time and later, from 1974 on-wards, as an action hero. His major breakthrough was playing supporting role to hero Rajendra Kumar in Aaye Milan Ki Bela, where his character was negative and supporting role in patriotic film Haqeeqat (1964) and playing romantic interest in woman oriented films from 1960-1967 and playing supporting roles to Balraj Sahni, Ashok Kumar, Biswajit in some films from 1960-67 like Soorat Aur Seerat, Bandini, Mamta, Ghar Ka Chirag.His sensitive side was explored by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in Anupama (1966) and Satyakam (1969), the latter is considered one of the best performances of his career. He got solo hero stardom with the blockbuster, Phool Aur Patthar (1966), which was his first action film but he became established action hero from 1971 film Mera Gaon Mera Desh. He projected himself as romantic hero with films like Pyar Hi Pyar, Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Mere Humdum Mere Dost and Aaye Din Bahar Ke. He cemented his image as action hero with successful films like Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Raja Jani (1972), Jugnu (1973), Kahani Kismat Ki and Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973). Dharmendra formed a popular onscreen pair with Hema Malini who later became his second wife. Hema Malini was the biggest female star of 1970s and they went on to star in hits such as Tum Haseen Mein Jawan, Sharafat (1970), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Raja Jani (1972), Jugnu (1973), Pratiggya (1975), Sholay (1975), Charas (1976), Azaad(1977), Dillagi (1978), among many others. Dharmendra proved his versatility and comic timing through Pratiggya, Chupke Chupke and Sholay. In Ramesh Sippy's Sholay (1975) he shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan and is still remembered for his inimitable portrayal of Veeru. His best romantic pairing was with the actress Asha Parekh with whom he had 5 hits - Shikhar, Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Aaye Din Bahar Ke, Samadhi and Mera Gaon Mera Desh. His next best pairing was with Hema Malini, with whom he did 35 films of them 31 had them as a leading romantic pair and Dharam Hema had 20 hits and 15 flops. Dharm Hema married in 1980 and Dharm-Hema have 2 children together, Esha and Ahana and he has two sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol from previous marriage with Prakash Kaur.
Often in 1960's till 1971 he played the romantic lead opposite female leading ladies in woman oriented films where the female protagonist's role overshadowed his roles with Dharam playing only supporting role in these films opposite Meena Kumari, Nutan, Mala Sinha, Sharmila Tagore. Phool Aur Paththar was the turning point in his career and established him as an action hero and as a solo lead hero.Artistically and popularity wise his peak period was the 1971-1979 where he did multi star as well as solo hero films in action and comedy genres and when his performances was appreciated by critics as well as audiences. Critics panned every film he did from 1985-2002 with exception being critically acclaimed films Burning Train, Ali Baba Aur 40 Chor, Jhutha Sach, Dharm Aur Qanoon, Rajput and Ghulami. He was the 2nd highest paid actor along with Vinod Khanna in Hindi films from 1976-1982 and Dharam alone was 3rd highest paid Hindi actor from 1987-1993 of A grade Hindi Films.
In the early 70s, Dharmendra became the first Indian actor to be voted among the most handsome men in the world. Through the 70s and 80s, Dharmendra worked with some of the biggest names in B'town such as Bimal Roy, Yash Chopra, Raj Khosla, Ramesh Sippy, Rajkumar Santoshi, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterji. In 1983, Dharmendra diversified into production and launched his elder son Sunny in 'Betaab', which was produced by his banner Vijayta Films and was a huge hit. in 1990, he produced Ghayal starring Sunny Deol in lead. The film was the second biggest hit of the year and won 7 Filmfare Awards including Best Film award and the coveted National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. He would later go on to launch the successful careers of his younger son Bobby in 'Barsaat'(1995) and nephew Abhay Deol in 'Socha Na Tha'(2005) under the banner. He has also periodically made films in his native tongue of Punjabi, starring in Kankan De Ole (Special Appearance) (1970 ), Do Sher (1974), Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974), Teri Meri Ik Jindri (1975), Putt Jattan De (1982) and Qurbani Jatt Di (1990).
His commercial hits from 1981 included Ram Balram, Professor Pyarelal, Kaatilon Ke Katil, Naukar Biwi Ka, Jaani Dost, Samraat, Bhaghavat, Raaj Tilak, Jaagir, Qayamat, Insaaf Kaun Karega, Insaniyat Ke Dushman, Loha, Sone Pe Suhaga, Mardo Wali Baat, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Nafrat Ki Anandi, Batwara and Elaan E Jung. His film Hukumat in 1987 was highest grossing film of that year. He continued to be strong in 1990s as the best action hero even stronger than Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff. His commercial hits in 1990s included Veeru Dada, Naka Bandi, Farishtay, Tehalka, Kshatriya, Maidan E Jung and Dharma Karma.
The low brow action films directed by likes of Kanti Shah damaged his action career in late 90s. Dharmendra was nominated 4 times for Best Actor Award at Filmfare Awards but never won. He was honored with Lifetime Achievement Award by Filmfare in 1997. He made a comeback to A grade films with a role in Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya (1998). He joined politics and was elected as a Member of the Parliament in the 2004 general elections, from Bikaner in Rajasthan, on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. He returned to acting in 2007 with films Life in a... Metro and Apne were acclaimed and successful. In the latter, he appears with both his sons, Sunny and Bobby for the first time. His other release was Johnny Gaddaar, where he played a villainous role. In 2011, he starred alongside his sons again in Yamla Pagla Deewana released on 14 January 2011 and was a success. A sequel Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 was released in 2013. His also acted with his daughter Esha in his wife Hema Malini's directorial venture Tell Me O Khuda in 2011. In 2011, Dharmendra replaced Sajid Khan as the male judge of the third series of popular reality show India's Got Talent. Dharmendra's first marriage was to Prakash Kaur at the age of 19 in 1954. From his first marriage, he has two sons, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol both successful actors, and two daughters, Vijayta Deol Gill and Ajeeta Deol. He has 4 grand sons named Karan, Rajvir, Aryaman, and Dharam. Dharmendra fell in love with Hema Malini during the filming of Sholay. She eventually married him in 1980. As the Hindu Marriage Act forbade polygamy, he converted to Islam in 1979 to avoid protests and give legitimacy to his second marriage. The couple has two daughters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. Esha is an actress and Ahana is a dancer. Dharmendra has received several honors for his contribution to cinema and was awarded India's third highest civilian honor Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012.- Born in a Gujerati-speaking family on June 8, 1957, daughter to businessman, Chunnibhai and Betty, Dimple has a younger sister, Simple, who was born on 15 August 1958.
She was discovered by Raj Kapoor, who signed her up opposite his son, Rishi, in the 1973 hit 'Bobby'. The film made Rishi and her stars overnight, at the time of the film's she was just 16 years old.
Exactly 6 months before the release of 'Bobby' Dimple who was a mad fan of super-star Rajesh Khanna, met and married the actor. Rajesh was 15 years older than her. After her marriage she quit films.
On Rajesh's 32nd birthday, a daughter, Twinkle nicknamed as Tina, was born to them. Then on July 27, 1977, Dimple and Rajesh became parents of Rinke, who would later also become an actress in her own right.
Dimple and Rajesh separated in 1982, enabling her to make a come-back to the tinsel screen with 'Zakhmi Sher'. She continues to act and has over 69 movies to her credit, some of them the more popular ones being 'Saagar', 'Insaaf', 'Zakhmi Aurat', 'Ram Lakhan', & 'Batwara'. - Divya was born on February 25, 1974 to Meeta and Om Prakash Bharti.
Opting for acting, she quit college, & landed a role in 'Bobbili Raja' (Telegu) in 1990 at just 16 years of age. This movie became a hit, and was dubbed into Hindi and released as 'Raampur Ka Raja'.
Divya made her debut in Bollywood in 1992 'Dil Hi To Hai', then in a musical romance 'Dil Ka Kya Kasoor', but it was the multi-starer 'Vishwatma' that really got her noticed. Thereafter she acted in 13 more movies amidst speculations that she would be the next Sridevi.
Her personal life was not as well chartered as her tinsel one, for she fell in love with Sajid Nadiadwala, married him secretly as her parents strongly disapproved, changed her religion from Hindu to Islam, and her name to Sana.
Her life tragically came to an end on April 5, 1993 when she fell from the balcony of her 5th floor flat in Yari Road, Versova.
Two of her movies 'Rang' and 'Shatranj' were released after her passing, and were dedicated to her memory. Her film-maker husband has also dedicated several of his films to her name. - Actress
- Producer
Fluent in English, Hindi and Tamil, Scorpion Esha was born on November 2, 1982 to Hema 'Dreamgirl' Malini, and Dharmendra 'He-Man' Deol. She has a younger sister, Ahana, and two step-brothers, Sunny and Bobby, both well-known Bollywood super-stars in their own rights. Bobby is married to Tanya Ahuja, and has a child.
Esha studied in the Jamnabai Narsee School, excelled at football, then went on to attend Oxford University and obtained a Masters Degree in Media Arts and Computer Technology. She also learned classical dance forms from her mom, the daughter of Jaya Chakraborty.
Having Bollywood connections, she did aspire to be an actress and follow in the footsteps of her parents and half-siblings, and landed a lead role in 'Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche' in 2002.
She delivered her very first hit with 'Dhoom' in 2004 and went on to another hit after hit in 'Kaal' 'No Entry', and 'Dus'. She demonstrated her versatility when she accepted a negative character-role in 'Ankaee' in 2006. She has also acted in a Tamil movie 'Aiyatha Ezhuthu'.
Amongst her friends at Bollywood are Kareena Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan. She likes to work out and listen to music.
She will shortly be seen in Just Married, and has started filming in the following movies; Cash, Darling, and Honeymoon.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Firoz was born in Bangalore on September 25, 1939 to a Pathan father, Sadiq, and an Iranian mother, Fatima. He has three brothers, Abbas alias Sanjay, Akbar, and Sameer. Both Sanjay and Akbar are actors within their own rights, while Sameer is a film-maker and assists in their Golden Palms Spa located in Bangalore.
He made his entry on the silver screen in 1960 after his return from a Bangalore-based English medium school. His career initially started as a hero in 'Didi', then he signed up for villain roles, and then made a comeback as a hero again.
His noteworthy movies are Oonche Log, Main Wohi Hoon, Aag, Mela, Upasna, Aprsdh. He became even more popular after the release of Dharmatma, Qurbani, Jaanbaaz, & Dayavan. he got an award for his role in Aadmi Aur Insaan. He died of cancer in his Bangloore farm house on 27 April, 2009.
He likes sports-car races and has included this sport in Apradh and then again in Janasheen. He prefers his character name to be either Rajesh or Rakesh. He is a worshipper of Bhagwan Shri Sai Baba and always wears a gold ring on his finger and has a picture close to him. Sai Baba is revered and worshiped by Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus in India.
He got married to Sundari in 1965 and they became proud parents of Laila and Fardeen. Despite objections raised by an Islamic Moulvi, Feroz and Sanjay got their children married to non-Islamic families. Laila was married to Rajpal, while Fardeen married Natasha Madhwani, the daughter of Mayur and former Bollywood hottie Mumtaz. Sundari and Feroz have been divorced since 1985.
Feroz has kept away from controversies, though he did get himself banned by the conservative Pakistani government.
Apart from acting this talented artiste has also edited, produced, written, & directed movies. His latest 'Kurbani' is currently under production.- Gayatri was born in the Marathi-speaking Joshi family on March 20, 1977 In Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
She studied in Mount Carmel High School in Nagpur, and when the family re-located to Bombay, and she was enrolled in the J.B. Vachha High School in Dadar. After completing her schooling she went on to study in Sydenham College. While still enrolled there, she modeled for brands such as Godrej, LG, Ponds, Bombay Dyeing, Sunsilk, Philips, as well as with Shahrukh Khan in the Hyundai ad.. She then went on to obtain a degree in Commerce from the same college.
She was chosen as one of the five finalists of the 1999 Femina Miss India Contest, and represented India at the Miss International beauty pageant in Japan during the same year.
After this success she returned to modeling and appeared in Seasons Catalogue and Calendar during the year 2001.
She also appeared in two music videos: Hansraj Hans' 'Jhanjaria', and Jagjit Singh's 'Sagar Ki Kashti'.
She made her debut on the silver screen opposite Shahrukh Khan in the 2004 movie 'Swades'.
On June 23, 2005, she was officially engaged to Vikas Oberoi, the Managing Director of Oberoi Constructions in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.. The couple were married at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on August 27, 2005. Twinkle Khanna, Isha Koppikar, Abbas-Mastan, Rakesh Roshan, Bhushan Kumar, Inder Kumar were amongst the guests at this wedding. She gave birth to a baby boy on September 1, 2006. - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Known as one of the "big three" of South Indian Cinema of yesteryear (the other two being M.G. Ramchandran, and Sivaji Ganesan), Ramaswamy Ganesan had acted in several box-office hits between 1950 and 1978 as the lead hero. Born on November 16, 1919, he was a graduate from an orthodox Brahmin family, and had begun his career as a Lecturer in the Madras Christian College, but subsequently began to work with Gemini Studios as an Executive from 1947, hence he was referred to as "Gemini" Ganesan. He became a movie film hero by the age of 30 in a movie made by AVM Productions, and would soon attain star status.
Fondly referred to as the "King of Romance", he was paired with a number of top-rated heroines of his times, including Vyjantimala, Saroja Devi, Sowkar Janaki, and Devika. He ended up getting married to Savithri, another top heroine.
He was the proud father of one son and seven daughters. One of his daughters is Bollywood mega-star Rekha, and a second daughter named Ji Ji also a movie actress in two Tamil films. One of his other daughter is a well-known Chennai-based gynecologist, Kamala Selvaraj.
Unlike the other big two, Ganesan never tried his hand in politics, and continued doing films in Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam, and Kannada languages, even after his prime, after which he did father roles up until the late 1990s. The total number of movies he acted in come to around 200 in all different languages.
A Padmasree recipient in 1971, Ganesan also won the Kalaimamani, MGR Gold Medal, and Screen Life Time Achievement awards.
After several months of bad health, he passed away on Tuesday 22 March 2005 at his home. He was 84 years of age.- Actress
Before her career as an actress, Keralite Gopika always maintained that she was never interested in acting. But when she won a beauty contest in Thrissoor, followed by a jewelery commercial and advertisement, a film offer virtually landed in her lap. Although this film did not do well, it got her noticed, and she soon signed up for a second film called "4 the People", which was a huge hit, and even had its prints dubbed in several different Indian languages. In 2004 noted Tamil movie director, Cheran, took note of Gopika in this movie, and signed her up for another Tamil movie "Autograph", which was also a huge success. Attractive and talented, she stole the limelight in "Autograph" from the leading lady (Sneha). She also looks gorgeous in "Kana Kandein", and her fans are anxiously awaiting her new release "Thottijaya", in which she stars opposite Simbu.- Hansika was born on August 9, 1991 in the Sindhi speaking Motwani family in Bombay, India. Her dad, Pradeep, is a businessman, while her mom, Mona, is a Dermatologist. She has an elder brother, Prashant. She is a student in Podar Internation School. Her parents divorced during 2004, while she continues to live in Andheri, Bombay, India, with her mom.
She has appeared in many TV serials, for example 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thee', 'Hum 2 Hai Na', 'Desh Me Nikla Hoga Chand', 'Shakalaka Boom Boom', 'Celebrity Fame Gurukool', and 'Tum Bin' as a child artiste. She also appeared as such in several TV commercials (e.g. Pepsi, Samsung, Hyundai Santro TV, and Bournvita).
Her mom's client, none other than Juhi Chawla, noticed Hansika and recommended that she act in movies. She was accordingly signed by for 'Yahoo' with herself and Govinda. Unfortunately, this movie was shelved.
This did not stop Hansika from acting as she has now appeared in a total of 5 movies in Hindi, as well as several regional language movies (e.g. Desamuduru in Telugu, Sarvam in Tamil).
She speaks Hindi and Tulu fluently. She is involved in physical fitness and diet with Mickey Mehta. At the age of 16 she has three staff persons, as well as her mom, to manage her career. - Actress
- Producer
- Director
Hema was born in the Tamil-speaking Chakravarthy household on October 16, 1948 in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu. Her dad's name is V.S.R. Chakravarthy and her mom, Jaya, was a film producer. She was enrolled in the Chennai-based Andhra Mahila Sabha.
After performing as a dancer in a 1961 regional movie, she was rejected by Tamil Director, C.V.Sridhar, during 1964 when she first attempted to act, on the grounds that she was too thin to be heroine in Venniradai and the role went to Venniradai Nirmala. Later Hema performed in the song Singara Therukku Selai sung by Seergazhi Govindrajan and L.R.Eshwari as a supporting actor from the 1963 Tamil film Idhu Sathiyam starring S.A.Asokan as the hero. But Hema persisted, debuted opposite Raj Kapoor in 'Sapnon Ka Saudagar' just 4 years after her rejection but the movie was a flop.
Thereafter there has no been looking back for this attractive Libran, who went to star in close to 155 movies; who also produced and directed two movies, and also directed a TV serial 'Noopur'.
After turning down marriage proposals from Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra, she met with hot fellow actor, Dharmendra, both were attracted to each other and wanted to get married. Dharmendra, who was already married to Prakash Kaur, and had two sons, Sunny and Bobby, could not marry Hema as Prakash refused to divorce him. According to the Hindu Marriage Act, a Hindu cannot marry a second time while the first wife is still alive. Dharmendra belongs to a Arya Samaj Hindu Punjabi Jatt family.
She had a hit on-screen pairing with Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Dev Anand in the 70's and, post-marriage, she had 8 hits opposite Rajesh Khanna in 1980-87. Dharmendra Hema Malini were paired in lead roles romantically in 31 films but have worked in 35 films. Of them 20 were hits and 15 were flops. Interestingly Rajesh Khanna-Hema Malini pair had 2 hits in early 70's and then 3 unfortunate flops in late 70's after which pair was written off but in eighties they gave 8 blockbusters as a pair. In all Hema has 10 hits with Rajesh Khanna.
On August 21, 1979, both Hema and Dharmendra converted to Islam, changed their names to Aisha Bi R. Chakravarty and Dilawar Khan Kewal Krishn respectively, and got married in accordance with Islamic rites. Three years after their marriage, Hema subsequently gave birth to Esha and then later to Ahana. Esha is an actress in her own rights. The trio, well proficient in the arts of Bharatnatyam dance form, have performed together at a number of dance events and concerts.
Hema is a member of the right-winged Bharatiya Janata Party, and became a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
She was amongst the first actresses to wear bell-bottom and shirts in Hindi movies, and is also amongst the few who have kept their word of not wearing any revealing outfits in public. Hema, who is also called 'Dream Girl' continues to act in movies as of 2013.- Actor
- Producer
Himalay was born in the Sindhi-speaking Dassani family. He shot into fame after getting married to Bollywood mega-star and his childhood sweetheart, Bhagyashree Patwardhan.
She quit acting after the marriage, and the couple became parents of two children, a boy and a girl.
When his wife refused to appear on the screen with any other male actor, he himself appeared alongside her in three movies in order to enable her to make a major come-back on the silver-screen - without much success.
He has now opened his very own production house and is involved in making TV serials with his wife assisting and acting in them.- Actress
- Producer
Hrishita Bhatt was born into a Bengali-speaking family on May 10, 1981, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She used to take dance lessons as a child, was athletic and believed in keeping fit from her school days.
She wanted to be a pilot, but after completing her education at Trinity College, London; took Kathak lessons from Choreographer Shiamak Davar; and some modeling assignments, she successfully auditioned for the Liril advertising campaign. was selected, and became the Liril girl with the cute smile.
Her charming persona and screen presence in the Aryans' video added to her popularity, so much so that she was recommended by a close media friend of the Bachchan family for a lead role in Shararat (2002), opposite Abhishek Bachchan. Her beautiful face and figure were noticed and she soon got an offer for a role in the historical drama Asoka (2001) from Shah Rukh Khan himself, although the latter was released a year before the former.
Thereafter she appeared in Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), Out of Control (2003), Haasil (2003), Charas: A Joint Effort (2004), Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005), Jawani Diwani: A Youthful Joyride (2006), Jigyaasa (2006), and Ankahee (2006). She also starred in a Kannada-language movie and a Bengali-language movie with Raju Mukherjee. During this time, she changed the spelling of her name to Hrishitaa.
She co-starred with many well-known Indian stars such as Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Emraan Hashmi, Vivek Oberoi, Jimmy Shergill, Shahrukh Khan, and Madhavan, among others. In 2007, she was cast in a movie called "Friends Forever," opposite Ashmit Patel.
She is fluent in Hindi, English, and Bengali.- Actress
Coming from a Konkani-speaking Mangalorean family of learned academicians, Isha has herself completed a course in Life Sciences from Ruia College, and was born on September 19, 1976 in Bombay, India. She has a younger brother.
After completing her college course, she contested the 1995 Miss India contest, and won the Miss Talent crown.
This win got her lead roles in two 1998 Tamil movies 'Kaadhal Kavidai' and 'En Swasa Katre' opposite Prasanth and Arvind Swamy respectively. Both movies got her a lot of positive reviews, and she even won the Best Female Debut from Filmfare for her role in 'Kandhal Kavidai'.
She shot to fame after a modeling shoot with Gautam Rajyadhaksa when she was still in Junior College.
So far She has modeled for "Camay", "Rexona", "L'Oreal", "Tips & Toes", "Coke" "Synergy", "Ponds", "Deepam Sarees", and also took part in several ramp shows. she has also modeled for Anita Dongre.
Talented, stunningly beautiful, and tall, a majestic five feet seven inches in height, which is literally head and shoulders above the average Indian woman (and a lot of men, too!), she has better chances of becoming a leading lady opposite the taller Bollywood heroes.
Isha got her fame in Bollywood when she did the Ram Gopal Varma number (Khallas) in the movie named "Company", and since then has been referred to as the "Khallas Girl" .
Isha towers over many Bollywood actresses, has come far beyond just a sizzling "item" girl, to become a household name. She fills the niche (and much more) created by the exit of another attractive Bollywood actress, Sonam.
Isha's name bounced back into lime-light when she starred in a controversial film named "Girlfriend", which is the story of two lesbian lovers - a subject that is still very taboo in India and some other parts of the world.
Isha was nominated for her part in "Qayamat" in which she plays a negative role. She also received accolades for her role in "Pinjar".
Taking the cue from other personalities from Indian Cinema, she changed her name to Eesha Koppikhar. She subsequently obtained a black-belt in Taekwondo.
After a prolonged 10-year affair with Inder Kumar both broke off after he got involved in an accident. He then got married to Sonal, the daughter of Raju Kariya, a marriage that lasted just five months. Both Isha and he patched-up after the divorce but the relationship did not last too long.
Lina Mogre and Preity Zinta introduced her to hotelier Timmy Narang, both clicked, dated for about a year, got formally engaged in a glittering 'Ken and Barbie' party; followed by a Sangeet ceremony at Worli's Mayfair on November 27; and on November 29, 2009, tied the knot at Juhu's Hare Krishna Mandir in the presence of close friends and relatives. The wedding was performed in traditional Maharashtrian style at approximately 11 a.m., lasted about 4 hours, followed by a reception at the Narangs' residence.- Actress
- Producer
Isha is 20 years old who lives at an ashram in Kerala, India. She is trained in gymnastics, martial arts, yoga, ballet, kathak, aerial dance etc. She started dancing at the age of seven and has already performed in 22 countries in the last seven years. Her mother is of Indian-origin, Daksha Seth, dancer by profession. Her dad is Australian, Vissaro, a composer by profession. She has been named by her mom (first name) and aunt (last name). "Isha" means goddess, and "sharwani" means Parvati = Goddess Parvati. She originally intended to a vet by profession, but couldn't bear the thought of injecting and hurting animals. She received an email from Subhash Ghai's office, who were looking for an actress with some knowledge of dancing, to act in Bollywood movies. She and her mom went to Bombay to visit Subhash Ghai, and a year later she was signed as the female lead in Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005) opposite Vivek Oberoi. There are already two other "Ishas", named Isha Koppikar, and Esha Deol in Bollywood.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Jaikishen was born in the Gujarati-speaking Shroff family on February 1, 1957. His dad's name is Kakubhai, his brother's is Hemant, and they live in Bandra, Bombay in a bungalow named 'Le Pepeyon". He became a superstar in the 1980s. By the television era begun in the 80s, he had become a superstar. In BR Chopra's Mahabharata, Jackie Shroff was offered the role of Arjun in the series but Shroff refused to play the role considering it a negligible role to play in the epic and insisted the Chopras for casting him for the lead role of Karna but BR Chopra refused because of dates' issue with Karna's role which required presence in almost all episodes but Shroff won't be able to give his dates .
A vegetarian, Jaikishen made his Bollywood debut in a bit-role as a villain in the hit Heera Panna (1973) which starred 'Dev Anand'. He then went on to act in another Dev Anand movie, Swami Dada (1982).
It was Subhash Ghai who signed him up for the hit Hero (1983) that catapulted this handsome young man to stardom, followed by yet another hit Andar Baahar (1984) with Anil Kapoor as his co-star. Thus Jaikishen became the new Bollywood legend: Jackie Shroff.
Since then there has been no looking back, as he went on to star in close to 150 movies with a career that spanned from 1973 onwards. Since 2000 or thereabouts he has appeared in a variety of character-roles, villain, comedian, and even as a ghost in Bhoot Unkle (2006).
He married his longtime girlfriend, Ayesha Shroff (née Dutt), who is also a producer and both husband and wife run Jackie Shroff Entertainment Limited. They have two children, a son, Jai (nickname Tiger), and a daughter, Krishna.- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
In April 1948 Jabalpur-based, Bengali-speaking Indira and Tarun Kumar Bhaduri were blessed with a child they named Jaya, and enrolled in the St. Joseph's Convent School in Bhopal.
Her acting career started when she was 15 in a Bengali film Mahanagar. She became an actress in her own right in Bollywood after the release of Guddi. She went on to star in many Hindi language films, including blockbusters like Jawani Diwani, Uphaar, Anamika, Abhimaan, Sholay, Bawarchi, Chupke Chupke Zanjeer just to name a few. Her acting spanned from 1963 to 1981. She also wrote the script of Shahenshah.
She married Amitabh Srivastav alias Bachchan, and subsequently gave birth to Shweta and Abhishek. Amitabh is the son of Sikh-Hindu parents, namely Teji and Harivansh Rai Srivastav alias Bachchan.
Jaya quit acting after 1981. Then her married life faced considerable upheavals especially with the much-publicized affair of her husband with Bollywood actress, Rekha. Then their lives were disrupted when Amitabh was seriously injured by a blow from actor, Puneet Issar, while filming 'Coolie', which almost took his life.
The family suffered another setback in 2005 when her asthmatic husband was admitted in Lilavati Hospital after complains of severe pains in his abdomen.
Her husband did recover, and both husband, wife, Abhishek, and his new bride, continue to dominate Bollywood with their screen presence. Jaya has also received a number of awards recognizing her talents in Bollywood.- Jayashree was an accomplished Bollywood actress, and had acted in other Indian language movies as well. She married noted Rajaram V. Shantaram. She is the second wife of Rajaram V. Shantaram. She has three children including a daughter, namely the famous Bollywood beauty, Rajshree, and son, Kiran Shantaram, who at one time was the Sheriff of Bombay. Her husband, Rajaram V. Shantaram, passed away in October, 1990.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ravi Kapoor was born in a business family that dealt with imitation Jewelery and used to live in a chawl. While supplying jewelry to V. Shantaram, he was cast as Sandhya's double in the 1959 movie 'Navrang'.
His first break as a Bollywood leading man came in 'Geet Gaya Patharon Ne'. Although Ravi Kapoor was born on April 7, 1942, Jeetendra birth's took place in 1964.When he was to go for auditions, he used to seek help from his childhood friend Rajesh Khanna to mug up his dialog and get guidance to give expressions.Geet Gaaya Pattharonne was his first hit, but that didn't fetch him offers as lead hero. It was Farz released in 1967, which was his 4th film appearance and 3 rd as the male lead, which made him a known face in the public.
Ravi had met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways.
Shobha gave birth to a daughter, Ekta, and subsequently to a son, Tusshar. While Ekta became a producer of TV serials, mostly starting with 'K', Tusshar followed in his dad's footsteps. Ekta and Jeetu run a production company by the name of Balaji Films, and have produced Bollywood movies. Their TV productions are usually in Hindi & Tamil languages.
Jeetendra has acted opposite Rajshree Shantaram, Mumtaz, Saira Banu, Mala Sinha, Nanda, Sharmila Tagore,Asha Parekh, Babita, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee, Reena Roy, Jaya Pradha, Sridevi, Komal, Rekha, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Padmni Kolhapuri,Bhanupriya, Madhavi, Anita Raaj, Sangeeta Bijlani, Ashwini Bhave.
Whether running around trees (Tumhari Kasam, Ek Hi Bhool, Mawaali),singing songs (Banphool, Humjoli, Jigri Dost) or playing serious characters (Parichay, Khushboo, Dulhan, Kinara, Meri Awaz Suno,Chhup) or doing old man leading roles (Udhaar Ki Zindagi, Santaan, Jeetendra has always proved himself as an excellent actor, a family man, whose marriage is still intact, and someone who has yet to be involved in any controversy. He did 93 films as the solo lead hero and 103 multi star films as the lead hero and 2 films as a supporting actor and made guest appearances in 26 films.
Ravi had met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways. When Jeetendra was struggling between 1960-66 to establish himself as an actor, he was in relationship with Shobha and Shobha was his girlfriend till 1972. But in 1974, after having worked in films like Waris and Gehri Chaal, friendship between Jeetendra and Hema Malini grew and while shooting for Dulhan, both expressed love for each-other and decided to have a quick marriage.But soon this information reached Shobha and Dharmendra.Shobha asked Dharmendra to change Hema's mind as she was in love with Jeetendra since many years. Soon both Shobha and Dharemndra came by helicopter and convinced Jeetendra and Hema not to marry. Jeetendra promised Shobha that if Bidai becomes a hit, he would marry her in 1974. It was not until the release of 'Bidaai"(opposite Leena Chandavarkar) on October 18, 1974, that Jeetendra and Shobha decided to get married, which they did in a simple ceremony on at Janki Kutir with only a few family and friends present (Gulzar, Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar amongst the noted celebrities). The marriage was arranged hastily, as even Shobha's mom, who was in Japan at that time, could not attend.
Jeetendra's friendship with both actors Dharmendra, Hema Malini never got affected after this incident. All 3 remained friends. Jeetendra worked with Dharmendra and had hits like Dharamveer, Jaani Dost, Insaaf Ki Pukar, Nafrat Ki Andhi and flops like The Burning Train, Samraat, The Gold Medal, Jaan Hatheli Pe, Paapi Devtaa, Dharma Karma. Childhood school and college friends Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra worked together and gave 3 blockbusters in the 1980's- Dharam Kanta(1982), Nishaan(1983) and Maqsad(1984). Infact all 3 films revenue showed increasing trend. Maqsad was the highest box office earner in the year 1984. Jeetendra made guest appearances in Roti, Palkon Ki Chaon Mein and Begunaah - all three films which had Rajesh Khanna as the solo lead hero. Jeetendra-Rekha were romantically paired in 26 films and had 16 hits of the 26 films as lead pair starting from 1972-1998 and only 10 flops. In addition Rekha and Jeetendra worked in another 5 films where they were not paired opposite each-other.Jeetendra-Sridevi did 16 films together between 1983-88 and 13 of them were hits and 3 were flops. Jeetendra and Jaya Prada were romantically paired opposite each other in 24 films and 18 of them were box office hits and 6 were flops. In addition 2 more films they did together where they were not paired opposite each-other. Jeetendra gave 113 box office hits (excluding guest appearances in hits Navrang, Khilona, Roti, Umar Qaid, Rani Aur Lalpari,Naya Bakra, Anokha Bandhan, Begunaah and Om Shanti Om) as the lead hero from 1964-1997, off the 198 films he appeared till 2007 as lead hero.He appeared in guest appearance in 26 other movies from 1959 to 2007 and 2 more films in supporting role after 2000. Jeetendra was 2nd highest paid Hindi actor from 1980-89. He made a guest appearance in a TV serial 'Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki'.Hence his total film appearances were in 226 films and 121 of them were box office hits and 102 were flops.- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Juhi was born in the Chawla family on November 13, 1967 in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, and is the daughter of Punjabi-speaking dad, Dr. S. Chawla and Gujarati-speaking mom, Mona. She has a brother named Sanjeev. Her mother passed away in an accident during the year 1998 while Juhi was filming 'Duplicate'.
After completing her school in Ludhiana, the Chawla family moved to Bombay, Maharashtra, India, where Juhi attended at Sydenham College. After graduating, she entered in the Miss India competition and was crowned 'Miss India 1984', taking over from Miss India 1983, Rekha Hande.
Her first appearance on the tinsel screen was as Zarina in the 1986 release 'Sultanat'. She shot to fame after the release of 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' opposite Aamir Khan. As of August 2007, she has been bestowed with three awards for her performance in 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke', 'Duplicate', and '3 Deewarein'.
Juhi got married to multi-millionaire industrialist, Jai Mehta during the year 1998. Since then the couple have a daughter, Jhanvi, and son, Arjun.
Juhi continues to act in movies, and also makes appearances in many off-beat movies, rather than the mainstream cinema with which she started her career. She also appears in a number of TV ad commercials.- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Kangana was born on 23 March 1987 in Bhambla, near Manali, which is in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. Her dad Amardeep is a businessman and her mom Asha is a schoolteacher. She has two sisters and a younger brother. Her grandfather was an IAS Office. She spent her childhood in Dehra Dunand studied in DAV's High School, where she participated in many debates and elocutions and also played basketball.
After completing her schooling, she attended Science College in Simla. She was enrolled in the Elite School of Modeling and also tried theater acting in Delhi and was a member of the Smita Theater Group under Arvind Gaur. She is also a trained Kathak dancer.
She decided to relocate to Bombay and lived in a flat in Yari Road, Versova. In September 2005 she was spotted drinking coffee in a cafe by filmmaker Anurag Basu, who approached her and eventually signed her for a lead role in Gangster (2006).
Since then, Kangana Ranaut has won 4 National Awards for her performance in _Fashion (2008)_qv, _Queen (2014)_qv, and _Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)_qv. Manikarnika(2019) Panga (2019).- Actress
- Music Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kareena was born to Sindhi-speaking Babita (nee Shivdasani) and Punjabi-speaking Randhir Kapoor in Bombay, India. She has an elder sister, Karisma.
She is born in a family that have been actors for generations, including her paternal great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor; her grandfather, Raj Kapoor; her paternal uncles, Shammi, Shashi, Rishi, and Rajiv; as well as aunt, Neetu Singh, & Jennifer Kendall, the wives of Rishi and Shashi respectively. On her maternal side, her grandfather, Hari Shivdasani, and aunt, Sadhana, have been actors in their own rights.
As a child she studied in Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu, Bombay, and thereafter was enrolled in Dehra Dun's prestigious Welham Girls' Boarding School. Then she re-located to Harvard for approximately 3 months to take a course in information technology and microcomputers. Upon her return to India, she joined the Government Law College in Churchgate, Bombay, but left it after one year, to enroll in the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting School.
Her film debut was in the year 2000 with Refugee (2000) along with the debut of Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abhishek. She went on to appear in 31 other Hindi movies, and has thus far won four awards for her performances in Refugee (2000), Chameli (2003), Dev (2004), and Omkara (2006).
She is one of the most sought-after actresses in Bollywood, considered bankable, with an enviable A-listing and as of June 2007 is to appear in 'Tashan', 'Lajjo', 'Kismat Talkies' amongst others.
In 2012, she married actor Saif Ali Khan, son of actress Sharmila Tagore.- Actress
- Music Department
Born into Bombay filmdom's legendary Kapoor clan, Karisma Kapoor made her film debut with Prem Qaidi (1991) opposite Harish. Her next big hit was Anari (1993) and during this time she made news with a fight with her Andaz Apna Apna (1994) co-star, actress Raveena Tandon. She had a series of hit comedies between 1994 and 1997 starting with Raja Babu (1994) and ending with Hero No. 1 (1997) with Govinda and director David Dhawan. She hit the big time with the super success of Raja Hindustani (1996) and further consolidated her career with Dil To Pagal Hai (1997). Today she is the reigning mega-star of Hindi cinema leaving her contemporaries like Manisha Koirala and Raveena Tandon far behind. In Fiza (2000) she surprised many with an excellent performance showing great emotional range and depth.- The Rane family live a wealthy lifestyle in their native Goa along with three daughters, one of whom is none other than Kartika, who was born on March 17th. She was a student of Sociology in Bombay's Sophia College.
Her uncle, Pratpsingh Rao Rane, is the Chief Minister of Goa, while her cousin, Madhavrao Scindia, is a well known politician. The Rane family roots date centuries back, including their involvement in the revolution against the Portuguese, who were ruling Goa at the time.
It was not money that attracted her to act on the small screen. She is known for her appearance in 'Kangan', & 'Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye'. Others include 'Captain Vyom', 'Tere Mere Sapne', 'Gubare', 'Didi Ka Dulha', 'Nyay', 'Mom Ke Par', 'Khwaab', 'Ek Se Badkar Ek', & Janam'.
Earlier she had been the 'Fair & Lovely Girl' model, as well as has appeared in commercials of Rin, Vim, Forhans toothpaste, and Dulux.
She experienced considerable setbacks in her overtures to act in Bollywood, where she was set to play a lead role opposite Anil Kapoor in Mukesh Bhatt's 'Tumko Meri Kasam, but was replaced by Rani Mukherjee. She did act in 'Yash' and 'Rakht' but these were unable to launch her career.
She admits that she did not really seek acting or modeling assignments- they simply came her way. Fluent in Marathi, English, and Hindi,
- Katrina Kaif is one of eight siblings, 7 girls and 1 boy, from a mother who is a Caucasian of British Nationality, and a father who was formerly from Kashmir, India, but who has since acquired British citizenship. Her mother is now re-settled in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the Capital of the state of Tamil Nadu in India.
She spent subsequent years in Hawaii, and then in London, Britain, She started modeling accidentally when she was in Hawaii at the tender age of 14, when she was approached for a jewelry campaign. Thereafter she continued modeling in London.
Continuing to model was the reason she got her break in a Bollywood movie Boom (2003) offered by none other than film-maker Kaizad Gustad.
She was flooded with modeling assignments the minute she set her foot on Indian soil, especially with her innocent expressive face, hour-glass figure, and drop-dead gorgeous looks.
Professionally she started off as a model with photographer Atul Kasbekar, and upon being accepted, she received offers from LG, Cola, Fevicol, Lakme, & Veet. It was the Lakme commercial that got her noticed. She retained Matrix as her Manager to accept work on her behalf and at the price she deserved.
Moving to different culture and country was not much of a culture shock for her, as she states that no matter where you come from, the bottom line is that everyone wants to be loved, respected, and cared for.
Despite of her positive attitude, she had been stereotyped as "Indian" by extreme right-wingers in Britain who made it clear that she did not quite fit-in with their "Blonde" Caucasian culture; while on the other hand in India itself she had been ranked as an 'outsider' very much like Sonia Gandhi.
Unlike other artistes from foreign lands, Katrina did not experience any difficulties in getting a visa nor of getting it extended in India.
Although linguistically challenged, Katrina puts on a bold face and states that other Bollywood artistes like Sridevi, who did not know Hindi, did get offers from Bollywood film-makers, and she is no different. She has taken Hindi and dancing lessons to fit in with the Bollywood culture. She likes to display a picture of her learning Kathak dancing where she used to dance 7 hours a day non-stop.
Adorned with soft gorgeous looks, she is not easily intimidated, but admits that she is very emotional, sensitive, and concerned about her privacy, Almost an incurable romantic, she prefers to wear comfortable non-revealing clothes when at home, hates to do her hair, and above all dislikes make-up. Admitting to being lonely in the beginning, but now has several friends who she can hang out with.
Although her first movie Boom (2003) was panned by the critics and shunned by the audiences, two other Telugu movies Malliswari (2004) and Allari Pidugu (2005) did get her noticed. She grossed 70 Lakh Rupees for Malliswari (2004) - making her top the list of the highest paid actresses during a South Indian movie debut.
Not done with South Indian movies, she has been signed in a Tamil movie 'Bheema' opposite National Award Winner Vikram.
She has received decent reviews for her part in "Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya", as well as a brief appearance in 'Sarkar'.
Katrina had made Mumbai her base, didn't mind singing and dancing around trees and as a result is now one of the biggest mega-stars, perhaps one of the highest paid female-lead actresses in Bollywood, and a crowd-puller whenever she makes an appearance for a live song and dance number. - Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Abhas Kumar Ganguly was born in Khandwa, now in Madhya Pradesh. His dad's name was Kunjilal, a lawyer by profession, and his mom's name was Gouri Devi, who came from a wealthy family.
Kishore was the youngest in the Ganguly family, preceded by Ashok Kumar, Sati, & Anoop Kumar (I). Sati was married to Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was the brother of film-maker Subodh Mukherji, and Bollywood actors Joy Mukherjee & Deb Mukherjee. Sati's son, Shomu Mukherjee, went on to marry Tanuja Samarth, and who subsequently gave birth to Kajol and Tanishaa Mukerji. Tanuja is the sister of Nutan, who, in turn, is the mother of actor Mohnish Behl. Tanuja and Nutan are the daughters of the famed Shobhna Samarth. Sati was also aunt-by-marriage to Ram Mukherjee, who would subsequently marry and give birth to Raj Mukherjee and Bollywood actress, Rani Mukerji. Ashok's daughter is noted Bollywood actress, Preeti Ganguli, who is married to comedian and character actor, Deven Verma. Ashok's grand-daughter is actress, Anuradha Patel.
While Ashok went on to become a successful actor, Abhas, who was renamed Kishore, shunned acting, and preferred singing and mimicking K.L. Saigal. His brother, Anoop, while struggling to make a name himself, noticed this, and encouraged Kishore to sing in his own voice.
When Sachin Dev Burman happened to visit Ashok, he heard Kishore singing, and immediately signed him to sing for Bollywood movies. After Sachin's passing away, his son, Rahul Dev Burman took over and openly favored Kishore over other male singers.
He always wanted to be a singer, but acting was thrust upon him, and he did his best to live up to it. A Leo, Kishore was also known for his mad-cap comedy movies, and for his eccentricity as he used to 'talk' to his trees in his home, and had even put up a sign 'Mental Hospital' right outside his residence in Khandwa. He was also parsimonious, so much so that he was in arrears to the Indian Income Tax authorities, yet never missed a chance to make fun of them (Aur Peechey Pad Gaya Income Taxum, Jai Govindam Jai Gopalam).
When he refused to endorse former Indian Prime Minister's 20 point Program during the 1975-1977 Emergency, he was banned from the Government-controlled media namely All India Radio and Vividh Bharati. Even duets with his voice were censored. He was not the only one in Bollywood, as others like I.S. Johar, Dev Anand, Shatrughan Sinha openly condemned Mrs. Gandhi's regime. After the emergency, her political party (Congress) was overwhelmingly ousted by the electorate in favor of the Janata Party.
Kishore made a record by being the only singer to have sung in more than 90 films for a single hero which was for Rajesh Khanna. Kishore sang in 91 films for Rajesh Khanna.His closest friends were Rajesh Khanna, R.D.Burman, S.D.Burman, Mohammad Rafi.He refused to lend his voice to Amitabh Bachchan in period 1982-1987 many times, when the latter refused to do a guest appearance in a Kishore-produced film and this affected Bachchan's career as many of his films flopped post 1983.
His marriages to some of the most popular and attractive Bollywood actresses (Madhubala, Yogeeta Bali,Leena Chandavarkar) not only raised eyebrows, but added to his popularity.Fact was each of these women with exception of Yogita Bali fell in love with Kishore Kumar. Madhubala loved him immensely but had health issues so died. Then in 1976 Yogita claimed to love him and married Kishore, but then Kishore realized she had married him for his money so divorced her. Leena was a widower but Kishore fell in love with her and proposed her and they were happily married till his death.
He introduced his son, Amit Kumar, (sired from his first wife Ruma Ghosh aka Ruma Guha Thakurta) to sing, often along with him, and then amazed his fans by marrying widowed Leena Chandavarkar, who was just two years older than Amit.
He sang 245 songs picturised on Rajesh Khanna across 92 films, which is an unbeaten record for singer-actor combination. Kishore sang 245 songs for Rajesh Khanna, 202 for Jeetendra, 119 for Dev Anand and 131 for Amitabh.
He had recorded the duets "Kaho Kahan Chale" for the film Bulundi, "Pyar Ka Dard Hai" from Dard and "Tum Jo Chale Gaye" from Aas Paas, a few days before his heart attack in 1981. He suffered his first heart attack on 24th January 1981 in Kolkata in the noon hours and within a gap of another four hours, suffered his second heart attack. The first solo song sung by him, after recovery from his two attacks was "Mere Sang Sang Aya" from Rajput (1982) and the duet with Asha - "Mausam Bheega Bheega" from Gehra Zakhm.
In the comedy, Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi (1974) a song 'Karne Chaley Thhey Shaadi Meri, Khud Ban Baithey Dulha', sung by Amit, hilariously chastised his dad for getting married, instead of searching for a bride for his son.
Through Leena he sired another son, Sumeet Kumar. Their marriage was intact until his unexpected passing on October 13, 1987, due to heart failure for the third time.
Kishore has not only been immortalized by his songs, but also by his talents as an Actor, Producer, Director, Script-Writer, & Lyricist. His movies continue to be popular even now on TV, as do his songs on both TV and radio.- Actor
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Manoj was born in the Punjabi-speaking Tuli family on July 11, 1956, a brother to two sisters. His father is the legendary Bollywood mega-star, Rajendra Kumar Tuli, and is mother's name is Shukla. Manoj studied in Simla's Bishop Cotton School.
After completing his education, his father launched him in a lead role in Love Story (1981) opposite Vijayata Pandit, the sister of Bollywood actress, Sulakshana Pandit. The movie did very well, and catapulted him to fame virtually overnight. Thus, Kumar Gaurav was born and thronged by females of all ages.
Hoping to follow in his father's footsteps, Kumar signed a number of films, mostly in romantic lead roles, but all of them failed.
He then got married to Namrata Dutt, the daughter of Bollywood mega-actors, Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt. Shortly thereafter, the duo became parents of two daughters, Saachi and Siya.
His father attempted to re-launch his son's career in Phool (1993), which also failed. He did appear in Naam (1986) and Kaante (2002) but was overshadowed by his brother-in-law, Sanjay Dutt, and other Bollywood mega-stars respectively.
His father passed away on July 12, 1999.
Kumar, who has since then appeared in a Hollywood movie Guiana 1838 (2004) has two other movies listed for release during the year 2009. After ensuring his daughters' marriages, he would prefer spending his spare time fishing with a kerosene-lit lantern.- Actress
- Producer
It is not a secret that Lara Dutta is a beauty with brains. This was demonstrated when she scored the highest possible marks in the history of the Miss Universe Contest. After this she was crowned Miss Universe 2000, making history as not only the most beautiful but also the most intelligent young woman to wear this crown in the history of Miss Universe.
Lara was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on April 16, 1978. Her dad is retired Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta. Lara has two sisters, one of whom serves in the Indian Air Force, and is the cousin of Nitin Sawhney.
In 1981 the Dutta family re-located to Bangalore, and she was enrolled in St. Francis Xavier Girls' High School where she studied till her 10th Standard, and later did her First Year and Second Year Junior College at the Frank Anthony Public School. After graduating from school, she then went on to earn a degree in Economics from Bombay University. She is fluent in both Hindi and English.
In 1997 Lara enrolled and subsequently won the Miss Gladrags competition, leading her to represent India at the Miss Intercontinental, and thereafter being crowned Miss Universe in 2000 in Cyprus, making her the second Indian to win this prestigious award.
After completing her Miss Universe commitments, she received several offers from Bollywood movie makers, and starred in Andaaz in 2003, which won her considerable recognition, and she subsequently won the best female debut award from Femina.
Thereafter, most of her movies failed to make a mark at the box office, however, she did become popular and a household name. Some of the movies she is remembered for are 'Masti', 'No Entry, 'Kaal', 'Partner', Hey Baby' amongst others.
She is also known for her sense of humor, and a talent for writing. She has now announced that she will writing scripts, and hopes that one day someone from Bollywood will make flicks out of them.- Actress
- Music Department
Born in the Dharwar/Karwar region in the State of Karnataka (formerly known as Mysore), in the Marathi-speaking Chandavarkar family, this beautiful actress, with an oval cherubic face and innocent smile, has acted in many films like Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (1970), Humjoli (1970), Rakhwala (1971), Jaane-Anjaane (1971), Manchali (1973), Bairaag (1976), Aafat (1977) just to name a few.
A former student of Bassel Mission High School, she won a talent competition, gained enough confidence to consider acting in Bombay's Bollywood, but faced challenges including being written off as 'too young'. She refused to play 'sister' and other character roles and instead committed herself to print advertisements.
She was finally given a break by Sunil Dutt, who noticed her ads, and cast her in his 1968 film Man Ka Meet (1969), opposite his brother, Som Dutt. This movie also launched Vinod Khanna as a villain.
She was assisted by none other than Nargis, who helped her improve her Hindi, non-classical dancing, and driving vehicles.
Petite, conservative and traditional, she refused do any bikini-clad character on or even off-screen photo shoots, and did not learn to swim, despite of facing stiff competition from taller actresses such as Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi.
She has acted opposite well-known Bollywood heroes such as Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, & Dilip Kumar.
Following the accidental death of her husband, Siddharth Bandodkar, the son of Dayanand, the first Chief Minister of Goa, Leena married noted actor-singer, Kishore Kumar during 1980, and sired a son, Sumeet Kumar.
After Kishore's death in 1987, she continues to live with her singer-actor step-son, Amit Kumar, and has even written lyrics for his music album.
She has made TV appearances in Sony's 'K For Kishore' during 2007, as well as reality shows.- Actress
Madhoo was born in the Malini household on March 26th. Her dad's name is Raghunath, who is the brother of Bollywood actress Hema Malini. Her mom's name is Renuka. She was taught Bharat Natyam by her mom. Madhoo lost her mom to Cancer when she was just 13 years old.
Treating her aunt as her role model, Madhoo wanted to be an actress. After being offered a small role, she enrolled in Roshan Taneja's School of Acting for 2 months. Subsequently she learned that she had been dropped quite unceremoniously.
This blow empowered her to take up jogging and swimming to lose weight; got braces for her teeth; had a hair cut; got a complete make-over, including clearing up her skin; perfected her Hindi. And then viola - a new, improved, and sexy Madhoo emerged.
An Aries, Madhoo's acting career started with Ottayal Pattalam in Malyalam. She was first introduced to Bollywood in Phool Aur Kaante. Her role in 1992 Tamil movie Roja made her famous overnight, leading to the film being dubbed in multiple languages. Her other popular releases included Diljale, Yeshwant, and Pehchaan.
Her career as an actress spanned from 1990 through on to 2002. She acted in a total of approximately 30 movies in Hindi, Tamil, Malyalam, Kannada, & Telegu.
She was signed by Kallol Sen to act in his "Love Sex Etc", but subsequently changed her mind. She has appeared in 'Mann Main Hai Vishwas' on Sony Television.
She married Anand Shah, who comes from a rich industrialist family, relocated to the U.S. where she gave birth to two daughters, Amela and Kela. Ameya has already indicated that she wants in act in movies.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Mahendra Patil an assistant director and actor, known for Pratisaad: The Response (2010), Gadbad Gondhal (2018) and Million Dollar Club (2016). Started his career as assistant director. Later he turned in writing, at begin of his career, he wrote several play's, later he turned into screen - writing. Mahendra is also engaged in organizing 'Marathi Chitrapat Mahotsav', called Ambarnath Film Festival since 2015. He noted for his work mostly in Marathi Cinema.- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Producer
Mahi is a versatile personality. She has started her career from acting in short films. Mahi has done lot of amateur short films before. Currently she has debuted through Marathi Feature Film Sorry (2019) as actress, executive producer and costume designer. She has taken two important responsibilities of the film along with acting. She has been Nominated as Best Costume Designer for Sorry in Ambarnath Marathi Film Festival, the film got Awarded with Best Feature Film (Jury) award in same year.