Nadira

Nadira who was born on 5 December 1932 was a profound Bollywood actress who contributed a lot to the Indian cinema. Nadira is best remembered for her performance in the 1950s and 1960s flicks like Shree 420 (1955), Pakeezah (1972) and Julie (1975), which also won her Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.




Nadira acquired lot of fame with the 1952 film Aan with her role as a savage princess. Other than this Nadira played lead roles in a number of films like Dil Apna Prit Parayee, Hanste Zakhm, Amar Akbar Anthony and Pakeezah.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Nadira entered a new phase of her career, playing elderly women as a supporting actress in Bollywood films. The actress was last seen in the film Josh (2000). On 9 February 2006, this dynamic lady died at the age of 73 at the Bhatia Hospital in Tardeo, Mumbai following a prolonged illness.

AMRITA ARORA

Amrita Arora was born in a traditional Maharashtrian family at Mumbai (Bombay). She is the younger sister of Malaika Arora, the well known model and actress. Amrita Arora followed footsteps of her elder sister. She started her career as Model and gradually moved into being a Video jockey. Amrita hosted shows such as "MTV House Full" and "MTV Chill Out".




Amrita Arora also featured in many advertisements such as Ponds, Elle 18 and Sunsilk Fruitamins. Amrita Arora made her debut in Bollywood with the film "Kitne Door Kitne Pass" opposite Fardeen Khan. Her first film was unsuccessful at the Box Office. Amrita's first successful movie was "Awara Paagal Deewana" directed by Vikram Bhatt. After that, a series of flop film followed including the controversial film "Girlfriend" with Isha Koppikar (a film about lesbian relationship). She was romantically linked to Kevin Otter, Upen Patel and Ashmit Patel. Currently she is said to be dating Usman Afzaal.

Her date of birth is 31st January , 1981. her nickname is Ammu. Address of her home is Plot No198, Poojakunj Apartments, Sher-e-Punjab Colony, Andheri East, Mumbai-400 093. Her height is 5’5(1.65m). She is a graduate in psychology , Sophia college( Mumbai).

She made her debut opposite Fardeen Khan with the film Kitne Door Kitne Paas which was not successful at the box office. Her first successful movie was Awara Paagal Deewana.

A series of flop followed, among them the controversial move Girlfriend (2004) opposite Isha Koppikar, about a lesbian relationship. Her latest release was Kambakth Ishq produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. She appeared on the show Koffee with Karan, hosted by Karan Johar with her sister. She made an appearance in Farah Khan's latest film Om Shanti Om in a song named 'Deewangi' along with her sister and brother-in-law.

Filmography


Amrita Arora Famous Movies: Deewana, Kayanaat, Raakh, Speed, Heyy Babyy Red - the dark side, Jeet , Fight Club, Rakht, Girlfriend , Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, Kitne Door Kitne Paas , Awara Paagal Deewana, Ab Ke Baras.

Her best friend in the film industry is kareena kapoor.

Her father died of cancer.

One of memorable experience of Amrita is winning MTV VJ hunt.

Born on the same date as the actress Preity Zinta.

Amrita arora married shakeel ladak on 7march, 2009.

Amrita Arora is an Indian film actress, worked in good films and shown her acting skills in mostly comedy cinema. She is the younger sister of Malaika Arora Khan and best friend of Kareena Kapoor.

Kamini Kaushal

Kamini Kaushal (born 1927) is an Indian film actress. Her original name was Uma. Her father was a Botanist and Professor at Lahore University . She did her college at Kinnaird College in Lahore, British India. Her sister died leaving behind very young children and Uma married ( or was made to marry) her sister’s husband. Her husband, Mr. Sood was an officer in the Bombay port trust.



Uma came from a well-to-do background, she was an honours graduate in literature, which was very rare in the world of films in those days. There is also a mention of her having been a stage actress in Delhi. She worked as a radio artist before she was discovered by Chetan Anand as the lead for his film Neecha Nagar. This movie was shot before her marriage and released in 1946.

After Neecha Nagar and marriage, Kamini Kaushal worked with all the top leading men of her time such as Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.

In 1965 she moved to playing character roles with a film called Shaheed starring Manoj Kumar (not to be confused with the 1948 film Shaheed in which she was the lead with Dilip Kumar). As a character artist she was a fixture in 7 Manoj Kumar films right up to Dus Numbari in 1976. She has had a long stint in films with releases right up to 2003. She made the transition to character roles very easily and has excelled in them ever since.

Dilip Kumar in his biography has admitted his attraction to her. He said that she was his first love. There were rumors of an affair between the two. But there is no source giving her side of the story or of her acknowledgement of the same.

She also stepped into writing children’s stories. Her stories used to be published in the children's magazine Paraag and she dabbled in television doing serials like Chand Sitare on Doordarshan. At present she works in the highly popular serial Shanno Ki Shaadi on STAR Plus. She plays the role of Bebe, the grandmother of Shanno, the main protagonist played by Divya Dutta.

Zeenat Aman Biography

Zeenat Aman born November 19, 1951 is an Indian actress and a former beauty queen who has appeared in Bollywood films in the 70s and 80s. Upon making her debut in Hindi films, Aman was credited with bringing the Western heroine look to cinema.

Zeenat Aman was born to a Muslim father, Amanullah Khan and a Hindu mother, Scinda. Her father , was one of the writers for the blockbuster movies of Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah. He died when Zeenat was just 13. Zeenat's mother was a German citizen, and took her to Germany - where Zeenat was very unhappy, returning to India as soon as she turned 18. Zeenat received a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Zee Cine Awards function in 2008, as a recognition of her talent & contribution to Hindi Cinema.




Zeenat married Sanjay Khan (Abbas) during the making of the film Abdullah. in 1980's she got married to Mazhar Khan and had two sons Azaan and Zahaan.

Aman studied in Mumbai and abroad. Upon returning to India, she first took a job as a journalist for Femina and then later on moved on to modeling. One of the first few brands that she modeled for was Taj Mahal Tea and Television X Debut in 1966 exclusively.

Zeenat Aman was drawn to more unconventional roles. She was cast in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, as the ambitious girl who considers aborting her baby to pursue a career (Ajnabee), the happy hooker (Manoranjan), the disenchanted hippie (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), the girl who falls in love with her mother's one-time lover (Prem Shastra), and a woman married to a caustic cripple but involved in an extramarital relationship (Dhund). She managed to balance these roles with acting in more conventional films such as Chori Mera Kaam, Chhaila Babu, Dostana and Lawaaris, which is considered by many to be a landmark in Indian Cinema.

Aman's film career began with a small role in O. P. Ralhan's Hulchul in 1971.

In Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Aman, aided by R. D. Burman's song "Dum Maro Dum" (Take Another Toke), won over the heart's of audience as Janice. She earned a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and BFJA Award for Best Actress.

Throughout the 1970s, the Dev-Zeenat pairing was seen in half a dozen films: Heera Panna (1973), Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), Prem Shastra (1974), Warrant (1975), Darling Darling (1977) and Kalabaaz (1977). Of these, Warrant, was the biggest box-office success.

Her hip looks in "Yaadon Ki Baaraat' (1973) as the girl carrying a guitar, singing 'churaliya hai tumne jo dil ko' (in Asha Bhonsle's voice) has won her more popularity and the hearts of millions of fans.

She became the favourite cover girl of the popular magazine 'Stardust'.Zeenat Aman, in her later career, found success with other banners such as B. R. Chopra, Nasir Hussain, Shakti Samanta, Manoj Kumar and Manmohan Desai.

In 1978, she starred in Raj Kapoor's massively publicised Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), however, the film was heavely criticized. The subject ironically dealt with the notion of the soul being more attractive than the body, but Kapoor chose to showcase Aman's sex-appeal. The actress was highly criticized for her exposure but somehow, later on the film had a great deal to do with Zeenat's fame and the movie itself was distinguished as a work of art. She also earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for this film.

Aman continued to act in hits like Dharam Veer, Chhaila Babu and The Great Gambler.As a rape victim seeking justice in B. R. Chopra's Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980) for which she received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination also came. This film was followed by success in the love triangle Qurbani, Ali Baba aur 40 Chor, Dostana (1980) and Lawaaris (1981).

The critics appreciated her performance in some movies with female-oriented themes like "Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka", "Yaadon Ki Barat", "Baat Ban Jaye" & "Namumkin".Her last role as the female lead was in the movie "Gawahi" a court room drama in 1989. Zeenat made a come back for doing cameo roles in the film Bhopal Express, Boom (2003), Jaana... Let's Fall in Love (2006), Chaurahen (2007) & Ugly Aur Pagli (2008).

Sharmila Tagore Biography

Sharmila Tagore is a renouned actress of the Indian film industry. From April 2005 onwards, she has taken up as the head of the Indian Film Censor Board. The same year in the month of December, she served as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Trace her journey here below as you go through the thick and thin of her life in this biographical account.




She was born on the December 8, 1946 in Hyderabad. She is a relative of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. She wanted to marry a Muslim man Mansoor Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi. For marrying him, she got her religion converted to Islam. She even changed her name to Ayesha Sultana. In the year 1968, she got married. They have three children, namely Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan.


Her film career started in the year 1959. She got her first break by playing the lead role in Satyajit Ray film Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). She was just fourteen years old, when she worked in her maiden film. Acting was never a difficult task for this multi-talented actress. Her first film Kashmir ki kali in 1964 opposite Shammi Kapoor, by the famous director Shakti Samantha launched her as the hottest and most glamorous actress of her times. Thereafter, she was
starred in many films and won many awards.

She was also a style setter. Her butterfly knot blouse, her style of making up, long eyelashes, her curvy dresses all became a fashion statement. In the mean time she also appeared on the cover of a magazine in two piece bikini which became the talk of the town."Looking back, I realize I was very different from the other actresses of my time.

Her roles opposite Rajesh khanna became the best-known duo in the industry.

She was recently seen in character roles in Mann, Dhadkan, Eklavya and Morning Walk.The most noted and worthwhile films of Sharmila Tagore are Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), Waqt, Nayak, An Evening in Paris, Yakeen, Amar Prem, Aradhana, Mausam, Desh Premee, Charitrheen and Chupke Chupke.

Awards Won
Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1969 National Film Award for Best Actress in 1976 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003

Anu Agarwal-Biography

Anu Agarwal was born on 11 January, 1969. Being an Indian model and Bollywood actress, she is best known for her leading role in the blockbuster movie, Aashiqui. Anu Agarwal was alos paired opposite Rahul Roy in the film.




After 1996, Anu Agarwal shifted her focus on to South Indian films. After she met with an car accident she sustained considerable injuries and since then has focussed on yoga and is running a yoga school.

Not much hyped as a successful heroine in bollywood industry Anu Agarwal was seen in limited films which are listed below, have a look...

Partner (2005), Return of Jewel Thief (1996), Kanyadaan (1995), Janam Kundali (1995), The Cloud Door (1995), BPL Oye! (1994), King Uncle (1993), Thiruda Thiruda (1993) (Tamil film), Khal-Nayika (1993), Ghazab Tamasha (1992) and Aashiqui (1990).

Biography Mumtaz - The Big Chase

Mumtaz was born on July 31, 1947 in Bombay, India. She is a renouned veteran bollywood actress. Mumtaz originally of Iranian origin was born to Abdul Saleem Askari and Sardar Shadi Habib Agha. She entered Bollywood at the tender age of twelve.

She started as an extra in films in the early 1960's. She accepted small roles in big films like Mujhe Jeene Do and big roles in small budgeted stunt films like Boxer, Samson, Tarzan, and King Kong. In the 1960s, she starred in as many as 16 action films with freestyle wrestler Dara Singh and was tagged and streotyped as a stunt film heroine.

She first gained attention in a supporting role as a vamp in the A grade color hit film Mere Sanam (1965). Finally, she gained major attention when she played one of Dilip Kumar's leading ladies in Ram Aur Shyam (1967). The film became one of the top hits of the year, and
she received her first Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Suddenly, Mumtaz was flooded with offers, but still not for major leading lady roles. She supported Sharmila Tagore in several films in the late 1960s, such as for Saawan Ki Ghata, Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, and Mere Humdum Mere Dost. She had a memorable song and dance number ("Aaj kal tere

mere") with her then-boyfriend Shammi Kapoor in the hit
film Brahmachari (1968).

It took Raj Khosla's blockbuster Do Raaste (1969) starring the phenomenon Rajesh Khanna to finally make Mumtaz a full-fledged star. Earlier, Shashi Kapoor had refused to work with her because she was a "stunt film heroine" in Saccha Jootha, now wanted her to be his heroine in Chor Machaye Shor.

Mumtaz had no problems acting sexy and due to her great looks, easily had several more hit films. She acted in over a hundred films in a career that spanned just 12 years. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for one of her favorite films Khilona in 1970. Mumtaz starred in
many movies with Feroz Khan and her other popular pairing have been with Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna. She has also acted with Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar and other top heroes of her era. She was proud of her work in her other favorite films Tere Mere Sapne for director Vijay
Anand, as well as Roop Tera Mastana, Aap Ki Kasam, and Aaina.

She quit acting after her appearance in Aaina (1977) for marriage to a millionaire and only returned for one final film appearance 12 years later in the 1989 film Aandhiyan, which flopped and she turned down other film offers. In 1996, she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

In June 2008, she was honored for her "Achievement in Indian Cinema" by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) in Bangkok.


Mumtaz married millionaire Mayur Madhvani on May 29, 1974. They have two daughters Natasha and Tanya. Natasha, the elder daughter, married actor Fardeen Khan, son of Feroz Khan, in a lavish ceremony, in December 2005. Mumtaz had acknowledged that she has successfully battled cancer and that she and her husband have overcome personal problems in their marriage.

Tina Munim

Tina Munim was born on February 11, 1957 in Mumbai, India. Tina Munim is considered to be an Indian film actress who had a successful Bollywood career during the late 70's and early 80's. Tina Munim is married to the industrialist Anil Ambani, now one of the richest men in the world.

Munim was discovered by Dev Anand after she represented India at the International Teen Princess contest in Aruba, and won the Miss Photogenic and Miss Bikini awards. In 1978, Dev Anand casted Tina Munim in his film Des Pardes, which launched her film career.

Tina Munim was also romantically linked with film actor Rajesh Khanna after starring together in films such as Fifty Fifty and Souten. The relationship created a lot of publicity as Rajesh Khanna was married to Dimple Kapadia when he took up with Munim, but their relationship eventually ended.

Tina also made a popular screen team with actor Rishi Kapoor, since they were paired romantically in six films, the most popular being Subhash Ghai's Karz. Producer-Director-Actor Rakesh Roshan also cast her several times, including for the hit film "Aakhir Kyon?". Director Basu Chatterjee repeatedly cast her in his films, such as Baaton Baaton Mein and Man Pasand.

In the late 1980s, Tina Munim made the conscious decision to put her Bollywood career on hiatus. She moved to California and attended college.

Tina is working on "Empowering Indian Senior Citizens" and runs magazine called "Harmony". She also organizes yearly exhibits for artists, "The Harmony Show".

The grand dame of Hindi cinema-Lalita Pawar

Lalita Pawar was born on April 18, 1916. Lalita was a prolific Indian actor, who later became famous as character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi and Marathi cinema, where she gave hits like, Netaji Palkar (1938), made by Bhalji Pendharkar, New Hana Pictures’ Sant Damaji, Navyug Chitrapat’s Amrit, written by VS Khandekar, and Chhaya Films’ Gora Kumbhar. Lalita Pawar's other memorable roles were in film, Anari (1959), Shri 420 and Mr and Mrs 55, and the role of Manthara, in Ramanand Sagar's television epic serial, Ramayan.

Lalita Pawar's first marriage was to G.P. Pawar, a stunt film director, who directed most of her later silent, and initial sound films. Lalita co-produced and acted in a silent film, Kailash (1932), and later produced another film, Duniya Kya Hai in 1938, a talkie.

In 1942, Lalita was slapped by actor Bhagwan Dada, during the shooting of a film, which resulted in facial paralysis and a burst left eye vein. Three years of treatment later, Lalita Pawar was left with a defective left eye; thus she had to abandon lead roles, and switch to character roles, which won her much of her fame later in life.

Llita was known particularly for playing maternal figures, especially wicked matriarchs or mothers-in-law. She also notably played the role of the strict but kind Mrs. L. D'Sa in Anari (1959) with Raj Kapoor, acting under Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction, she gave the performance of a lifetime , for which she received Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award; as the tough matriarch who falls in love in Professor (1962), and the devious hunchback Manthara in Ramanand Sagar's television series Ramayan. Lalita Pawar died in 1998, February 24.

Lalita Pawar has had the longest ever innings in the industry which spanned seven decades.

The irreplaceable actress- Meena Kumari

Meena Kumari or Mahjabeen Bano was born on August 1, 1932. Meena Kumari was an Indian movie actress and poetess. Meena Kumari is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema.

During a career spanning 30 years from her childhood to her death, she starred in more than 90 films, many of which have achieved classic and cult status today.

Meena Kumari gained a reputation for playing grief-stricken and tragic roles, and her performances have been praised and remembered throughout the years. Like one of her best-known roles, Chhoti Bahu, in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Kumari became addicted to alcohol. Her life and prosperous career were marred by heavy drinking, troubled relationships, an ensuing deteriorating health, and her death from liver cirrhosis in 1972.

Kumari is often cited by media and literary sources as "The Tragedy Queen", both for her frequent portrayal of sorrowful and dramatic roles in her films and her real-life story. Meena Kumari was the legendary tragedy queen of Indian Cinema who shot into stardom in the early 1950's.

Mahjabeen was renamed Baby Meena and her first film as a child was Farzand-e-Watan or Leatherface (1939), directed by Vijay Bhatt for Prakash Studios. She was the sole bread-earner of the family as she was given roles in films all throughout the 1940s. Her early adult work consisted of mainly mythological films like Veer Ghatotkach (1949), Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950) and fantasies like Alladin and The Wonderful Lamp (1952). Meena hit the big time with her mentor Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra (1952).

Meena was known for her tragic roles and she too chose more such roles to cultivate her image of being the great tragidienne because in the few light-hearted films she did in-between like Azaad (1955), Miss Mary (1957), Shararat (1959), and Kohinoor (1960).

A reluctant entrant to films, her greatest celluloid fantasy, it seems, only waited for her dejection, and eventual death, before becoming a huge success. A legend when she was alive, and an irreplaceable actress after her death, Meena Kumari's iconic status will remain untouched for a long time to come."Gomti ke Kinare" was her last film.

Manisha Koirala

Image via Wikipedia

Manisha Koirala was born on August 16, 1970 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Manisha is a Nepali actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in a considerable number of Tamil films as well. Manisha Koirala is also a talented Bharatnatyam and Manipuri dancer.

Manisha made her acting debut in Nepali movie Pheri Bhetaula (1989), Koirala made her acting debut in Bollywood with Subhash Ghai's top-grossing drama Saudagar (1991). Koirala went on to collaborate with some of the most prominent Indian filmmakers of her times, and throughout the 1990s, was one of the best-known actresses in India, mostly recognised for her critically acclaimed performances.

Manisha Koirala has dated several high profile and lesser known men including her earliest boyfriend Sameer (who was a working professional in the US), actors Rahul Roy, Vivek Mushran, Nana Patekar, Aryan Vaid, Australian ambassador Crispin Conroy, UK based Cecil Anthony among others. Manisha Koirala is known for her gregarious and easy going nature, and was once called the prettiest woman in Bollywood.


Manisha won the following Awards

1996, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Bombay
1997, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Khamoshi: The Musical
1997, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Khamoshi: The Musical
2003, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, Company
2004, Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, Best Actress, Escape From Taliban

Manisha was also nominated for many awards-

1995, Filmfare Best Actress Award, 1942:A Love Story
1996, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Bombay
1996, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Akele Hum Akele Tum
1997, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Khamoshi: The Musical
1999, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Dil Se

Manisha Koirala is a wonderful personality having got a love for the human beings.

Ayesha takia Biography

Image via Wikipedia

This pretty young gal born on 10th April, 1986 made it very early in the tinsel-town. Her father is a Gujrati and her mother is an Anglo Indian. She grew up speaking Gujrati and English but learned Hindi and Telugu for her filmy career. She studied in St Anthony's Girls High School, Mumbai, her birth place. Her younger sister is Natasha.

Ayesha entered in glamour world through advertisements and her first advertisement was the famous "I'm a Complan Boy, I'm a Complan Girl" alongside Shahid Kapoor. Her first music video was Falguni Pathak's "Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye", when she was just fifteen. Ayisha Takiya
drew the attention of the film industry with the video "Shake It Daddy" and film offers followed. Though Ayesha signed "Socha Na Tha" first but her first released movie was "Tarzan- The Wonder Car".

Ayesha Takyia won the Filmfare best debutant award in 2004 for her performance in "Taarzan". After that Ayesha acted in many films but most of them were unsuccessful at the box office.

On March 1, 2009, Takia married Farhan Azmi, a restaurateur and the son of politician Abu Azmi, a Samajwadi Party leader.

Ayisha Takia beautifully essayed the role of a young widow of Rajasthan living in a traditional joint family in the film "Dor". She was highly praised for her work in this film and went on to win Zee cine critics award for best actress.

She is also the proud winner of Star Screen, Stardust and Zee Cine Best Actress Award (Critics) for "Dor ".She shared it with co-actress Gul Panag at Zee Cine Awards.

She has worked in some 15 odd films like Dil Maange More, Socha Na Tha, Shaadi No.1, Home Delivery, Shaadi Se Pehle, Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota, Dor, Salaam-e-Ishq, Kya Love Story Hai, Fool and Final, Cash, No Smoking, Sunday.

Ayesha Takia listens to loads of trance, rock music and she also loves Ghazals. Her favorite Indian artists are Ghulam Ali and Abeeda Parveen.We anticipate her in only one film in 2009 that is Paathshala.

Amisha Patel- Biography

Cover of Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage

Amisha Patel hails from a true multi-racial family as her father Amit
Patel is a Gujrati Maharashtrian and her mother Asha Patel is a
Sindhi. Her family is that of reputed lawyers and politicians.

Amisha is not just a famous Bollywood actress but also a Biogenetic
Engineer from a university in United States. Amisha is also a gold
medalist in economics. Before getting into films, she worked for a
financial company, but she did not continue for long.

Her inclination was towards art and cinema and hence she soon joined
Satyadev Dubey’s theatre group. With her excellent foreign degree and
superb family background, Amisha could easily don the seat of the CEO
of her family business, but fate had another calling for her.

Crediting her family connections for her first break in films, it so
happened that at a at a dinner at the Roshan’s house, Rakesh Roshan
offered Amisha a role in ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’. The film was a superhit
and marked Hrithik Roshan's debut.

After ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hao’, life was not a bed of roses for Amisha. She
had number of flop films like ‘Suno Sasurji’ with Aftab Shivdasani,
‘Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage’ with Hrithik, ‘Yeh hai Jalwa’ with
Salman, ‘Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar’ with Jimmy Shergil. But then ‘Gadar’
opposite Sunny Deol became one of the biggest hit of Indian cinema.
Amisha’s stunning performance in the film made her to stand in the
front row of actresses in Bollywood.

In real life, Amisha is coy and simple. She had been accused of
link-ups with Vikram Bhatt and Kunal Kohli. She is however, now, happy
seeing a NRI buisnessmam Kanav Puri.

However, her performance in the 2006 film Ankahee, received critical
recognition, and she followed it with a supporting role in the hit
Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007).As of 2009, Patel will be seen in two comic
films, Run Bhola Run and Chatur Singh Two Star, that are scheduled to
release on summer 2009. Patel has also signed a three-film deal with
Yash Raj Films. One of the films will be directed by Shaad Ali.

Sunil Shetty Biography

Cover of Mohra

An actor who completely depends on his director for his performance, Sunil Shetty could have done better in business boardrooms, but anyway, made his B-Town journey with the completely inconsequential films like Balwan, Gaddar or Prithvi.

His beefcake physique and square jawed face made him a director's ideal choice for an action hero, but his expressionless face gave away the ham actor in him. Yet nothing teaches better than experience.

So after a long barren spell at the box office when around 21 out of his 28 films flopped miserably, Shetty finally saved his dwindling career with films like Mohra and Border. Then the resounding success of Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri gave his career a new lease of life while Refugee and Jungle has got him on cloud nine.

One of the promising stars to have hit the silver screen in the last decade Sunil Shetty stays clear of petty politics of the tinsel world and maintains a low profile. For this reason perhaps he has the choicest projects in his kitty despite his innumerable debacles at the box office.

He has changed his name to Suniel Shetty. He often likes to do patriotic roles eg. Border (1997), Qayamat (2003), Mohra (1994)

He is considered a major action star in Indian cinema and his action abilities was the reason for his success. His beloved wife is Manna Shetty and they have two children named Atiya and Aahan. He is a black belt in Full Contact Kick Boxing.

Shabana Azmi - The Biography

Image by Bollywoodzone via Flickr

Shabana Azmi (born 18 September, 1950 in New Delhi, India) is one of the leading actresses of Indian cinema. Also a social activist,her performances in different genres of films have garnered her accolades and awards including five wins of National Film Award for Best Actress.

Shabana Azmi hails from a renowned Muslim family with film connections. Her parents were, Kaifi Azmi - a renowned Indian poet and writer of Urdu, and Shaukat Azmi - a well known stage actress. Her brother, Baba Azmi, is a cinematographer. Her parents had an active social life, and their home was always throbbing with people and activities. Farah, Naaz and Tabu are her nieces.

In the initial stage of her career, she was linked to noted film director Shekhar Kapur, but married Javed Akhtar, a lyricist, poet and Bollywood scriptwriter on 9 December, 1984. It was Akhtar's second marriage, the first being with the Bollywood scriptwriter, Honey Irani.

Early in childhood, the environment in her home inculcated into her a respect for family ties, social and human values; and her parents always supported her to develop a passion for intellectual stimulation and growth. This is greatly reflected in her body of work.

She completed her graduation degree in Psychology from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, followed by a course in Acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. She topped the list of successful candidates of 1972.

Her first movie to be released was Shyam Benegal's Ankur (1972), which won the national award. However, her first film was an art film, made by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Faalsa, which was released in 1974. Her roles in both the films attracted positive comments both from the reviewers and the audiences.

She received the national awards consecutively for three years from 1983 to 1985 for her roles in movies, Arth, Khandhar and Paar. Another film named Godmother (1999) brought her another national award taking her tally to five national awards.

Shabana's acting has been characterized by a life like real depiction of the roles played by her.

In Mandi, for instance, she acted as a madam of a whorehouse, and to act this role she put on weight and even chewed betel. Real life like portrayals continued in almost all of her movies with a variety of roles, including a tragic role of a woman named Jamini resigned to her destiny in Khandhar, and a typical urban Indian wife, homemaker and mother in Masoom.

She also did many roles in experimental and parallel Indian cinema. Deepa Mehta's 1996 film Fire, depicts her as a lesbian lonely woman, Radha, in love with her sister-in-law (perhaps the first in Indian cinema) and drew severe protests from many social groups of India, and also threats of ban by Indian authorities. Her role as Radha brought her international recognition with the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Chicago Film Festival and Jury Award for Best Actress at Outfest, Los Angeles.

Some of her noted films with the legendary film-makers of all times include Shyam Benegal's Nishant (1975), Junoon (1978), Susman (1986), and Antarnaad (1992); Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi; Mrinal Sen's Khandhar, Genesis, Ek Din Achanak; Saeed Mirza's Albert Pinto Ko Guussa Kyon Aata Hai; Sai Paranjpye's Sparsh and Disha; Gautam Ghose' Paar; Aparna Sen's Picnic and Sati ; Mahesh Bhatt's Arth; Vinay Shukla's Godmother.

Her other films include the commercially successful Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish (of Manmohan Desai) and Prakash Mehra's Jwalamukhi.

Azmi has taken on in her spree a number of Hollywood productions, the first being John Schlesinger's Madame Sousatzka (1988), followed by Roland Joffe's City of Joy (1992), among others.

Shabana's debut to the small screen began with her acting in a soap opera with a cause, Anupama, that is, the unique or the unparallel. She did the role of a modern Indian woman who while endorsing the traditional Indian ethos and values negotiated more freedom for herself.

She had also participated in many stage plays, and notable among them include M. S. Sathyu's Safed Kundali (1980), which was a version of the Caucasian Chalk Circle; and Farouque Shaikh's Tumhari Amrita, which ran almost five years.

She toured Singapore for about a month on an assignment by the Singapore Repertory Theatre Company, doing role in Ingmar Bergman's adaptation of Ibsen's Doll House, which was directed by Rey Buono.

Shabana Azmi has been a committed social activist, active in fighting AIDS and injustice in real life. In a Bengali film named Meghla Aakash she played the role of a physician treating AIDS patients. Shabana Azmi has voiced her opinion on a variety of issues. Initially, her activism drew skepticism and was dubbed by some as a publicity gimmick. However, she proved her critics wrong and used her celebrity status to emerge as a high-profile social activist.

She had participated in several plays and demonstrations denouncing communalism.

In 1989, along with Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer, she undertook a four day march for communal harmony from New Delhi to Meerut.

Among the neglected social groups whose causes she has advocated are slum dwellers, displaced Kashmiri Pandit migrants and victims of the earthquake at Latur (Maharashtra, India). The 1993 Mumbai riots appalled her and she emerged as a forceful critic of religious extremism. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, she opposed the advice of an important religious leader calling upon the Muslims of India to join the people of Afghanistan in their fight by retorting that the leader go there alone. Her strong reaction encouraged other moderate Muslim leaders to counsel restraint and tolerance, and to shun terrorism.