| Cinema
(Directors & Actors) |
DIRECTORS
Satyajit
Ray 
(1921 – 1992)
The only Indian to have won an Oscar for lifetime
achievement in films, Satyajit Ray needs no introduction.
A versatile genius, this 6'4'' man showed his talent
as a director, producer, writer, composer and even
a graphic designer.
Ray was born in Calcutta in an artistic and affluent
family. His father and grandfather were both writers,
the former even used to write 'nonsense' verse.
A meeting with the famous film director Jean Renoir
in Calcutta in 1949 and a business trip to London
in 1950, where he saw Vittorico De Sica's "The
Bicycle Thief (1949)", had such an influence
on Ray that he decided to make his own film.With absolutely
no experience in movie-making and no financial backing,
Ray started picking up knowledge from books on the
subject and got together a group of equally inexperienced
but enthusiastic youngsters to work with him on the
dream project.After the success of Pather Panchali,
there was no stopping Ray. He moved from one success
to another, making 29 films in 37 years.
Guru
Dutt
(1925 - 1964)
Guru Dutt Shiv Shankar Padukone, the famous director
and actor was born on 9th July 1925 in Mangalore,
Karnataka. He received his early education in Calcutta.
Guru Dutt learned dancing at Uday Shankar's, India
Cultural Centre at Almora for two years. Later he
moved to Maharashtra where he began his association
with the film world. He learned every aspect of filmmaking
by assisting major directors in studios like Prabhat,
Famous Pictures, Bombay Talkies etc.
Dutt's earliest assignments in the world of commercial
cinema was that of a choreographer for the film 'Hum
Ek Hain' and as an actor in the film 'Lakhrani' in
1944. His first big break as a director came with
'Baazi' (1951), produced by Dev Anand's Navketan Studio
but it was with 'Aar Paar' (1954), that Guru Dutt
entered his most popular phase as a director. He also
proved his mettle as an actor by playing the hero
in the film with a style of his own. During this time
he married the popular playback singer, Geeta Roy
who was to sing some of the best songs in his films.
With
Aar Paar, Guru Dutt started his own production company.
Other films that established Dutt's reputation - as
an excellent director, 'Pyaasa' (1957), 'Kaagaz Ke
Phool' (1959) ; as an actor and producer, 'Chaudvin
Ka Chand' (1960) and 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam' (1962).
The story of Kaagaz ke Phool has glimpses of his personal
life. Almost all his films had females as central
characters. Famous actresses like Meena Kumari and
Waheeda Rehman have given powerful performances in
his films. He was different from his fellow directors
in the sense that he made good, purposeful films though
not hits at the box office. He had a tragic end at
the young age of thirty nine.
Ismail
Merchant
(1936 - 2005)
Ismail
Merchant was born in Mumbai in the year 1936. In his
career spanning three and a half decades, he made
some 40 feature films. Many of them were made with
the collaboration of his pal, director James Ivory
and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The famous Merchant-
Ivory duo made a mark of their own in the film world.
Adaptation of E. M. Forster's 'A room with a view',
Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Remains of the Day', 'Rose Land'
and 'Heat & Dust' are some of the best Merchant-Ivory
movies.
Vanessa Redgrave, Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Reeve,
Anthony Hopkins, Paul Newman, Emma Thompson, Isabelle
Adjani, Paul Newman are a few well known actors who
featured in his films. They all craved to work with
him knowing that he would pay them only a little more
than his attention.
Yash
Chopra
(1932 - )
Yash Chopra is the only director of the older brigade
of filmmakers who has successfully moved with the
times right from his first film Dhool ka Phool (1959)
to his latest film Dil to Paagal Hai (1997). He is
even today regarded as one of the hippest and trendiest
directors of Indian cinema. Though Yash Chopra has
done films of various sorts, it is when he is tackling
love and its various elements that he has been at
his best. Born in Jullunder, Punjab Yash Chopra began
as an assistant director to I.S. Johar before moving
on to assisting big brother B.R. Chopra.
His directorial debut was the socially significant
Dhool ka Phool, an epic melodrama about unwed motherhood,
illegitimacy and a plea for communal harmony. Breaking
away from B.R. Films, Yash Chopra launched his own
production banner Yashraj Films with Daag (1973).
He then entered one of his best phases with Amitabh
Bachchan. The 1980s saw Yash Chopra go through a rough
patch as one after another - Silsila (1981) (trying
to capitalize on the real life Amitabh-Jaya Bhaduri-Rekha
triangle), Mashaal (1984), Faasle (1985), Vijay (1988)
all flopped. However Chandni (1989), a love triangle
with memorable music and a great central performance
by Sridevi, brought him back in the reckoning. Lamhe
(1991) a beautiful and sensitive film of cross-generational
love however did not go down with audiences who found
it incestuous though there are many who regard it
to be Yash Chopra's best film. He sweeped the audiences
off their feet with his blockbuster Dil to Pagal Hai
(1997) and Veer-Zara (1994). Today Yash Chopra has
been honoured for his sensitive and poetic contribution
to Indian cinema with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke
Award.
K.
Asif
(1924 - 1971)
K. Asif was a film director, film producer and screenwriter
who was famous for his work for the Hindi epic motion
picture, Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
Asif
was born Karimuddin Asif in Uttar Pradesh. His directorial
debut, Phool (1945), did very well at the box-office
due to the casting of and portrayals by famous actors
and actresses of the time such as Prithviraj Kapoor,
Durga Khote and Suraiya.
In
1944, Asif planned to make a film called Mughal-e-Azam
based on the life and times of Mughal Emperor Akbar
the Great's court dancer, Anarkali, with Chandramohan
in the male lead and the then upcoming actress Nargis
in the female lead. However, in 1946, before the production
of the film could begin, the male lead, Chandramohan,
died.
At
that time, Asif temporarily shelved the film until
further notice. He produced his next venture, the
film Hulchul, and released it in 1951. At that time,
Asif recasted Mughal-e-Azam with Dilip Kumar in the
male lead and Madhubala in the female lead and began
the production of the film in the same year. In 1960,
after nine years in production, Mughal-e-Azam was
released and became a huge hit at packed cinema houses
across India. With this film, Asif attain legendary
status despite having only worked in three productions
so far.
After
the release and success of Mughal-e-Azam, Asif planned
yet another motion picture called Love and God, his
first directorial venture to be made completely in
color, and began production. The film was to star
Guru Dutt in the male lead and Nimmi in the female
lead. However, in 1964, when lead actor Guru Dutt
died, shooting came to a halt. Then, Asif recast Sanjeev
Kumar in the male lead and resumed production of the
film. During the production of the film, K. Asif died
on March 9, 1971 at the age of 47 and the film was
abandoned. In 1986, Asif's widow, Akhtar Asif revived
the film and it was released in incomplete form.
Kamal
Amrohi
(1918 - 1993)
Kamal Amrohi, one of the most original voices in Indian
cinema of the post-Independence period, was born in
Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. He was well known as a writer
and poet in Urdu. In 1938 he left Amroha to study
in Lahore where famous singer K.L.Saigal discovered
him and took him to Bombay to work for Sohrab Modi`s
Minerva Movietoon. Although he only made four films,
they include two masterpieces, Mahal made in 1949
for Bombay Talkies and Pakeezah, first conceived in
1958 but not brought to the screen until 1972. As
script-writer he was responsible for his work on the
films of Sorahb Modi and K. Asif, including the dialogues
for the latter's famous 1960 epic Mughal-e-Azam. He
was among the four dialogue writers in Mughal-e-Azam.
Both
as script-writer and director, his work is notable
for its highly charged sexuality, returning again
and again to themes of illicit or obsessive passion.
As a director, he developed a unique style that combines
a stylized direction with minimalist performance-style,
very different from the highly expressive acting-style
common in much of Indian cinema of the period. Both
of his famous films express an extremely personal
vision of the world and are not so much films as symphonic
poems on celluloid.
Amrohi
married three times; his first wife was Bano, Jaddan
Bai's (nargis`s mother) maid, who died of asthma.
His second wife was Mehmoodie. He married Meena Kumari,
the star of Pakeezah when she was 19 and Kamal was
34. They met on set and married in 1952, living as
husband and wife from August 14, 1953. The marriage
ended in 1964. They married again but Meena Kumari,
who had become an alcoholic by then, died only a few
days after the film was released on March 31, 1972.
Amrohi himself died in Bombay on 11 February 1993,
ten years after making his last film, Razia Sultan
(1983). He was buried next to Kumari in an Iranian
graveyard.
Mahesh
Bhatt
(1949 - )
Mahesh
Bhatt was born on September 20, 1949 in Bombay, India.
He is an Indian film director, and is the father of
film actress Pooja Bhatt. His father is Hindu Brahmin
and mother a Shia Muslim. He has been a knowing self-publicist,
highlighting personal narratives of illegitimate birth
and extra-marital romance to factor into the public
reception of films such as Arth (1982), Janam (1985)
and Naam (1986). He began his career as an assistant
to Hindi director Raj Khosla. His daughter Pooja is
married to Munish Makhija alias Udham Singh. His son's
name is Vikram. His wife's name is Soni Razdan, an
actress herself in her own right.
Bhatt’s
films show an unusual engagement with the psychological
damage arising from infringement of social norms,
situations which are characteristic deep mental/emotion
damage and trauma. These films provided challenges
of characterization to their actors, who included
both parallel and mainstream stars. The stand-out
film of his earlier period is Saaransh (1984), an
exploration of an old couple’s anxieties in
a universe governed by arbitrary violence. His last
film, Zakhm (1998), was returned to the censor board
because of right-wing pressure critical of its references
to the Mumbai riots of 1993. He is the author of U.G.
Krishnamurti: A Life.
ACTORS
Balraj Sahni
(1913 - 1973)
Balraj Sahni is perhaps the best known film actor
in India to emerge from the post World War II Left
Cultural Movements.
Born
in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan), he studied at the
Government College of Lahore, graduating in Literature.
He came to Bombay in 1947 and became a key figure
in Indian Peoples' Theatre Association (IPTA) plays.
After a walk-on part in Phani Majumdar's Insaaf (1946),
he starred in K.A. Abbas's first film, Dharti ke Lal
(1946), the only film produced by IPTA. IPTA had also
become a political hotbed for communists and in 1951
as part of a Government campaign against communists,
Sahni was arrested. He was given special permission
to shoot for Hulchul (1951) and would come to the
sets escorted by policemen. However he was released
soon after and more than made his presence felt in
Zia Sarhadi's 'realist' film, Hum Log (1951).
Do
Bigha Zameen (1953) directed by Bimal Roy was perhaps
Balraj's Sahni's greatest and most well-known film.
While sticking to his 'realist' imperatives in films
like Garam Coat (1955), Anuradha (1960) and Kabuliwallah
(1961) (where he lived with kabuliwallahs in a Bombay
suburb for a month to prepare for the role!), Sahni
went on to play leading roles in commercial films.
Garam Hawa (1973) was Balraj Sahni's last major film
before his death. The film, directed by M.S. Sathyu,
chronicles the plight of the minority Muslims in North
India and is set in Agra after the first major partition
exodus.
Dilip Kumar
(1922 - )
Dilip Kumar is regarded as arguably the greatest actor
ever to grace the Indian silver screen. His performances
have been regarded as the epitome of emoting in Indian
cinema. Though he has done all kinds of films - he
balanced a lightweight Shabnam (1949) with the intense
Andaaz (1949), the ultra-serious Daag (1952) with
the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the heavy Devdas (1955)
with the entertainer Azaad (1955), he is mainly remembered
as the King of Tragedy. He was born in Peshawar (now
Pakistan) as Yusuf Khan in a Pathan family of 12 children
who later moved to Maharashtra as fruit merchants.
In Bombay, he was given his first break by Devika
Rani, who cast him as the hero of Bombay Talkies'
Jwar Bhatta (1944). Playing mostly serious roles however
began to take its toll on him and on psychiatric advice
he switched over to do more light-hearted musical
films and what's more actually appeared quite at home
in them. (Azaad and Kohinoor, 1960). He married actress
Saira Bano in 1966 and was absolutely brilliant in
the comedy Ram Aur Shyam (1967) essaying a double
role and displaying razor sharp comic timing but his
career ran out of steam in the 1970s.
Taking a break from acting, he made a grand comeback
in character roles with Manoj Kumar's Kranti (1981)
and Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982) where his larger
than life author-backed role confirmed his legendary
status. It was yet another brilliant performance.
Dilip Kumar's acting has inspired many Indian actors
to try and copy his style but none have even remotely
been able to match him. Which just goes on to prove
that Dilip Kumar was, sorry… is truly one and
one of a kind.
Ashok Kumar
(1911 - 2001)
Ashok
Kumar aka Dadamoni was born Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly
in Bhagalpur and grew up in Khandwa. He briefly studied
law in Calcutta, then joined his future brother-in-law
Shashadhar Mukherjee at Bombay Talkies as laboratory
assistant before being made its leading man. Ashok
Kumar made his debut opposite Devika Rani in Jeevan
Naiya (1936) but became a well known face with Achut
Kanya (1936). It was with his trio of hits opposite
Leela Chitnis - Kangan (1939), Bandhan (1940) and
Jhoola (1941) that Ashok Kumar really came into his
own.
In his early Bombay Talkies films, Ashok Kumar played
the good clean-cut hero in a series of romantic films
but Kismet (1943) changed all that. His role as perhaps
the Indian screen's first cigarette smoking anti-hero
with the heart of gold remains his most famous screen
role and the film ran for over three years in a theatre
in Calcutta.
The 1950s saw Ashok Kumar score in a series of crime
films with his trademark cigarette. His success continued
with strong performances in Aarti (1962), Gumrah (1963)
and an absolutely flawless one in Bandini (1963),
matching Nutan's brilliant performance scene for scene.
In the late 1960s, he effortlessly settled down to
playing character roles.
As a character artiste, Ashok Kumar took on all sorts
of characters - the villain in Jewel Thief (1967),
the sympathetic parent in Mili (1975), the lovable
old man in Aashirwad (1968) and Choti si Baat (1975),
the old comic conman in Victoria no. 203 (1972), the
rapist in Jawaab (1970), the henpecked head of the
family in Khubsoorat (1980). He was by now lovingly
called Dadamoni by one and all. Dadamoni passed away
in Mumbai on December 10, 2001 due to cardiac arrest.
Raj Kapoor
(1924 - 1988)
Raj
Kapoor whole-heartedly embraced the Indian popular
cinema from the very beginning. He made every effort
to ensure that his movies appealed to all sections
of society, in particular the mythical 'common man'.
Film historians and buffs have spoken of him as the
'Charlie Chaplin of India', since he often himself
played a tramp-like figure who, despite adversity,
could still be cheerful and honest, a 'gem of a man'.
He appealed also, as in his films Aag and Jis Desh
Mein Ganga Behti Hein, to patriotic sentiment.
The songs of his films endeared Raj Kapoor not only
to the masses in India, but to audiences in large
parts of Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet
Union, where his films were to become enormous commercial
successes. Many of his films were to be characterized
not only by lively music, but by the extensive use
of elaborate sets. The angst of the common man is
portrayed through heavy brooding landscapes and sets
with sharply contrasted light.
However, after the box office failure of his ambitious
Mera Naam Joker, which took six years to complete,
his movies took a more sensual turn. The film Bobby
(1973) introduced Dimple Kapadia, who would go on
to become one of India's superstars, and established
itself as the fore-runner of a new generation of romances
targeted for adolescents. Raj Kapoor kept up with
this trend of titilating sexuality in later films
like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) and Ram Teri Ganga
Maili (1985).
Though Raj Kapoor has been described by one critic
as exhibiting "the carnality of a schoolboy"
in his films, it remains indubitably the case that
he has been among the most successful film-makers
for nearly four decades. Thus his sensitivity to the
requirements of film audiences should not be dismissed.
Amitabh
Bachan
(1942 - )
Amitabh Bachchan can be categorized as India's most
popular and successful hero of Hindi films. He was
born at Allahabad in 1942. Before joining films, he
was working as an executive in a shipping firm at
Kolkata. His career graph took an upward swing with
the release of 'Janjeer' in 1973. He monopolized the
Hindi cinema after proving his worth as an accomplished
actor when pitted against Rajesh Khanna in 'Anand'
and Dilip Kumar in 'Shakti' (1982). His most successful
film are: Anand (1970), Namak Haram (1973), Abhiman
(1973), Milli (1975), Deewar, Sholay (1975), Mukaddar
ka Sikandar (1978), Trishul (1978), Silsila (1981),
Agni-Path (1990). Amitabh features best in song and
dance sequences. His rendering of 'Khai Ke Paan Banaraswla'
(Don) and Jumma Chumma dede (Hum) became a craze with
the younger generation. He has won the Filmfare Award,
National Award and has been conferred Padma Shri for
his histrionic achievements. Amitabh fought and won
the election for the Parliament from the Allahabad
constituency in 1984, but within a short span of time,
he resigned from the Parliament.
After a pause for some time he is now back to silver
screen to perform some selective roles. He has established
his own company, Amitabh Bachchan corporation Ltd
(ABCL) concerning various facets of entertainment
including film distribution, culture and music. In
1999, Amitabh was voted the Star of the Millennium
in BBC's poll on the Internet.
Shahrukh
Khan
(1965 - )
Shahrukh
Khan, popularly called King Khan, is a highly acclaimed
Bollywood actor and producer. Born in New Delhi to
Muslim parents, Shahrukh lost his father in 1981 and
his mother in 1991. Shortly afterwards, he moved to
Mumbai to start his career in Bollywood.
Shahrukh
made his television debut in 1988 with the serial
Fauji. He soon transitioned to the movies with his
deubt in Deewana that launched him as a successful
actor of Bollywood. Since then Shahrukh has enthralled
the cinema goers with super-hits such as Baazigar
(1993), Darr (1993), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995),
Dil to Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998),
Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001),
Devdas (2002), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004)
and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006).
In 1999, Shahrukh set up a production company called
Dreamz Unlimited with actress Juhi Chawla and director
Aziz Mirza. The first two of the films he produced
and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000)
and Asoka (2001) were box office failures. However,
his third film, as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte
(2003), was the first box office hit from his production
house. In 2004 he set up another production company
called Red Chillies Entertainment and produced and
starred in Main Hoon Na which was another hit at the
box office. In 2005 Shahrukh produced and starred
in the fantasy film Paheli, which was India's selection
for the Academy Awards (foreign films category) but
did not win.
Shahrukh
returned to television as the host of the popular
show Kaun Banega Crorepati, which is the Indian version
of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? show is deemed the
most popular programme in Indian television history.
Aamir Khan
(1965 - )
Aamir
Khan was born on 14th March, 1965. After a stereotypical
start in Indian film with Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (1988)
a breakthrough smash-hit romance – followed
by eight forgettable musical extravaganzas in three
years – Khan broke ranks and, as he says, "began
to swim upstream." He became the first Indian
star in memory to pick and choose roles by artistic
merit, doing only one or two films in a year. By carefully
mixing commercial hits with experimental releases,
Khan built a name as both a bankable star and a credible
actor. His simultaneous conquest and transformation
of Bollywood was cemented with the 2001 releases of
Dil Chahta Hai, a groundbreaking portrait of middle-class
Bombay, and Lagaan, about Indian villagers struggling
against 19th century colonialism—which earned
India's third-ever Oscar nomination.
ACTRESSES
Madhubala
(1933 - 1969)
Madhubala was without doubt the most beautiful
Hindi film heroine ever. And also perhaps the most
underrated actress ever with her beauty attracting
more attention than her performances. She was brilliant
in comedy with her sense of comic timing spot on and
she came up with performances of high dramatic calibre
in Amar (1954) and the unforgettable Mughal-e-Azam
(1960).
Born in abject poverty, the 5th of 11 children, Madhubala
began life in the film world as a child star, Baby
Mumtaz, in films like Bombay Talkies' Basant (1942).
It was Kidar Sharma who gave her a break as heroine
opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). However
it was with the Bombay Talkies suspense thriller Mahal
(1949) that Madhubala became a star. A spate of films
followed opposite the top leading men of the day -
Ashok Kumar, Rehman, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand but by
the mid 1950s when some of her major films like Mehboob
Khan's Amar flopped, Madhubala was declared 'box office
poison'. Further, she had gotten involved with Dilip
Kumar and this took its toll on her.
She however bounced back with a string of hits in
the 1958-60 period. It was Mughal-e-Azam that saw
perhaps her greatest performance as the doomed courtesan
Anarkali. The film showed off the finely modulated
depth she could bring to her performances if given
the opportunity. Tragically by now she was diagnosed
as having a hole in her heart and her illness forced
her to abbreviate her career. She also plunged into
a loveless marriage with Kishore Kumar and lingered
on for nine years till her death in 1969. Even today
the very mention of the name Madhubala conjures up
the image of those dancing eyes, that lopsided smile.
Meena Kumari
(1932
- 1972)
Meena
Kumari, whose name in India has now become synonymous
with the tragic heroine, shot to stardom in the early
fifties with the release of Baiju Bawra (1952). The
daughter of a Parsee theatre actor, Mahajabeen acted
in her first film at the age of six. She took on the
name Meena Kumari for Vijay Bhatt's immensely popular
musical Baiju Bawra. She heralded a new era of actresses
that included Nargis, Nimmi, Suchitra Sen and Nutan.
By 1953, Meena Kumari had starred in three other commercially
successful films: Daera, Do Bigha Zameen and Parineeta.
Parineeta became a turning point in her career. Her
evocative portrayal of the perennially suffering Indian
woman struck a responsive chord in millions of women.
She was never really able to shake off this image
of a tragidienne, and at times this severely impeded
her in the exercise of the full range of her histrionic
talents. One reason for her popularity was her private
life, which at times rivaled the plot of any movie.
She married Kamal Amrohi who directed some of her
best films.
However, her strong independent spirit would not be
subordinated by her husband's genius and they eventually
separated in 1964. She was also a poet in her own
right, and was able to lend to the characters she
played a certain poetic tenderness and intensity.
A collection of her poems in Urdu under the pen name
Naaz was published after her death.
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) became in more than a
symbolic way the crossroads of her life. Like the
heroine of the film, she increasingly took to drink
and embarked on the road to gradual 'ruin'. Her screen
image of a tormented, self-mortifying woman became
an extension of her own personality. Pakeezah (1971),
jointly conceived with her husband, was completed
shortly before her tragic death in 1972 and was her
last great performance. The image of her limpid eyes
and tremulous voice remains to epitomize the tragic
heroine of the Hindi film.
Nargis 
(1929
- 1981)
Nargis
was one of the greatest Indian actresses of all time.
Her performances were authentic and natural to a degree
not seen then in Indian cinema, which could still
be quite loud and theatrical.
Daughter of actress, singer and filmmaker Jaddanbai,
she was born Fatima Rashid in Allahabad. When she
was just 5 years old, her mother introduced her as
a child star, Baby Rani. Her first adult lead role
was in Mehboob Khan's Taqdeer (1943) opposite Motilal.
She made her presence felt in the same filmmaker's
Humayun (1945) as Hamida Bano but real stardom came
her way with Andaaz (1949) and Barsaat (1949).
Off-screen, her affair with the already married Raj
Kapoor was a matching of soul and spirit. After Awaara
(1951) she worked almost exclusively with him even
turning down her mentor Mehboob's Aan (1952). However
by 1956 the pair had broken up, Chori Chori (1956),
a breezy entertainer based on Frank Capra's It Happened
One Night (1934), being their last film together.
With Raj Kapoor out of her life, almost as if on cue,
Mehboob offered her his magnum opus Mother India (1957).
The film represents the pinnacle of her career and
won her the Best Actress award at the prestigious
Karlovy Vary festival. Mother India was also nominated
for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film but it lost to
Fellini's Nights of Caberia by a solitary vote.
It
is a well-known story that while shooting for the
film, Nargis was trapped amidst lit haystacks. As
the flames got higher and higher, Sunil Dutt playing
her rebellious son, Birju, in the film ran through
the fire and rescued her. He proposed to her and Nargis
married Sunil Dutt and quit films after marriage.
She did make a comeback of sorts expertly playing
a woman with a split personality in Raat Aur Din (1967)
winning the National Award for the same.
Nargis was the first film personality to be awarded
the Padmashree and later her charitable work for spastics
saw her nominated to the Rajya Sabha. She died of
cancer in 1981, the same year her son Sanjay Dutt
made his screen debut with Rocky.
Waheeda Rehman
(1936 - )
Waheeda
Rehman was the embodiment of classic Muslim beauty
with a truly transcendental appeal.
Born
into a traditional Muslim family in Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh, she was trained in Bharatnatyam. She was
spotted by Guru Dutt in a song in the latter film
and was brought to Bombay and cast as the vamp in
his production C.I.D. (1956) directed by his protégé,
Raj Khosla.She broke through the following year with
Guru Dutt's masterpiece Pyaasa in the role of the
prostitute with the heart of gold. Kaagaz ke Phool
(1959) proved autobiographical. Guru Dutt's marital
status and her success in films outside his tore them
apart personally and professionally. In fact Waheeda
Rehman completed Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) under
some strain. With Guide (1965), she reached the peak
of her career. Though the novelist R.K. Narayan on
whose book it was based, disowned the film, he had
no complaints with Waheeda's performance as Rosie.
It was a daring role to play, of a woman who leaves
her stifling impotent husband and lives with her lover,
a guide who helps her in her ambitions to become a
famous dancer. In 1974 Waheeda married Kamaljeet,
a businessman, who had tried his luck in films in
the 1960s and failed, and moved to Bangalore. She
turned to character roles, often playing Amitabh Bachchan's
mother (Bachchan has always cited her to be his favourite
actress) but in the 1980s and 90s, she gradually cut
down on film work, busying herself with marketing
her brand of breakfast cereal while leading a contented
life on her farmhouse in Bangalore.
Sharmila
Tagore
(1946 - )
Sharmila Tagore is the daughter of
Gitindranath Tagore and the great grand daughter of
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Sharmila Tagore
began her career as an actress in the 1959 Satyajit
Ray film Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). As noted
on the official website for Ray, "She was just
a fourteen-year-old then, with no previous acting
experience. As the shooting began, Ray had to shout
instructions to Sharmila during the takes. None of
this, however, is reflected on the screen. Ray cast
her in his next film Devi too". Sharmila appeared
in a number of Ray films, often co-starring with Soumitra
Chatterjee.
Tagore established herself as a popular
Hindi film actress with Shakti Samanta's Kashmir Ki
Kali in 1964. Samanta would cast her in many more
hit films such as An Evening in Paris (1967), and
he would be responsible for famously teaming up her
with Rajesh Khanna for Aradhana (1969), Amar Prem
(1971), etc. Other directors paired them together
in Daag (1973) and Safar (1970).
Sharmila converted to Islam and later
married Mansoor Ali Khan, Nawab of Pataudi and officially
changed her name to Ayesha Sultana.She then married
him in 1968. They have three children: Saif Ali Khan
(b. 1970), Saba Ali Khan, and Soha Ali Khan (b. 1978).
Her
latest release is Vidhu Vinod Chopra film, Eklavya:
The Royal Guard, brings together real life mother
and son, Sharmila Tagore and Saif Ali Khan. They share
screen space for the first time since Aashiq Awara
(1993), where she had helped launch Saif as a leading
man
Shabana Azmi
(1950 - )
Shabana Azmi, noted for her versatility,
her intelligence, and her wide appeal, was born in
1950. Her mother, well-known actress Shaukat, and
her father, renowned Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi, raised
her in Bombay. After obtaining a degree in psychology,
she took a course at the Film and Television Institute
of India. She made her feature debut in Shyam Benegal
Ankur, (1974), for which she received a National Award.
Shabana
Azmi was one actress who could gracefully alternate
between art and mainstream cinema without obvious
compromises. Her commercial films include Amar Akbar
Anthony (1977) and Fakira (1976). But she soon tired
of formulaic fare and proved willing to risk reputation
to take adventurous roles in experimental films. Her
best works include Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke
Khilari (1977), Shyam Benegal’s Mandi (1993),
Anjuman (1986), Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth (1982),
In Custody (1993), Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1998)
and Godmother (1999).
She
is an unprecedented winner of five National Awards
for Best Actress in India, and multiple international
awards as well as being a Member of the Indian Parliament,
and UN Goodwill Ambassador. For her political activism
and support of liberal causes, she has been awarded
the Rajiv Gandhi Award and the Padma Shri.
Smita Patil
(1955 - )
Born
in 1955 in Pune, Smita Patil entered the film industry
after a brief stint as a television announcer. Her
first major role as the woman who leads a Harijan
revolt in Shyam Benegal's Manthan won her critical
acclaim. Exceptional performances such as the outspoken
tribal in Ketan Mehta's Bhavni Bhavai and as the struggling
actress, Hansa Wadkar, in Benegal's Bhumika established
her reputation as a versatile actress both in India
and abroad. In what was an unusual honor for an actress
who was then less than 30 years of age, and had been
working in the cinema for less than 10 years, her
work was celebrated at the festival of La Rochelle
and by the French cinematheque in 1984.
Smita
Patil, who was also an activist and a member of the
Women's Centre in Bombay, was deeply committed to
the advancement of women's issues. One of her most
memorable feminist roles may have been in Ketan Mehta's
Mirch Masala (1985), where she plays a village woman,
Sonbai, who is much desired by the feudal master.
Cornered in a chili factory by his men, she extricates
herself from a most difficult situation by throwing
chili powder into his eyes. Her career was tragically
cut short by her death in 1986 during childbirth.
Madhuri Dixit
(1967 - )
Madhuri Dixit made a humble beginning in a much forgotten
film Abodh. It was director Subhash Ghai who paved
the way for her super star status in Bollywood. Madhuri,
whose ambition was to become a micro-biologist, instead
became a number one star in the tinsel world and has
remained so justifying Ghai's predictions for her.
Ghai gave Madhuri Uttar Dakshin, and then a proper
launch in Ram Lakhan (1988). But it was N. Chandra's
Tezaab which gave her the big break. Her dance number
Ek do teen choreographed by Saroj Khan in the film
became popular and established both Madhuri and Saroj
Khan in the field. Some of her famous films are Dil
(1990), Beta (1992), Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), Dil
To Pagal Hai (1997) and Lajja (2002).
This Maharashtrian beauty, famous for her acting skill
and her million dollar smile, married Sri Ram Nene
on October 17, 1999. Since then, she has become more
selective in choosing films and spends more time with
her husband based in Los Angeles. Her latest film,
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas has won international
acclaim.
Music
& Dance
Ravi
Shankar
(1920 - )
Born on 7th April 1920, Ravi Shankar is an internationally
known Indian sitar maestro. As an exponent of Indian
music and incomparable Sitarist,Pandit Ravi Shankar
enjoys great popularity all over the world. Ravi Shankar
received training in sitar from Ustad Alaudin Khan.
His musical performances have an aesthetic appeal.
The first Indian to compose music for foreign films,
he has made a notable contribution in popularising
Indian music abroad. He opened Kiunara school of music
in Los Angeles in 1967.
He wrote and conducted orchestral music for ballet,
set to Nehrus's 'Discovery of India' and the 'Festival
of India' music with top musicians of Europe and America.
During 1949-55, he served as the Director of Music,
All India Radio. He also composed music for the welcome
song of the IXth Asiad held at Delhi. Ravi Shankar
has received a number of prestigious awards and honours,
both national and international. International Music
Vensco Award, Silver Bear and Venice Festival Award,
Magsaysay award are some of them. In 1976, he was
elected a fellow of the Sangeet Natak Academy and
in 1962 and 1980 was the recipient of Presidential
Awards. He was also awarded Bharat Ratna. Some universities
in India as well as abroad have conferred doctorates
on him. The government of India honoured him by nominating
him to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. In 1999, he received
the International prize for film and media music in
Germany. His autobiography "My Life and My Music
" is an extremely revealing document of his musical
career.
Mohammad
Rafi
(1924 - 1980)
Mohammed Rafi was a famous playback singer. He was
born on 25 December 1924 in Punjab. Even at a young
age he was more fond of music than studies.
He started learning music from the famous Hindustani
singer Chotte Gulam Ali Khan. Later he became the
disciple of Firoze Nizam. When Firoze was appointed
as a music director at the Lahore Radio Station, Rafi
got an opportunity to sing on radio. It was a turning
point in his life. He sang first for a Punjabi movie.
Then in Nazeer Khan's 'Leila Majnu', Rafi began his
career as a singer in Hindi films. But as a singer
he succeeded for his songs in the film 'Gavom ke gori'.
His songs in films like 'Jugnu' and 'Baiju Bavra'
made him very popular. He also used to sing in various
other languages. More than 26,000 songs are recorded
in his name. Famous music director Naushad and Rafi
had a remarkable relationship. Their team work created
many hit songs.
He was awarded the Padmashree in 1965 from the Indian
Government and received the National award twice.
He also received thr Filmfare Award for best singer
several times. His last recording was on May 26, 1980.
He died on July 31, 1980.
Lata Mangeshkar
(1929 - )
Born September 28, 1929 in Indore, Lata Mangeshkar
has been active in all walks of Indian popular and
light classical music having sung film songs, ghazals,
bhajans and pop. She is the supreme voice of popular
Indian music, an Indian Institution. Until the 1991
edition, when her entry disappeared, the Guinness
Book of Records listed her as the most recorded artist
in the world with not less than 30,000 solo, duet
and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages
between 1948 and 1987. Today the number might have
reached 40,000. Dinanath Mangeshkar, her father, owned
a theatrical company and was a reputed classical singer,
a disciple of the Gwalior school. He gave her singing
lessons from around the age of five. However when
her father died in 1942, the onus of being the breadwinner
of the family fell on Lata. Between 1942 and 1948
she acted in as many as 8 films in Hindi and Marathi
to take care of the family's economic problems. She
also made her debut as a playback singer in the Marathi
film Kiti Hasaal (1942) but the song was edited out.
The first Hindi film in which she gave playback was
Aap ke Sewa Main (1947) but her singing went unnoticed.1949
saw the release of four films. Barsaat, Andaaz (1949)
, Dulari and Mahal. The songs of all four films were
runaway hits particularly Aaega Aanewaalaa from the
last mentioned. Though Lata sang under the baton of
all the top composers barring O.P. Nayyar and with
all the top playback artistes of the day, special
mention must be made of her work for C. Ramchandra
who made her sound her sweetest and Madan Mohan who
challenged her voice like no other music director.
Mallika
Sarabhai
Mallika
Sarabhai,
one of the leading exponents of Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi,
is the daughter of the dancing legend Mrinalini Sarabhai
and the renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai. A multifaceted
personality, Mallika is not only a dancer, but also
a noted film-maker, internationally known choreographer,
an actress, a TV anchor, an editor, a publisher and
so on. Throughout her different careers dancing has
remained her first love.
Mallika
started her acting career when she was fifteen and
starred in Gujarati and Hindi films. She has also
played the role of Draupadi in Peter Brooke's film
Mahabharata, which was made in English and French.
After completing her graduation, Mallika entered into
the world of performing arts. She followed the foot
steps of her mother and places herself firmly at the
cutting edge of Indian dance and dance theatre. Along
with her other interests, she took her Masters in
Business Administration from the Indian Institute
of Management, Ahmedabad and a doctorate in organisational
behaviour. Mallika, along with her mother co-directs
the Darpana Academy of Performing arts in Ahmedabad,
a unique centre for the arts which has performed all
over India and abroad. Today the academy has many
faces; the Darpana Performance Group, the Janavak
Folk and Tribal Dance Company, Darpana for Development,
Darpana Communications, the Darpana Conservatoire
etc.
Mallika
received her first award in 1977. She was the recipient
of the "French Palme D'or", the highest
civilian award by the French Government and in Paris
she was honoured as the 'Best Soloist Artist' among
400 dancers from 25 countries among other awards.
Mukesh
(1923 - 1976)
Mukesh Chand Mathur was born on the 22nd of July,
1923 in a small middle class family in Delhi. The
first person to notice Mukesh from the film industry
was the actor Motilal. His
first real break in films as a singer came in 1945
under the baton of Anil Biswas in the film Pehli Nazar
(1945). The song was Dil Jalta H
