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- Actress
- Producer
Huma Qureshi born and raised in Delhi. Her father is a famous restaurant owner called Saleem's a chain of some 10 restaurants in Delhi. Her brother, Saqib Saleem is an actor and acted in Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. In year 2011 an announcement was made that Huma would make her Bollywood debut in a movie too called Billa 2 but got delayed due to some unknown reason. However, a few months later, a new announcement came as she wasn't part of the project and she has gotten her Bollywood debut, Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. Huma has a nice role in 2 parts of Gangs of Wasseypur.- Actress
- Music Department
Attractive, talented, young Mandakini won the hearts of millions of Indians worldwide in her performance in "Ram Teri Ganga Melli". Thereafter her name was a household name. She starred with Mithun Chakraborty in another hit movie "Dance Dance" which won many accolades for her. Since her other passion was singing, she released two albums named: "No Vacancy", and "Shambala". in 1990 she married Dr. R. Thakur of Bombay, India, and since then the marriage has been intact. She has a son from this marriage. Since 1996 her fans have not seen any new releases, and many hope that she returns to the silver screen again.- Actress
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Tabassum Govil was born on 9 July 1944 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. She was an actress and producer, known for Tum Par Hum Qurban (1985), Shaadi Ke Baad (1972) and Johny Mera Naam (1970). She was married to Vijay Govil. She died on 18 November 2022 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Roma Manik was born in Gujarat, India. She is known for Mahabharat (1988), 7 Saal Baad (1987) and Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991).
- 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.- Actress
Kuldip Kaur was born in 1927 in Lahore, Punjab, British India. She was an actress, known for Baaz (1953), Nau Bahar (1952) and Teerandaz (1956). She died on 3 February 1960 in Bombay, India.- Actress
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Born into a wealthy family, Naseem was enchanted by movies as a young girl and became determined to be an actress. Her beauty attracted a myriad of film offers, but she had to resort to a hunger strike before her family would allow her to appear in movies. An overnight sensation, Naseem worked prolifically until she retired in the mid-1950s so that she would not compete with the blossoming acting career of her daughter Saira Banu. Instead, she turned her attention to designing clothing, especially intricately embroidered saris, until her death in 2002.- 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.- Actress
- Music Department
Mumtaz was born on July 31, 1947 to Abdul Sameed Askari and Sardar Begum Habib Agha aka Naaz, both of Iranian origin but settled in Bombay, India. Mumtaz first appeared in as child artist in Sanskar (1952),Yasmin (1955),Lajwanti (1958),Sone Ki Chidiya (1958),Stree(1961).Her mother, Naaz, was also an actress in films. When her family faced financial crisis, Mumtaz agreed to act in films as a junior artist and started appearing in group-scenes, at a very young age. She appeared in front of camera in V. Shantaram's Stree and Sehra but she went almost unnoticed.Mumtaz, as an adult her first role was that of the role of sister of the hero in O. P. Ralhan's Gehra Daag. Mumtaz then got the lead role in Pathan being made by Ataullah Khan, Madhubala's father, but the film remained incomplete. In early 1960's there was a union of the artistes playing extras in films in Bombay and every junior artist had to shell a part of their income to this union. From 1958-1964 she was only an extra in Hindi films in films like Vallah Kya Baat Hai.Too young to be cast as leading lady, she started with bit roles only, but was not missed, and gradually graduated to lead roles in low budget B grade movies with Dara Sing as hero.With Dara Sing she had 10 hit films of the 16 they did together from 1964-68. Mumtaz got the roles of supporting actress in A grade hit films like Sehra, Kaajal, Khandaan, Sawan Ki Ghata, Anpad, Hamraaz ,Pyar Kiye Jaa,Pati Patni, Mere Sanam, Suraj, Pathhar Ke Sanam, Ram Aur Shyam and Brahmachari. Then she was signed opposite Rajesh Khanna in Do Raaste in 1969. After release of Aradhana, Rajesh Khanna had become the superstar and his next 2 releases were Do Raate and Bandhan both with Mumtaz as his heroine. After release of these 2 films, Mumtaz became the highest paid Hindi actress from 1970-1976. She was extremely versatile, beautiful, charming, and stole everybody's heart by her captivating looks and inspired performances in each of her film. She quickly out-shadowed and dethroned the established queens in a very short time because of her histrionics. Mumtaz was sensitive, quick to understand and translate every nuance hinted at, onto the screen. Even in her brief roles against established actresses, she was the one who got noticed more and lingered in viewers memories for longer periods. She acted in more than 100 films during a short career span of 14 years, and there is not even a single film in which her performance could not be termed as excellent. In her very first film with significant banner and role, Khilona (1970), she won the most coveted Filmfare award in 1970. She has also been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Filmfare in 1997. She was in the Marilyn Monroe mold; every man's fantasy woman. She outshone everybody because of the simple reason that she was so versatile that every role appeared as if it was written with just Mumtaz in mind. Whether the role was negative or positive, serious or light, she proved her worth. Whether the role was for an urbanite or rustic, majestic or pauper, innocent or vile, gentle or venomous, coy or flaunting, Mumtaz just fitted them like a glove. The public adulation for her is still strong. The response to the continuous spate of screening of her movies on various television channels, even after more than two decades of her self-retirement, proves her tremendous unending popularity due to her incomparable charisma.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Nutan Samarth was born on June 4 1936 to poet Kumarsen Samarth and his actress wife 'Shobhana' as the eldest of their four children (a younger sister is the actress Tanuja Samarth). Her parents separated when she was a small child. 13-year-old Nutan made her debut in K. Asif's "Hamari Beti". She was a beauty queen as well, being crowned Miss Mussorie in 1952. Success at so young an age was trying, and Nutan temporarily quit films in the 50s to move to Switzerland. She returned, married Commander Rajnish Bahl, and began the most innovative and successful faze of her career. She made her mark as a versatile actress able to portray comedy, drama, and romance with equal skill. Nutan was awarded a record-breaking 5 Filmfare awards for Best Actress and one for Outstanding Performance. Her career declined during the 70s and 80s and she spent much of her time collecting rare artefacts and spending time with her family. Nutan died of cancer in February 1991.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Madhuri Dixit is one of the most acclaimed actors and Kathak dancers Bollywood have ever witnessed. Born in a Marathi Brahmin Koknastha family to Mr. Shankar and Mrs. Snehlata, Madhuri Dixit has two sisters Rupa, Bharti, and brother Ajit. She performed decently well in her academics and aspired to become a Microbiologist which made her pursue the subject from Mumbai's Sathaye College, formerly known as Parle College; but within six months she opted out from college to pursue her career in Bollywood. Though she debuted with 'Abodh' in 1984, it's with 'Tezaab' (1988), a romantic thriller caste opposite Anil Kapoor, where she started garnering fame and popularity. She earned her first nomination of Filmfare Best Actress with this movie and it was also the highest grossing film in that year. Her performance in 'Ek Do Tin' made every heart groove to the beats of the song. During this time, Madhuri also got featured on Debonair and she was also featured as the cover girl on 1986 Filmfare edition. Since then she has graced more than 72 movies with her stupendous performances.
After 'Tejaab', Madhuri Dixit once again was paired with Anil Kapoor for Subhash Ghai's 'Ram Lakhan'(1989) which went on to be a super hit and the second highest grossing movie of the year. In her next 'Prem Pratigya' she received critical acclamation for her performance and earned her second nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. Dixit continued her success with her fourth pairing with Anil Kapoor in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's drama 'Parinda'. In 1990, Madhuri starred in the romantic drama 'Dil' opposite Aamir Khan. The film became the biggest box office hit of the year and made her one of the leading actresses of Bollywood. Her performance in 'Dil' also earned her the first Filmfare Best Actress Award of her career. She was also seen in the dramas 'Sailaab' opposite Aditya Pancholi and 'Kishen Kanhaiya' opposite Anil Kapoor. The following year in 1991, she starred in the super-hit movie 'Saajan' opposite Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt which also earned her the fourth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. In 1992, Dixit featured in the film 'Beta' once again opposite Anil Kapoor which won her the second Filmfare Best Actress Award. Following the film's success, Dixit became famously known as the "Dhak Dhak Girl" for her performance on the song "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga".
In 1993, Dixit starred in the super-hit film 'Khalnayak; opposite Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff. Her portrayal of the police officer Ganga earned her critical acclaim and a sixth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award and became the year's second highest grossing film. In 1994, Dixit starred in 'Anjaam', being paired with Shahrukh Khan for the first time. Dixit's performance of a revenge-seeking wife and mother earned her a seventh nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She was praised for her performance, even though the film was an average performer at the box office. Her next was 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun' opposite Salman Khan. The film became one of the biggest hits & the highest grossing Bollywood film after its theatrical run and held this record for 7 years till the release of 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' (2001). Madhuri was awarded her third Filmfare Best Actress Award for the film. 1995 witnessed Dixit star in the hit film 'Raja' opposite Sanjay Kapoor. The film became the fourth highest grosser of the year and its success was attributed to her immense popularity. Her next release was David Dhawan's 'Yaraana' opposite Rishi Kapoor, in which she played a dancer on the run from her abusive lover. Both films earned her nominations for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.
After a not so successful year in 1996 with films like 'Prem Granth' and 'Rajkumar'Madhuri Dixit bounced back with Prakash Jha's 'Mrityudand' in 1997 followed by Yash Chopra's 'Dil to Pagal Hai' (1997), opposite Shahrukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor. Her performance in 'Dil toh Pagal Hai' fetched her the fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award. The film also proved to be a success at the box office. However, her career growth slowed down with films like Wajood (1998) and Aarzoo (1999). In 2000, Madhuri starred in Rajkumar Santoshi's 'Pukar' opposite Anil Kapoor which earned her twelfth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She then played the title character in 'Gaja Gamini' In 2001, Dixit starred in Deepak Shivdasani's love triangle 'Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke' opposite Ajay Devgan and Preity Zinta, followed by reuniting with Rajkumar Santoshi in the multi-starer 'Lajja' (2001). Dixit was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Lajja. In 2002, Dixit starred in a lead role in the love triangle film 'Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam' opposite Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. Madhuri Dixit's next release was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period romance 'Devdas', co-starring Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Devdas was chosen as India's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language. Dixit won the Filmfare Best supporting actress award for the film. It turned out to be her last film for a while as she shifted to Denver, U.S.A with her husband Dr. Shriram Madhav Nene, a Cardiovascular Surgeon. She subsequently became a proud mother of two sons (Arin and Ryan) in March 2003 and March 8, 2005, respectively.
In 2006, Dixit returned to India with her family and acted in Anil Mehta's dance film 'Aaja Nachle' (2007). It was her first release in five years and her performance was appreciated by critics and also earned her the nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.
In 2008, she was also awarded the prestigious 'Bharat Ratna' for her contribution to Indian cinema by the Government of India. In 2011, Dixit was felicitated with the Filmfare Special Award for completing 25 years in the film industry.
In 2012, she was seen in the comedy 'Dedh Ishqiya' (2014), a sequel to Ishqiya (2010) opposite Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, and Huma Qureshi. The film opened to a positive response from critics who called it "one of the year's most important releases". The film also earned her the fourteenth nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her next release of the year was the debuted director Soumik Sen's 'Gulaab Gang' alongside Juhi Chawla.
Madhuri Dixit made her debut in Marathi cinema both as an actor & Producer in 2018. She played the lead in 'Bucket List' and produced "15th August" which is slated for a Netflix worldwide released in 2019. She has also lent her voice for the Netflix original 'Mowgli'.
In (2019) she was seen reunited with Anil Kapoor after 17years on screen in a comedy, action and adventure movie 'Total Dhamaal' the third sequel of 'Dhamaal' (2007). In the same year, she also a part of Dharma productions 'Kalank' a period drama film directed by Abhishekh Varman starring along with Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Alia Bhatt, and Sonakshi Sinha.
Madhuri Dixit is also associated with various philanthropic activities. She is associated with UNICEF since 2014 to advocate the rights of children, prevent child labor and child trafficking. She was appointed as the brand ambassador for the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign by the Government of India in 2015 that aspires to create awareness and upgrade the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls.
Dixit made her first appearance on television as a host for India's first reality show Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai on Sony TV followed by Jhalak Dikhla Ja & Dance Deewane.- Actress
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Vyjayanthimala was born to actress and dancer Vasundhara Devi in a Tamil-speaking family in Chennai, India, on August 13, 1933.
At the age of 4, she got the rare chance of performing a dance before the Pope. Then at the age of 15, while in her final year at school, she was signed-up by family friend, M.V. Raman, for a role in a Tamil film 'Vazhkai'. This movie was successful at the box office and was re-made in Hindi during 1951 and released as 'Bahaar'.
Since her entry into films from 1949, this actress, who is also proficient in Bharat Natyam, has appeared in approximately 62 movies, the majority of them in the Hindi language. Her career spanned from 1949 through to 1989. She has received a total of five awards for her performances in 'Devdas', 'Sadhna', 'Ganga Jamuna', and 'Sangam', as well as a lifetime achievement award during 1995.
Her dance numbers, such as 'Hothon Pe Aisi Baat Main Dabake Chali Aai...', 'Man Doley Mera Tan Doley...'; 'Chad Gaiyo Paapi Bichua...'; 'Main Ka Karu Ram Mujhey Buddha Mil Gaya' continue to be popular even today. She made waves when she appeared in a fire red swimsuit in 'Sangam'. She also paved the way for other South Indian actresses, like Hema Malini, Rekha, Sridevi, etc. to make a transition to Bollywood. Her career was managed by her grandmother, Yadugiri Devi.
She married Raj Kapoor's personal physician, Dr. Chamanlal Bali after he divorced his first wife and re-located to Chennai, where she gave birth to a son, actor Suchindra Bali.
After quitting films, Vyjantimala took up shrimp farming, opened up a dance academy, even took an active interest in politics, and with the backing of Indira Gandhi's Congress Party was elected Member of Parliament during the 1980s. She chose to quit politics due to principled differences during 1999.
After the passing of her husband, she now resides in Chennai, with her son, who is an aspiring actor in his own right, and has removed herself completely from Bollywood, in particular, and movies in general, though she could have easily continued on for another decade.
One of her hits 'Naya Daur', originally in Black & White, has now been colorized, and re-released.
In 2007, she published her autobiography titled "Bonding," where she revealed that she didn't have an affair with Raj Kapoor, her leading man and director from "Sangam" (1964).
In 2011, her son Suchindra and daughter-in-law Nandini presented her with a grandchild named Swara.- Actress
- Music Department
Tabu is an Indian actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali-language films, as well as one American film. She has won the National Film Award for Best Actress twice, and holds the record for the most wins of Filmfare's Critics Award for Best Female Performer, with four. With few exceptions, she is best known for acting in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than substantial box-office figures. Her appearances in commercially successful films were few, and her parts in these films were small, such as Border (1997), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Biwi No. 1 (1999) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). Her most notable performances include Maachis (1996), Virasat (1997), Hu Tu Tu (1999), Astitva (2000), Chandni Bar (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Cheeni Kum (2007). Her leading role in Mira Nair's American film The Namesake (2006) also drew major praise.
Regarded as one of the most talented Indian actresses of her generation, Tabu is known to be selective about her film roles. She was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2011 by the Government of India for her contributions towards the arts.- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Sadhana was born on September 2, 1941 and was named after her father's favorite actress Sadhona Bose. Her father and actor Hari Shivdasani were brothers, and Hari's daughter is actress Babita Kapoor. Sadhana was an only child and her parents made her the center of their lives; in fact, her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old. The family fled from Karachi in Pakistan during Post Partition riots. Although they encountered difficult times, their daughter was allowed to see as many as two films a week. When she was 15 years old, she was discovered by some producers who had seen her act in a college play. They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abana (1960), where she played the heroine's younger sister for which she was paid a token of Rps. 1 and the film became a major hit. A photograph of her publicizing the film appeared in a movie magazine. Subodh Mukherji, one of India's leading producers at that time, saw the magazine and gave her the lead role in her first Hindi film Love in Simla (1959), opposite his newcomer son, Joy Mukherjee. The film was directed by another newcomer, R.K. Nayyar, who created her trademark look called 'the Sadhana fringe.' It was modeled after Audrey Hepburn's hairstyle to cover up Sadhana's flaw, her broad forehead. The film became a great success and Sadhana became a overnight star. She also fell in love with the film's director, but she was only 16 years old, and her parents threatened the 22-year-old Nayyar with legal action if he didn't end the relationship. He became scared and backed away.
Sadhana continued making films and became the one of the biggest stars of the 1960s with hits like Mere Mehboob, Hum Dono, and Asli-Naqli. In addition to the 'Sadhana fringe,' she started the trend of the churidar pyjama and kameez with saleem shai in the film Waqt (1965). Her acting in that film was appreciated too, as she was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress.
Sadhana had stated that she subconsciously modeled her acting style after her idol, Nutan. Most of her films were major hits, and many of them still remembered as all time classics. Her films such as Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Raaj Kumar, Budtameez and Arzoo were known for their romantic plots and beautiful music, but Raj Khosla, her director in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, saw an enigmatic, mysterious side to Sadhana and cast her in Woh Kaun Thi (1964). The film became a huge hit with its themes of the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo (1958) and gave Sadhana her signature role of the "mystery girl," where her performance kept everyone guessing till the very end. She was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress, and Khosla later directed her in two more box-office hit suspense thrillers, Mera Saaya (1965)and Anita (1968).
Sadhana also worked well with her leading men, Shammi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. In fact, it was Raj Kapoor who reintroduced her to her first film director, R.K. Nayyar. They fell in love again and wanted to get married. Her mother was against it, since Nayyar wasn't a Sindhi and wanted someone who looked like actor Rajendra Kumar Tuli, but Sadhana was adamant and with her father backing her up, her mother eventually came around. Sadhana and Nayyar married in 1966 and it seemed like she retired from films. At first, she was content to be a housewife and took cooking lessons and became well-known in the film industry for her culinary skills. But she had serious health problems with her thyroid, and she went to Boston for treatment and she recovered, but there was a physical change. The thyroid condition affected the appearance of her eyes. Her husband's financial problems propelled her return to films after a two-year absence and delivered the hit film Inteqam (1969) directed by her husband followed by by another hit film Ek Phool Do Mali (1969). She and Nayyar went through a difficult time when she suffered a miscarriage. Later they had no children. She directed and starred in her last film playing dual roles in Geeta Mera Naam (1974), which was a box office hit. She wanted to end her acting career in Hindi films just as she started, in a starring role as a young heroine. She didn't want to play supporting character roles as a old mother or a bhabhi (sister-in-law), so she retired as an actress and formed a production company with her husband. Their marriage lasted until his death in the 1990s. She closed down the production company and retired, quietly living the life of a widow. The real-life "mystery girl" rarely gave interviews and didn't like to be photographed saying that she wants her fans to remember her as a young, beautiful, heroine. She faced turbulent times in her later years. Sadhana lived as an tenant in an apartment building for many years, when the builder wanted to evict her in 2012. Suddenly, she was thrust into the public eye when she went to the police station to file a complaint against the builder. Several court cases came out of this incident, and the stress took a toll on her fragile health. She also was estranged from her cousin Babita Kapoor because of a family problem. She did keep in touch with her friends Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Helen, and Nanda Karnataki. She once said that she and Nanda were alike, since they don't step out at public events. However, when Nanda died in 2014, she lost her comrade, and thus she suddenly changed her stance on public events. Just a few weeks later, she invited her relative, actor Ranbir Kapoor, to escort her on the ramp of a fashion show for charity. She wore a beautiful pink sari and took center-stage on the arm of the handsome young Kapoor. She looked cheerful and glamorous being in the limelight with the audience applauding her. That turned out to be her last public event, and the star that she was, she wanted that to be her lasting impression on her fans. It also left a lasting impression on her, since she kept a framed picture of her and Ranbir from that fashion show on her nightstand. A year-and-a-half later, on December 25, 2015, she died from a high fever. Her friends, fans, and the film industry veterans all attended her funeral.- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (née Chopra) was born on July 18, 1982 in Jamshedpur, India, to the family of Capt. Dr. Ashok Chopra and Dr. Madhu Chopra, both Indian Army physicians. She had a very varied upbringing. She started her education at La Martinière Girls College in Lucknow as a resident student; a short stay at Maria Goretti College in Bareilly prepared her for further studies in the U.S. Having completed tenth grade in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., she decided to become a software engineer or a criminal psychologist. She enjoys Indian music and dance; flair for writing poetry and short stories; reading, especially biographies; and has worked for a lot of social welfare programs.- Producer
- Director
- Actress
Asha Parekh was born in a middle-class Gujarati household to a Hindu father, Pranlal Parekh, and a Muslim mother Sudha Parekh on October 2, 1942 in India. Since she was an only child, she became the center of her parents' lives. Her mother enrolled her in classical dance classes at an early age, and Asha excelled at dance to the point where she performed at stage shows. Famed film director Bimal Roy saw her dance at a stage function and cast her at the tender age of ten in Maa (1957). He liked her and cast her again in Baap Beti (1954). The film's failure disappointed her, and even though, she did a few more child roles, she quit to resume her schooling. At sixteen, she decided to try acting again and make her debut as a heroine, but director Vijay Bhatt fired her from Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) claiming she wasn't star material. Almost immediately, film producer Sasadhar Mukherjee and writer-director Nasir Hussain cast her as the heroine in Dil Deke Dekho (1959) which made her a huge star. Shammi Kapoor became her favorite hero and friend, and they starred in three more films, the most famous being the murder mystery Teesri Manzil (1966). The film also led to a long and fruitful association with Nasir, and he cast her as the heroine in six more films.
Her fame gave her enough leverage to get producers to hire her mother Sudha Parekh to design her costumes for most of the films that she starred in. A fallacy that surrounded her was that she was generally considered a glamorous dancer/tomboy and not a serious actress until director Raj Khosla cast her in the tragedienne role in the hit film Do Badan (1966). The truth was directors and audiences knew early on that she had genuine acting talent. She won the Gujarat State Award for Best Actress for her first Gujarati film Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963). And she easily compensated for non-actors like Joy Mukherjee and Biswajit in Hindi films, while holding her own against acting giants like Ashok Kumar.
Important directors were casting her and repeating her in their films, but Asha also brought out jealousies from her female co-stars. Simi Garewal claimed that Asha tried to cut her part down in "Do Badan", but Asha insisted that she never did that, and as proof, she showed that Simi won the Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress for the film. The "Do Badan" team also stood by Asha, especially the director Raj Khosla who later cast her in three more films. Her leading man Manoj Kumar soon directed and starred opposite her in his blockbuster Upkar (1967), which also won the Filmfare Best Picture Award.
Although Asha earned the title "Jubilee Girl" because of the continuous string of box office successes, such as Ziddi (1964), Shikar (1968), Aan Milo Sajna (1970), she also hit a rare bump with Raj Khosla's Chirag (1969). But she also earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for the film, and Khosla didn't blame her for the film's failure and in fact, cast her soon again and came up with a huge hit, Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). However, success brought controversy. Once again, a female co-star claimed that Asha cut her role down in the film. This time, Asha confronted Laxmi Chhaya directly and told her to think before she spoke as Padma got twice the number of songs than Asha did in "Mera Gaon Mera Desh". Aruna Irani allegedly said that Asha reduced her role in Nasir Hussain's box-office smash Caravan (1971), but facts back up Asha that she would never cut another performer's role, as Aruna had more songs than Asha, and she received a Filmfare nomination, while Asha wasn't nominated for the film at all. However, Asha did win the much coveted Best Actress Filmfare Award for Shakti Samanta's Kati Patang (1970). She played a deglamourised woman in a white sari pretending to be a widow whose vulnerable smile hides a painful past. Asha was thrilled when she won the award, but Mumtaz Askari, her box-office rival and former co-star from Mere Sanam (1965) and Bhai Bhai (1972), complained that she was more deserving for her own performance in Tere Mere Sapne (1971).
Asha was hitting the heights of fame and glory even though she was now 30, an age where heroines normally would pack it in. But her passion for dancing sent her abroad on a extended trip to do dance shows and as a result, turned down important film roles. When she came back in 1973, she found that a younger and bolder breed of heroines like Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman got those roles and now ruled the roost. Asha focused on her distribution concern which she had started with Nasir Hussain when he directed her in the film Baharon Ke Sapne (1967) and would continue to do so for twenty more films. She also threw herself in her charity work, even having a Santa Cruz hospital named after her. She lived with her parents in her beautiful seaside bungalow, whose innovative design drew a lot of attention. Asha's passion with dance continued and her performance of famous dance ballets like "Chauladevi" won her acclaim. She did supporting roles in films, garnering Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actress for Udhar Ka Sindur (1976) and Raj Khosla's massive hit, Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), which also won the Filmfare Award as Best Film. But the rest of her supporting roles as mother and bhabhi (sister-in-law) disenchanted her, with the exception of her strong performances in Hathyar (1989) and the Gujarati film Kulvadhu (1977). And her back problems forced her to give up doing dance shows.
But she found a new passion, directing television serials such as the hugely popular Kora Kogaz in the early 90's, which convinced her to give up acting permanently in 1995. She formed her production company "Akruti," through which she produced and directed television serials. However, her acting accomplishments were not forgotten as she received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. After her mother's death, she sold her huge bungalow and moved into a smaller place to take care of her ailing father until he, too, passed away. She has never married and has not had any affairs with her many heroes, claiming that her reputation of being unapproachable probably intimidated men. In her 2017 memoir "The Hit Girl" (co-written by Khalid Mohamed) she confirmed that her longtime director Nasir Hussain was the "only one and true love of my life." Since he was already married with two children, she couldn't marry him without wrecking havoc on both their families. Their romantic relationship eventually ended after several decades. His wife Ayesha Khan died in 2001, but Asha didn't try to marry the widowed Husain, since "he had become a shadow of his former self." He died just a year later in 2002. Asha continues to remain in touch with his children Mansoor Khan and Nuzhat Khan, grandson Imran Khan and nephew Aamir Khan. When she was in her mid-thirties, she tried to adopt a child, but the doctors wouldn't let her, because he had birth defects. Since marriage and motherhood didn't happen for her, Asha decided to devote all her time to her hospital and other humanitarian efforts. She also has set up a dance academy "Kara Bhavan," which has produced many skilled and talented dancers. For several years, she served as a judge on talent shows on television. She also kept up with the times, by having her official Instagram account. She turned 80 in 2022, but age hasn't slowed her down, as she traveled from India to USA to collect a lifetime achievement award at a film festival. Today, Asha says that she is very flattered to know that she has fans all over the world.- Actress
Rani Mukerji is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including seven Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the highest-paid actresses of the 2000s.
Mukerji make her debut in her father directorial Bengali film Biyer Pool (1996). Her first Hindi film was the drama film Raja Ki Aayegi Bharat (1997). Mukerji first commercial success film was Ghulam (1998) which paired her with actor Aamir Khan, and followed by the worldwide blockbuster Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) make her first collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan.
Mukerjis is known for her versatility. Her performances often sited as the most iconic and remarkable role in Hindi cinema. She established her career in the early 2000s with successful films including Saathiya (2002), Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004), Veer Zaara (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), and Black (2005) later to be her best performance of her life time career.
Following the birth of her child, Mukerji took a four-year hiatus to focus on her daughter and was persuaded by her husband, Aditya Chopra, to return to acting. Mukerji makes her comeback with the all-time blockbuster film Hichki in 2018, which emerged as her highest-grossing release film of all time. She is continued her acting career with successful thriller Mardaani 2 (2019) and the drama Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway (2023).- Actress
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Kajol Devgn is a well-known Bollywood actress known for her exceptional performances on screen. She attended St. Joseph's Convent School in Panchgani and was actively involved in extra-curricular activities such as dancing. In her early teens, Kajol was supposed to make her debut as an actress in a movie directed by her mother, Tanuja, but the project was cancelled. She eventually made her acting debut at the age of sixteen with the film Bekhudi (1992), while still in school. Later, she quit school to pursue a full-time career in the film industry.
She made her debut with Rahul Rawail's Bekhudi (1992) in 1992. Her film career flourished with commercial successes like Baazigar (1993), Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which established her as a leading star in the 1990s. She was appreciated critically for her role in Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997) and as an avenger in Dushman (1998). Another blockbuster Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) won her multiple awards, after which she took a break. She returned to the industry after a brief period with the romantic thriller Fanaa (2006).
She was cast in My Name Is Khan (2010) in 2010 opposite Shah Rukh Khan - it was widely appreciated by critics worldwide. Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan became the first Indian actors to be invited by NASDAQ to open the NYSE American to promote My Name Is Khan (2010). She was also appreciated for her performance in Dilwale (2015) - it also featured other renowned stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, and Kriti Sanon. She was also cast in the period film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020) in 2020.
She also appeared in the social drama Tribhanga (2021), her first collaboration with Netflix.
She holds a managerial position at Devgn Entertainment and Software Ltd., And as the supervisor, she launched the filmmaking-related portal Cineexplore in 2000. Devgn established another company, Ajay Devgn Films, in 2009.
She appeared with Ajay Devgn, and her mother Tanuja as the supervisor in Zee TV's 2008 reality show Rock-N-Roll Family. She was named a part-time public broadcaster Prasar Bharati member in 2016.
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis honored her with the Swabhimani Mumbaikar Awards. She was also included on Forbes India's "Celebrity 100", a list based on the income and popularity of India's celebrities, in 2012, 2013, and 2017.
She has won 23 awards, including 6 Filmfare Awards, 5 Screen Awards, 4 Zee Cine Awards, 1 Stardust Award and 1 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award, and one Bollywood Movie Award till the year 2021. She was also honored with the Rajiv Gandhi Award for her contribution to Indian cinema in 2002. Kajol was listed in the Box Office India's "Top Actresses" for five consecutive years (1995-1999), topping the list in 1998.
In 2001 and 2006, she was featured in Rediff annual "Top Bollywood Actresses" listing. And in 2007, she received Karamveer Puraskar, presented by the Mumbai Pradesh Young Congress, for her social work in helping educate unprivileged children.
During the shooting of Gundaraj in 1994, Kajol and Ajay Devgn started dating. They eventually tied the knot on 24th February 1999 in a traditional Maharashtrian wedding ceremony held at Devgn's residence.- Actress
- Producer
Vidya was born in Palghat, Kerala, India. Her family consists of her dad, P.R. Balan, who is the Vice-President of ETC Channel; mom - a home-maker, and an elder sister, Priya, who is married to Kedar. She also has an aunt by the name of Raji Raju.
The Balan family re-located to live at Road No. 11, near Ambedkar Garden, Chembur, Bombay, when Vidya was very young. She studied in St. Anthony's Convent School, and thereafter in St. Xavier's College from where she obtained a degree in Sociology. She then went on to obtain a Masters degree in Sociology from Bombay University.
She also studied and performed in Prithvi Theaters' workshops. Due to tradition of most Tamil-Iyer families, Vidya and her Priya learned Carnatic dance form during their early childhood days, but Vidya opted out as the dance classes took place early on Sunday mornings and as she is not an early riser.
Considerably overweight, rather tomboyish, during her school-days, and an ardent fan of Shahrukh Khan, she decided to shed those extra pounds when she elected to opt for modeling and movies.
Facing disappointment after being rejected by a Tamil producer, she nevertheless persisted until she got her first break with a Malyalam movie 'Chakram' opposite Mohanlal, however, the project was shelved, and she had to wait until 1998 to debut in a Surf Excel commercial. She then went on to appear in several commercials directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She completed nearly 90 such ads.
She appeared in three music videos for Pankaj Udhas, Euphoria, and Shubha Mudgal in supporting roles. She then also appeared in two TV serials Ekta Kapoor's 'Hum Paanch', and Ashok Pandit's 'Hanste Khelte'.
During 2003 she was signed-up to play a role in a Bengali movie 'Bhaalo Theko' opposite Joy Sengupta. This project was completed during the year 2006, and was a considerable hit.
Then during 2006 Vidya was approached by Vidhu Vinod Chopra during a pop-concert in Mumbai to play a lead role in 'Parineeta'. She then had to undergo 17 make-up shoots and 40 screen tests before being chosen for this role. All this hard work did result in success as 'Parineeta' was very well received so much so that the Tamil producer, who had previously rejected her, invited her to appear in a 'Dasavatharam' opposite Kamal Hassan, and now it was Vidya's turn to reject this offer which eventually went to 'Asin'.
Apart from acting, Vidya occupies herself for supporting education for young Indians by promoting children's' books; is associated with Americans for Aids Research; with Hale House - that provides support and housing for children born with HIV and drug abuse; as well as hosting forums and attending events for Harvard Aids Institute.
When she was single, she was never involved in any scandal and claimed to get along well with both female and male friends. In 2012, she married producer Siddharth Roy Kapur
An ardent devotee of Bhagwan Shri Sai Baba, she makes it a point to attend Mandirs every Thursday. She is proficient in Tamil, Malyalam, Hindi, English, Bengali, and can also read Urdu.- Actress
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A Bengali actress who achieved success young, Sharmila appeared in numerous Bengali classics before making the jump to Hindi cinema, which first made her a romantic actress and later a legendary actress thanks to her intense films opposite Superstar Rajesh Khanna. A distant relative of poet Rabindranath Tagore, she is also the wife of His Highness Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Nawab of Pataudi, with whom she has three children, actor Saif Ali Khan born 16 August 1970, Saba and Soha Ali Khan, born 4 October 1978. Her pairing with Shammi Kapoor made her famous in the sixties but as an actress she evolved and became popular due to different films, each belonging to different genre, she did opposite the Superstar Rajesh Khanna.The pair gave 6 box office blockbusters and 3 unfortunate box office flops which were critically acclaimed films. Sharmila's pairing opposite male actors Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor was loved by the audiences, though Khanna-Sharmila pair remained the most popular with both critics and audience.- Actress
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Zeenat Aman was born to a Hindu mother and a Muslim father Amanullah who was one of the writers for the classic "Mughal-e-Azam", on November 19th, 1951. Zeenat was an only child and her parents divorced when she was a little girl. A graduate of Saint Xavier's school in Bombay. Her father passed away when she was 13. Zeenat won a scholarship to study in California. Upon her return she started working as reporter and was introduced to modeling by friends. Her most prominent ad campaign was the Pond's 7 day to better complexion. Zeenat entered the Miss India contest and was the third runner up, to go to Miss Asia/Pacific a title she later won - being the first Indian to ever win that title (the same title was brought to Indian a second time in 2000 by Diya Mirza).
Zeenat was introduced to the movie screen by O.P. Ralhan in Hulchul with Kabir Bedi and later repeated by again by Ralhan in a cameo in Hungama. Both films sunk without trace. Zeenat was the third choice for the junkie 'Janice/Jasbeel' character in Dev Anand's 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna',(1971) opposite himself and the then reigning queen Mumtaz. Upon completion of shooting, Zeenat began packing bags to move to Malta with her mother and German step father (Mr. Heinz) for his job posting. When Dev Anand received feedback on rushes for the film, he insisted that Zeenat and her parents hold off on the move until the film is released and its fate decided, with reluctance they agreed. The film was an instant hit and Zeenat walked away with all the accolades shunning Mumtaz - never before had the Hindi cinema seen a newcomer overshadow the reigning queen. She won the Filmfare Award as Best Supporting Actress. For the first time, the Indian audience accepted a woman who played a 'less than pure' role in a movie.
Zeenat went on to revolutionize the Hindi film actress. She was the first Indian actress who refused bouffants, cropped a bob at the height of her career and hardly appeared in saris and bindis and could easily carry off a bikini dress without looking vulgar. She took on roles of the modern urban Indian woman, who made no excuses and took no prisoners. Her characters contemplated abortion to pursue a career (Ajnabee (1974) or dumping a poor lover to pursue a rich man (Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), and still manage to win audience's approval. She pursued Vijay Arora by strumming her guitar singing "Churaliya hai" in the Nasir Hussain's hit film "Yaadon Ki Barat" (1973), fought alongside Amitabh Bachchan as a revenge-seeking action heroine in "Don" (1978). Even though Raj Kapoor's "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1977) didn't do well, Zeenat was able to break barriers by kissing her leading man on the mouth for the first time on the Indian screen post-Independence and receiving a Best Actress Filmfare nomination. She received another Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for the controversial hit film "Insaaf Ka Tarazu" (1980) where she played a justice-seeking rape survivor. Dev Anand promoted Zeenat in 70's by signing 7 films with her of which 4 were blockbusters.Rajesh Khanna-Zeenat Aman were paired opposite each-other in 4 films in 1974-84 period and 3 were blockbusters. and Shashi Kapoor-Zeenat gave 7 super-hit films off the 10 they did together. Zeenat began a new trend, helping launch careers for male actors - something Indian actresses never did. She signed Insaf Ka Tarazu with then unknown Raj Babbar and Deepak Prashar, signed films opposite even Mithun, Kanwaljeet Singh (Ashanti) and Tariq Ali (Hum Kissi se Kum Nahin and Yadon Ki Baarat). She had a tumultuous first marriage to Sanjay Khan which ended in divorce. Zeenat had a long string of super successes throughout her career but towards the end of her career she took on mature roles in Bhavani Junction, Haathon ki Lakeerain, Bandhan Kacche Dhagon Ka etc. the movies did average business at the box office as by late 80's cinema shifted its focus to front bench whistlers. At that time Zeenat settled in matrimony with fellow actor Mazhar Khan and gave birth to two sons, turning down multiple film offers. The marriage ended bitterly in divorce, but soon after Mazhar died, and Zeenat's feelings about him in the press were much kinder. Zeenat's contribution to the Indian cinema is definitely recognized though not fully as yet, but in time to come she will definitely be remembered as the first person to introduce a lot to India and add several dimensions to Indian women. In summary "She revolutionized the portrayal of Indian Women" in its cinema.- Actress
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Seeta Devi was born in 1912. She was an actress, known for A Throw of Dice (1929), Rajmahal Ni Ramni (1928) and Kal Parinaya (1930). She died in 1983.- Actress
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Nazima was born in 1948 in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. She is an actress, known for Manchali (1973), Abhinetri (1970) and Tower House (1962).- Actress
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Miss Kumari was born on 1 June 1932 in Kottayam, Kerala, India. She was an actress, known for Sri Kalahastiswara Mahatyam (1954), Navalokam (1951) and Malliswari (1951). She died on 9 June 1969 in Udyogamandal, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India.- Actress
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Arundhati Devi was born in 1925 in Barisal, Bengal Presidency, British India. She was an actress and director, known for Jotugriha (1964), Chhuti (1967) and Jhinder Bandi (1961). She was married to Prabhat Mukherjee and Tapan Sinha. She died in 1990.- Actress
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Bhanumathi Ramakrishna was born on 7 September 1925 in Doddavaram, Madras Presidency, British India. She was an actress and director, known for Laila Majnu (1949), Chandirani (1953) and Chandirani (1953). She was married to P.S. Ramakrishna Rao. She died on 24 December 2005 in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.- Actress
- Music Department
Waheeda Rehmaan combined the classic Tamil-Islamic beauty with an extraordinary grace, talent and a truly transcendent appeal that ranked her among the pantheon of Bollywood's elite actresses. And few could dance better than she could!
She was born into a traditional Tamil Urdu speaking Muslim family on 3 February 1938, in Chengalpattu,Tamil Nadu. Growing up, she was trained in dancing, especially the Bharatnatyam dance. Her first films were Jayasimha (1955) and Rojulu Marayi (1955), both in Telegu and Kalam Mari Pochu in Tamil. These films became a huge success and established her as a hit-heroine, but it was a song Eruvaaka Sagaroranno Chinnanna in the Rojulu Marayi that got Rehman recognition in South. During success party of Rojulu Marayi, Guru Dutt noticed her and cast her in CID. The result was one of the most stunning debuts ever made in a Hindi film. As a mysterious woman named Kamini, she added a thrill to the whole film and it remains one of the most seductive and memorable roles of her career.
Amazed (and enraptured) by her beauty and talent, Guru Dutt cast her in 5 films. Thus, Rehman gave a mesmerizing performance in Thirst (1957) as Gulab, the prostitute with a heart of gold, and she stole the hearts of audiences as Jameela, a shy Muslim girl in the romance Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960). But by then she was involved in an affair with Guru Dutt and this affair led to the disintegration of Dutt's marriage - and soon the two of them broke apart after their last collaboration, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962).
Moving on after Guru Dutt, Rehman worked with the acclaimed director Satyajit Ray in The Expedition (1962) and consolidated her position as a top Bollywood star with her commercial successes Bees Saal Baad (1962) and _Kohra (1964)_. With Devanand she did 7 films and 5 were super-hits. Then she did _Guide (1965/I)_ - a film that took her to the peak of her career. In the conservative 1960s, Rosie was a daring role for Waheeda to play, and yet the gamble paid off - her performance as Rosie, a woman who leaves her husband for her lover, is ranked as her best ever! And to think that when she did the film, she was certain she would never, ever be able to do another film again!
She had commercial films like Ram Aur Shyam (1967) and Patthar Ke Sanam (1967) proved to be huge successes and had 4 hits with Sunil Dutt in 60's Ek Phool Char Kaante, Mujhe Jeene Do, Meri Bhabhi and Darpan but her offbeat films Teesri Kasam (1966) and Reshma Aur Shera (1971) bombed, in spite of her critically acclaimed performances in those films. Her 3 films with Rajendra Kumar though critically acclaimed became box-office flops and her films with Dharmendra between 1967-1973 bombed. Then she acted in Khamoshi opposite Rajesh Khanna which became her career's biggest hit.In 1974, Rehman married Kamaljit, her hero in Shagoon(1964) a businessman who had earlier tried to make it in films and moved to Bangalore.
After her marriage she cut down acting assignments, preferring to market her own brand of breakfast cereal and lead a contented life in a Bangalore farmhouse. She turned to supporting roles and did 24 films as supporting actress from 1976-1994. After her husband's death in 2000, she again started appearing in 9 films as elderly woman.- Actress
Vimi was an actress, known for Patanga (1971), Kahin Aar Kahin Paar (1971) and Hamraaz (1967). She died on 22 August 1977 in Mumbai, India.- Anita Guha was born on 17 January 1932 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. She was an actress, known for Kan Kan Men Bhagwan (1963), Sampoorna Ramayana (1961) and Tulsi Vivah (1971). She was married to Manik Dutt. She died on 20 June 2007 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
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Tina was born in a Gujarati-speaking family in Bombay on February 11, 1955. The Munim family used to live in Bhuleshwar.
Tina shot into fame during the year 1978 when she represented India at the International Teen Contest in Aruba. She won the Miss Photogenic and Miss Bikini awards.Pretty, very photogenic, she was discovered by Dev Anand who cast her as his leading lady in Des Pardes and gave two more back to back super-hits opposite Tina. These 3 films went on to become blockbusters, making Tina a household name. Tina then got opportunity to work with Superstar Rajesh Khanna in 7 released films opposite him of which six are super-hits and plus 3 more hits, where Tina was not paired opposite him. She fell in love with him and their affair lasted from 1980-87.
As her career was going nowhere fast after her breakup with Rajesh Khanna in 1987, she re-located to California for completing her studies, then returned back home in 1991, got married to multi-billionaire industrialist, Anil Ambani. She has two sons, Anmol and Anshul.- Actress
Born on 2nd March 1932 in Mumbai, Purnima's father Ram Sheshadri Ayangar was a Tamil Brahmin who used to handle accounts at Manmohan Desai's film distributor father Kikubhai Desai's office. Purnima's mother was from a Muslim family of Lucknow. At home other than her parents there were five daughters (including Purnima) and a son. In the 1930's decade, Purnima's eldest sister Shirin Banu had also worked in films like Bambai Ki Sethani (1935), Passing Show (1936), Khwab Ki Duniya (1937), State Express (1938) and Bijli (1939). Shirin Banu was the mother of director Mahesh Bhatt and producer Mukesh Bhatt as well as the grandmother of actresses Pooja Bhatt and her step sister Alia Bhatt.
According to Purnima that era's well known director Raman B. Desai, who was also their neighbor, had offered Purnima 'Radha's' role in his Guajarati film 'Radheshyam'. Purnima was still in school at that time. For the film, her elder sister Shirin Banu, gave her the alias 'Purnima' in place of her real name 'Meher Bano'. The film 'Radheshyam' was released in the year 1948 and at that time Purnima was merely 16 years old. According to Purnima, "My first Hindi film was Kidar Nath Sharma's Thes (1949), where I was playing the second lead." Featuring Bharat Bhushan and Shashikala Jawalkar in the main roles, this film was released in the year 1949.
According to the senior film historian Shri Harish Raghuwanshi, in the year 1948 i.e. a year before Thes (1949), Purnima had acted in two Hindi films 'Manager' and 'Tum Aur Mai' and in 1948 other than 'Radheshyam' she had also worked in Director Raja Yagnik's Gujrati film 'Saavaki Maa'.
After Thes (1949), Purnima saw two more releases in 1949 viz. 'Narad Muni', and Patanga (1949), where she was seen playing the second lead in both the films. While Raman B. Desai,'s Gujarati and Hindi bilingual film 'Narad Muni' and Kidar Nath Sharma's Thes (1949) could not create much box office magic, Producer Bhagwan Das Varma's film Patanga (1949) proved to be very successful. Composed by C. Ramchandra, two songs of this musical hit film 'dil se bhula do tum hamein' and 'o jaane waale tone armanon ki duniya loot li' were filmed on Purnima and after the film's release Purnima's schedule became very hectic.
Punima's second husband Bhagwan Das Varma, whom she married in 1954, was a famous Producer-Director of his time who had many successful films like Patanga (1949), Sagai (1951), Badal (1951), Aurat (1953), Parbat (1952) and Pooja (1954) under his banner of 'Varma Films'. Bhagwan Das Varma passed away in 1962.
According to Purnima, she acted in almost 200 films in a career spanning more than five decades. Her only son worked in Air India. Shakila, Saira Banu and Dulari were her friends. Since Shakila, Saira Banu stayed close to Purnima's house they kept meeting quite regularly.- Prema Narayan was born on 4 April 1955 in West Bengal, India. She is an actress, known for Umrao Jaan (1981), Mangalsutra (1981) and Pataal Bhairavi (1985).
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Yogeeta Bali was born on 29 December 1952 in Bombay, State of Bombay, India. She is an actress and producer, known for Zameen Aasmaan (1972), Biwi-O-Biwi (1981) and Be-Shaque (1981). She has been married to Mithun Chakraborty since 1979. They have four children. She was previously married to Kishore Kumar.- Sulochana Latkar was born on 30 July 1928 in Khadaklat, Karnataka, India. She was an actress, known for Sampoorna Ramayana (1961), Jeevacha Sakha (1948) and Gora Aur Kala (1972). She was married to Aabasaheb Chavan. She died on 4 June 2023 in Mumbai, India.
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Bhanurekha was born in the Tamil-speaking Ganesan household on October 10, 1954. Her dad was the popular Tamil actor, Gemini, while her mom was a popular Telugu actress, Pushpavalli. She has seven sisters and one brother. One of her sisters is Dr. Kamala Selvaraj, while another one, Radha, lives in San Francisco with a son named Naveed, who is being readied to act in Bollywood movies.
No stranger to the tinsel screen, Bhanurekha acted in a Telugu movie 'Rangula Ratnam' as Baby Bhanurekha along with her mom during 1966, which was subsequently re-made and released in Hindi during 1976 as Rangila Ratan (1976). She acted in one more Telugu as well as one Kannada movie (Amma Kosam and Goadalli CID 999 respectively) before re-locating to Bombay.
Due to her background, she ended up being very gloomy and pessimistic during her early years. She get a chance to debut in Bollywood movies during 1970 with Sawan Bhadon (1970) opposite Navin Nischol with a screen name of Rekha. Inability to speak Hindi, a dusky complexion as well as her weight did not exactly add to her assets in a predominantly fair-skinned, Hindi-speaking North-Indian film industry.
She decided to take matters seriously, took Yoga, shed those extra pounds, learned Hindi and dancing, and thus was born a new and much improved Rekha - who went on to deliver one box office hit after another for example Nagin (1976), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Khubsoorat (1980), Umrao Jaan (1981), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) amongst others. In her later years she has taken up character roles and appeared as a mother, even a grandmother in Krrish (2006).
Her slim, slender looks got her many admirers, including well established Bollywood actors such as Kiran Kumar , Jeetendra, Vinod Mehra, and Amitabh Bachchan'. In 2004, in a television interview with Simi Garewal, she rejected a long-standing rumor that she was once married to Vinod Mehra. She referred to him as a well-wisher and stated that her only marriage was to a businessman, Mukesh Aggarwal. This marriage ended when Mukesh killing himself shortly thereafter, leaving her a widow. She has never remarried.
She likes to surf the Internet, has written biographies of actresses like Zeenat Aman, and Salma Agha on IMDb, likes to collect old photographs and postcards, mimic people, watch movies, and practices Yoga regularly, read comics like Archie and Dennie the Menace, and is a vegetarian. She now lives with her Secretary, Farzana, and pets in a self-owned bungalow in Bandra (West)in Mumbai.- Actress
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It was only natural that Shobha Khote strayed into show business. Her father, Nandu Khote, was a star on stage and in the silent movies. Durga Khote, a famous movie personality of the yesteryear, was her aunt. The huge family home at Bombay's Chowpatty was always full of guests.
"I had a happy, carefree childhood," she says. "Ours was a big, joint family and most of my cousins were boys. I used to play with them, run around, climb trees and was an acknowledged tomboy." She studied at St Teresa's Convent, Girgaum, and graduated in English Literature from Wilson College.
Life in college was quite exciting to Khote and her brother Viju, another well-known stage, TV and screen actor. She took to swimming and cycling, excelled in both games and set up a new record for the one mile in cycling.
"My family was sports-minded," recalls Khote. "Father had built a gymnasium in the house itself. Many of his friends spent time there exercising. I Lent a lot from him. He taught that one can learn hard work, sincerity and team spirit from sports."
Both at school and college, Khote made occasional appearances on stage.
It was fun, but I just took it casually," she says. As Khote made her name in sports, her photographs began appearing in the newspapers and magazines. Well-known director Amiya Chakraborty sent his distributor friend, Kamath, to invite Khote for a screen test. Khote recalls with a giggle, "When Kamathsaab arrived, I was in tomboy outfit, with hair flying all round. He did not think much of me and reported back to Amiyada," Fortunately, Amiya Chakraborty was not convinced and after meeting her, cast her in his Seema.
The role was a challenge. Seema, which starred Nutan and Balraj Sahni was not the run-of-the-mill Hindi movie, and Khote was pitted against two highly sensitive and intelligent artists. But she came out with flying colors. "Amiyada told me he wanted a different kind of actress for the role, who would be natural. I fitted the bill. In fact, he did not even give me screen test," says Khote.
She also had a score to settle with veteran actress Leela Chitnis, who along with her two songs, was producing a movie. Chitnis offered Khote the lead role, on condition she would not work elsewhere for the next five years.
"My father did not agree to this condition," she recalled. "In fact, I had cut my hair for the role and even rehearsed enthusiastically for some weeks. And when they dropped me, I wanted to show them the loss was theirs."
Filmistan offered her roles in Paying Guest and Champakali. PG was a big hit but Khote did not enjoy her role, which was too negative for her liking. "I disliked the role so much that I refused to watch the movie?" She saw it on video much later.
A sportswomen, did she enjoy acting?
Okay, she nods. "Basically, I was fun-loving and liked to be with people. Because of my family background, I had no problems in the film world."
She did another film, Dekh Kabira Na Roya with Amiya Chakraborty, who later died of a heart attack. It wasa shattering blow, because Chakraborty had been her friend, philosopher and guide.
"He was very good in casting," recalls Khote. "Even top stars like Dilip Kumar wanted to work with him and gave off their best in his films."
It was Chakraborty also who found she had a flair for comedy. Even her serious roles in his films had comic touches which were highly appreciated. And when Chhoti Bahen, an L V Prasad release from Madras, turned out to be a mega hit, Khote was earmarked for comic roles. And her famous pairing with comedian Mehmood began.
For the next six years, films starring Shobha Khote, Mehmood and Dhumal were highly popular and did roaring business at the box office. Sasural, Dil Ek Mandir, Dil Tera Diwana, Bharosa and several other films celebrated jubilees.
Even Khote's negative role have often been tinged with comedy, a case in point being the super hit, Ek Duje Ke Liye.
Her constant pairing with Mehmood were also grist for film industry gossip. Khote laughed.
"I know about it," she admitted. "Yes, we were together in so many films that people gossiped about us. But there was a wide cultural differences between us. Of course, I knew him very well but we were nothing but co-stars."
As tea arrived, we discussed the changing role for comedy on Hindi screen. Khote pointed out that comedians like Gope, Yakub and Bhagwan had been popular them having to resort to buffoonery. Again, during the 1960's and 1970's, the comedy on the Hindi screen was clean and depended mostly on comic situations.- Saroja Devi B. was born on 7 January 1938 in Bengaluru, Mysore, India. She is an actress, known for Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham (1963), Beti Bete (1964) and Veer Parshuram (1978).
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Jayshree Gadkar was born on 21 February 1942 in Karwar District, Bombay Presidency, British India. She was an actress and director, known for Saranga (1961), Sampoorna Mahabharat (1983) and Baharon Ke Sapne (1967). She was married to Bal Dhuri. She died on 29 August 2008 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Minoo Mumtaz was born in 1942 in India. She was an actress, known for Do Roti (1957), Naya Daur (1957) and C.I.D. (1956). She was married to Sayeed Ali Akbar. She died on 23 October 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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The Empress of Indian Cinema!
A Sweetheart of 1950s, & The Undisputed Goddess of 1960s Bollywood, Meena Kumari bestrode the movies like few women in history have!
Combing enchanting grace, amazingly heart-melting expression, & consistently solid progressive content base, this Giant of Cinema will remain immortal as perhaps the greatest feminine incarnation of filmdom!
Born in 1933 into a poor Parsee theatre family of Ali Bux and actor-dancer Prabhavati Devi (converted to Iqbal Begum) (Prabhavati's mother's first husband till death, incidentally, being the cousin of Rabindranath Tagore, Prabhavati in turn borne of her second husband, a very famous Urdu poet of Meerut, from where she migrated to pursue a career in music) in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, she entered films to support her family in difficult times.
She was six when hired for Leatherface (1939) in 1939 by Vijay Bhatt and named Baby Meena. Later she became Meena Kumari when cast for Bhatt's Baiju Bawra (1952).
She did mythological films with Homi Wadia and then comedies like Miss Mary (1957). She became personified as the archetypal good Hindu wife through many roles, long suffering and always true to the man. She excelled at tragedy and was often shown in a white sari carrying the film with her emotive acting. She was also thought to be the only actress who could sell a film on the strength of her name alone. Her major films are Daaera (1953), Baiju Bawra (1952), 0046164, and of course her most well known film, Pakeezah (1972). She was married to Kamal Amrohi with whom she started making "Pakeezah". They separated in 1964.
She was also an accomplished Urdu writer and had several poems published by Gulzar after her death. She battled alcoholism and loneliness and finally died, alone, in 1972.- She started out playing heroine roles in Pre-Partition films. She made her debut with Garib and Gawandhi (1942) at around sixteen years of age. Garib was made in Urdu and Gawandhi was made in Punjabi and directed by Mehboob Khan. In Garib, she played the role of Lata and in Gawandhi she played heroine opposite Shyam who played the hero. She became known for her roles in Pre-Partition Hindi and Urdu films. Her early years in films came with films like Najma (1943), Phool (1945), and Humayun (1945). Her last film before the Partition of India was Rajputani (1946) in which she played a supporting role. She decided to remain in India after the partition and she acted through the mid-to-late-1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early-1980s. She played roles in big films like Halaku (1956), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Taj Mahal (1963) (for which she received the Filmfare's Award for Best Supporting Actress), Do Raaste (1969), and Pakeezah (1972). She retired in 1983 after the release of Razia Sultan (1983) in which she played Empress Shah Turkhan. She died in Bombay in 2004 after 21 years of retirement when she was 78 years old after suffering from a protracted illness. She had appeared in over 70 feature films in a career spanning 41 years (1942 till 1983).
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Jayshree T was only 5 years old in 1958 when she made her debut in Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959). After appearing as a child artiste in a few other films, she made her debut as a cabaret dancer in Abhilasha (1968). After that, she went on to dance in more than 500 movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She got married in 1989 to film director Jayprakash and she gave birth to a son in 1991. She now appears in many soap operas on mainstream Indian TV.- Zarina Wahab was born on 17 July 1959 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. She is an actress, known for My Name Is Khan (2010), Agneepath (2012) and Gharaonda (1977). She has been married to Aditya Pancholi since 1986. They have two children.
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- Music Department
Born on April 18, 1962 in Kanpur, India, Cusp-born Poonam Dhillon is one of three children of former Aeronautics Engineer, Amrik Singh, and mom, Gurcharan Kaur. She has a brother, and a sister, Dr. Rishma Pai, who has a medical practice in Bombay. She studied in Carmel Convent High School in Chandigarh.
Poonam became popular after attaining the Miss India '77 Crown. This opened doors for modeling as well as her pretty face being splashed on magazine covers, and also landed her a role in 'Trishul', which was a hit at the box office, with the song pictured on her 'Gapuchi Gapuchi gam gam' continuing to be popular even today.
Then came 'Noorie' in 1979, which made a star overnight.Her on-screen pairing with Rajesh Khanna was very popular with them having four super-hits 'Dard', 'Nishan', 'Zamana', 'Awam', and one unfortunate box office dud but critically acclaimed film Redrose.
Subsequent to her debut 'Kaala Patthar', 'Dard', 'Red Rose', 'Biwi O Biwi', 'Yeh To Kamaal Ho Gaya', 'Teri Meharbaniya', 'Karma', 'Batwara', 'Kasam', 'Sohni Mahiwal" became super-hits. She has also acted in regional language movies in Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada. Her movie career as a leading lady spanned from 1978 with 'Trishul' through onto 1992 with 'Virodhi'.
In 1988 she fell in love and married film maker, Ashok Thakeria, and subsequently gave birth to a son, Anmol, and a daughter, Paloma. Her marriage ended in a divorce in 1997.
Poonam loves to spend time with Anmol, Paloma, and her aunt, who lives in Chandigarh. Her parents have since passed away. Both her children intensely dislike her former involvement with Bollywood, the attention that is forced upon them, and avoid being photographed. She is friendly with Bollywood actresses Padmini Kolhapure, and Rati Agnihotri.
She is involved as a host in Zee TV Africa's 'Chusth Dhrusth' show, acts in a Zee TV serial 'Kitty Party'. She had won an award for her role in the Hindi play 'The Perfect Husband' in 2005. She was also part of the Indian political scene in 2004 when she briefly joined the Congress party.
She is also associated with Zeenext.com as a Consulting Editor; was responsible for pioneering the makeup van business.- Huma Khan was born on 24 December 1954 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She is an actress, known for 7 Saal Baad (1987), Andar Baahar (1984) and Kalyug Aur Ramayan (1987).
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Bindiya Goswami was born on January 6, 1962 to a South Indian father and a Catholic mother in India. When she was growing up, she thought she would become an air hostess like her elder sister Pearl. However, when she was fourteen years old, she went to a party at her neighbor composer Pyarelal's house. Jaya Chakravarthy, mother of superstar Hema Malini saw her and thought she bore a facial resemblance to Hema. She brought Bindiya into films and cast her in Jeevan Jyothi (1976) and then was immediately cast in Mukti (1977). However, Mukti was released first and was a hit, while Jeevan Jyothi flopped. Nevertheless, Bindiya attracted attention from important filmmakers, such as Basu Chatterjee, who cast her in three films with Khatta Meetha (1977) being a hit. Hrishikesh Mukherjee cast her in Golmaal (1979), which became the biggest hit of her career. Ramesh Sippy cast her in Shaan (1980), where she was romantically paired with Shashi Kapoor, who just a few years earlier played her father in Mukti. Bindiya acted with many films with Vinod Mehra, such as Dada (1979). However, her career was interrupted when she married him at age 18. The problem was he was already married to Meena Broca. Although his marriage to Meena was unconsummated and ended quickly, the publicity surrounding it hurt Bindiya's career. Her marriage to Vinod Mehra lasted four years and ended in divorce when she was 22. But Bindiya held no bitterness towards Mehra, and when he died a few years later in 1990, she would forever speak about him very respectfully, calling him a "great soul." In 1985, she became romantically involved with director J.P. Dutta and married him that same year. They would have two daughters Nidhi and Siddhi. She completely stopped acting in films and did costume designs for her husband's films, such as Border (1997) and Refugee (2000). She also supported her daughters aspirations in show business, when Nidhi decided to become a film actress, while Siddhi went into production. Bindiya said she is proud of her daughters and speaks lovingly of her happy marriage to her husband of 30 years.- Actress
- Producer
Manju Singh was born in 1948 in India. She was an actress and producer, known for Gol Maal (1979), Ladies Tailor (1981) and Screen Two (1985). She died on 14 April 2022 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Durga Khote was born on 13 January 1905 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. She was an actress, known for Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Bidaai (1974) and Anand (1971). She died on 22 September 1991 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.
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Ranjeeta Kaur was born on 22 September 1956 in Punjab, India. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978), Superman (1987) and Laila Majnu (1976).- Actress
- Costume Designer
Started her film career as a child actress and has also played a boys role in the 1960s in Indian cinema. She did many films with Sachin Pilgaonkar and their pair gave several hits together. She has acted in many classic Indian films such as Kranti(1981). Married famous actor Kamal Haasan but they are now separated.- Actress
- Music Department
Kalpana Iyer was born on 17 April 1955. She is an actress, known for Aapas Ki Baat (1981), Kudrat (1981) and Raja Hindustani (1996).- Actress
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Sridevi was born on August 13, 1963 in her father's hometown of Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India. Her mother was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. So Sridevi grew up speaking Telugu and Tamil. She has a sister named Srilatha and a stepbrother named Satish. Her dad passed away during the year 1991, while her mom died during 1997.
She started her career at a very early age in 1967 as a child artiste in a Tamil movie 'Kandhan Karunai'. She also starred as a child actress in a Telugu movie 'Bangarakka' in 1977, and in a Malyalam movie 'Kumara Sambhavan' in 1969.
She made her foray on the Bollywood tinsel screen in 1975 as a child actor with the smash-hit 'Julie' in which she played the younger sister of the lead actress. Thereafter she started to act in adult roles in Hindi only from 1979. She appeared in 63 movies in Hindi; 62 in Telugu; 58 in Tamil; and 21 in Malyalam - in a career that has spanned from 1967 through to 2007.
Sridevi established strong onscreen pair with Kamal Hasan in Tamil films from 1977-1983 and then with Jeetendra in Hindi Films from 1983-1988 which helped her get foothold in Hindi films. Her initial claim to fame was appearing as romantic interest to established stars NTR, ANR, Krishna Ghattamaneni,Vishnuvardhan in Telugu and Kannada films from 1978-1985.She has four hits with Rajesh Khanna and then from late 80's till 1996 her pair with Anil Kapoor was popular. But she became popular all over India, thanks to Tamil films' remakes in Hindi in 1983-1990 which were produced and directed by the same team which had made the southern version first and in these films she was cast opposite Rajesh Khanna or Jeetendra.
She has also appeared in the TV series 'Malini Iyer', judged a TV show 'Kaboom' as well as appeared in numerous print and TV ads. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Asian Academy of Film & Television.
Sridevi went on to get married to her co-star, Anil Kapoor's older brother, Boney, on June 2, 1996. They are now parents of two daughters: Jhanvi and Khushi.
She made a comeback to films with "English Vinglish" in 2012.
She passed away on 24 February 2018 by accidental drowning in bathtub during her stay at the hotel Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai UAE, when she was attending the wedding of Bollywood actor Mohit Marwah in Dubai, UAE. She was 54 years old.- Actress
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Vidya Sinha was born on 15 November 1947 in Bombay, State of Bombay, India. She was an actress and producer, known for Bodyguard (2011), Krishna-Krishna (1986) and Jeeva (1986). She was married to Netaji Bhimrao Salunkhe and Venkateshwaran Iyer. She died on 15 August 2019 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
born and raised in Junagad, Ms. Babi was spotted by renowned B.R. Ishara at Ahmedabad University, and he approached her to act in his forthcoming movie, Charitraheen, which was a sequel to Chetna. Her co-star in this movie was none other than renowned Indian cricketer Salim Durrani. Parveen Babi lit up the silver screen with her charming looks and personality from the 1970s.
Among her more memorable movies with megastar Amitabh Bachchan are: Deewar, Namak Halal, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Kala Pathar. Her most glorious moment was when Time Magazine chose to display her photograph on their cover page in 1976, depicting the changing face of Bollywood and Bollywood actresses.
After acting in her last movie, Akarshan, she suddenly disappeared from public view and became more or less a recluse. It is known that she took up interior designing, and had a very close circle of friends.
She then left for the United States of America and was not seen nor heard for about 10 years.
She created a stir when she filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, charging several dignitaries, including Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan, for attempting to kill her. This petition was dismissed by the Court for want of evidence.
On Sunday January 22, 2005, neighbors at her Juhu residence noticed that she not collected her milk nor her newspapers from her doorstep for the last three days. The neighbors notified the Secretary of the building, who in turn notified the police.
On Saturday January 22, 2005, a police team opened the door to her apartment with a duplicate key, and found her dead body.
The police believe that the door had been locked from the inside for last three days, and suspect no foul play.
Ms. Babi was an only child in a noble Junagad-based family. Her dad had passed away when she was very young, and her mom also passed away several years ago.- Actress
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Kokila was born on January 4, 1931 in Valsad, Gujarat, India, in the Gujarati-speaking Balsara family.
She was married to Kamal Roy at a very young age, and shortly thereafter in 1946 both husband and wife decided to make a career on the silver screen. They traveled to Bombay, both applied, but only Kokila was chosen to act in a Gujarati movie, Ranakdevi, followed by Amar Raj, and Gunsundari in 1948. She was primarily effective in creating the Gujarati film industry. This is how Nirupa Roy was born.
She went on to act in many movies, initially as the leading lady then in various roles of a variety of Hindu Goddesses, so much so that people actually lined up to seek her blessings. From 1970s on she was type-cast to play the role of the mother for a number of leading actors, from Dev Anand to Amitabh Bachchan. She was perhaps the only actresses to have played the role of mother to Dharmendra and his son, Sunny Deol, albeit in different movies. In 1955 she acted as Dev Anand's mother, even though she is about 8 years younger than him.
A Capricorn, she then went on to act in movies like Do Bigha Zameen, Tangewali, and Garam Coat, a brand of movies which later came to be known as 'realistic movies'.
Her success has been reflected in 3 awards from 1955 to 1964 for her role in Munimji, Chhaya, and Shehnaai. She is also known for her trilogy with Bharat Bhushan namely Kavi Kalidas, Samrat Chandragupt, and Rani Rupmati.
But her most memorable role was yet to come in Deewar, opposite Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh. Dialogues for this movies, as like Sholay, are still remembered and talked about.
Throughout her career of over 60 years in movies, she has acted in over 250 movies. she did slow down considerably in the 1980s, but did make a comeback in 1999 with Lal Badshah.
Her marriage with Kamal Roy resulted in the birth of a son, Kiran, and 2 daughters. She was known to be very close to her son.
She was very friendly with yesteryear actress Shyama. She received one more award in 2003.
Her end came quickly on October 13, 2004, at the age of 73, when she passed away after a cardiac arrest in Bombay.
She will always be remembered, not only as the 'mother of Bollywood' for her roles in movies like Gunsundari, Rani Rupmati, Deewar, Amar Akbar Anthony and many others.- Actress
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Madhumati was born in 1938 in a remote village near Maharashtra. She made her debut as a dancer in 1957 in an unreleased Marathi movie. Madhumati got married at the early age of 19 to Manohar Deepak. She busied herself throughout the 1960s by dancing in Punjabi, Marathi, Hindi, Bhojpuri and South Indian movies. She was often compared to the great dancer Helen in terms of her dancing abilities and looks. She made her exit in 1977 and made a comeback in 2001. After the passing of her husband in 2002, she now occupies herself by running the Madhumati dance academy in Mumbai.- Actress
Bela Bose was a prolific dancer and actress in Hindi films during the 1960's. She had no background in films and wasn't a stage-struck girl when she entered films. She was a schoolgirl who started her career as a group dancer in films to help support her family after her father's death. She picked up more films after she finished her schooling. Most of her roles were as glamorous dancers. Her first role was in "Sautela Bhai" (1962) opposite Guru Dutt at the age of 17. She honed her acting skills performing in Bengali plays. Her career consisted of more than 150 films, and her peak period was between 1961-66.
Some of her best roles were in Bimal Roy's Bandini, F.C.Mehra's Professor and Amrapali, Atmaram's Shikar, Umang, Yeh Gulistan Hamara, Dil Aur Mohabbat, Zindagi Aur Maut and Wahan Ke Log. Later, she became a character actress and enjoyed her biggest success playing the villainous sister-in-law in the blockbuster "Jai Santoshi Maa" (1975). Her real-life husband Ashish Kumar was the leading man in the film. She fell in love and married him in 1967 and gradually eased out of films after giving birth to two children-a daughter and a son. Of all her films, her favorite roles were as Jeetendra's foster sister in "Jeene Ki Raah" (1969), followed by another film "More Man Mitwa." Her daughter became a doctor, and her son became a businessman. Both have families of their own, making Bela a grandmother. Her husband died on November 23, 2013 leaving her a widow. Although, she stopped acting a long time ago, she said that she still have pleasant memories about her time in the entertainment industry.- Ranjana was a popular Marathi actress who dominated the Marathi silver screen in the '70s and '80s. Like her aunt, noted Hindi actress Sandhya, she was introduced to the screen by V. Shantaram in Chandanachi Choli Ang Ang Jaali, directed by Kiran Shantaram in 1975. She then starred in the lead role in Shantaram's next film, Jhunj. Ranjana won the best actress award in 1980 from the state government for Are Sansar Sansar. She won the award again for Gup Chup Gup Chup in 1983. Her other key films include Sushila, Gondhalat Gondhal, Mumbaicha Faujdar, Bin Kamacha Navra, Khichdi, Chani, Jakhmi Vaghin, Bhujang and Ek Daav Bhutacha.
Ranjana made hit pairs at the box office with several noted Marathi film actors including Ashok Saraf, Avinash Masurekar, Shriram Lagoo, Kuldeep Pawar, Nilu Phule, Ravindra Mahajani, Raja Gosavi and others. - Nazneen played the role of Kunti in the BR Chopra Mahabharata. Her role was billed at 18th number in the end credits. Nazneen is an Indian Bollywood actress who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. She was cast in Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa (1972) after meeting an assistant to director Satyen Bose at a party. She subsequently played in the hit movies Kora Kagaz (1974), Chalte Chalte (1976) and Dildaar (1977). Nazneen starred in the hit television series Mahabharat produced by B.R Chopra as Kunti who was the mother of the Pandavas.
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Padma Khanna was born in Northern India. She made her debut at the age of 21 in 1961 in an unreleased Bhojpuri film. After the filming of that movie, she realized acting was just not for her. So, she decided to go back home and complete her studies. After a 9 year hiatus, she returned to acting where she was cast as a cabaret dancer in Johny Mera Naam (1970). After that, there was no looking back and she went on to dance in more than 500 movies throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. After her marriage in 1986, she retired from acting and moved to America. She now runs a dance school named Indianica Dance Academy in Iselin, New Jersey. She has a daughter Neha Sidana, and a son Akshar Sidana.- Actress
Yasmin is known for Daraar (1996), Agneepath (1990) and Satyam Shivam Sundaram: Love Sublime (1978).- Actress
- Music Department
Mithu Mukherjee was born on 19 June 1955 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. She is an actress, known for Marjina Abdulla (1972), Mouchak (1974) and Khaan Dost (1976).- Actress
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Reena Roy was a famous leading lady of Hindi films from 1972-1985. She came from a broken home, a Muslim father and Hindu mother, who separated after having four children together. Reena is their third child, and she started films in her early teens. Her career in films started off inauspiciously with B.R. Ishara's "Nayi Duniya Naye Log" (1973) with another newcomer Danny Denzongpa, which was shelved temporarily. B.R. Ishara cast both actors again in "Zaroorat" (1972), along with another newcomer Vijay Arora, and the racy film became a hit. Reena was now called the "Zaroorat Girl." She had to wait a while for her next break with Jaise Ko Taisa (1973), where her rain-soaked dance to the song "Abke Sawan" with Jeetendra raised temperatures. She was a working actress with films like Jangal Mein Mangal, Rani Aur Lalpari, Madhosh, Goonj, and Umar Qaid, but most didn't make an impact, until the mid-1970s, when Zakhmee (1975) and "Kalicharan" (1976) made her more popular among directors and audiences. Initially, there was low expectations with Kalicharan, since Subhash Ghai, a failed actor, was making his directorial debut, and Shatrugan Sinha, an actor known for his villainous roles, was making his first mark as the lead hero. But the film defied everyone's expectations and became a surprise hit, and Reena as Shatrugan's love interest got attention from audiences. They became a off-screen pair as well, and they signed several films together. Her pairing with Sunil Dutt was also popular with audiences. The successes of "Zakhmee" and "Kalicharan" led to her star vehicle Nagin (1976). Playing the title role of the deadly 'Nagin', she avenges the death of her lover by ruthlessly murdering five leading male-stars. The film became a huge hit, and Reena received her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. She was now one of the top heroines in Hindi films. Raj Kumar Kohli worked with Reena and churned out greatest multi-starer blockbusters Nagin, Jaani Dushman (1979), Muqabla (1979) and Raaj Tilak (1984).
Reena Roy-Shatrugan Sinha became a famous team after "Kalicharan," and had delivered 9 hits off the 16 they did together as the lead pair. But it was Reena's chemistry with Jeetendra in 17 marital dramas like Badaltey Rishtey (1978) and Pyaasa Sawan (1982) that set her career soaring. Jeetendra- Reena Roy had 12 box office hits off the 17 movies where they were paired romantically. The duo produced three of their greatest classics together - Apnapan (1977), Aasha (1980) and Arpan (1983). Reena's poignant dance in "Aasha" to the melody of "Shisha Ho Yah Dil" immortalized her as an icon of desire and tragedy. Her dark-shaded role in "Apnapan," as the selfish gold-digger that abandons her husband and child, won her the Best Supporting Actress Filmfare Award, beating out icons Nutan and Asha Parekh. (This was the precursor to the type of role that Meryl Streep played two years later in "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)). Reena rejected the Award on basis that she is the heroine of the film, not the supporting actress! And finally, her screen image as a sacrificing symbol of Indian womanhood is glorified in the immensely popular, "Arpan."
After the box office success of "Aasha," for which she received her second Filmfare nomination as Best Actress, Reena Roy entered the 1980's as a leading lady in demand, securing herself critical roles with Superstar Rajesh Khanna in 4 films which became super-hits. She is the defiant widow who reforms the egotistical Rajesh Khanna of Dhanwan (1981); the beautiful 'actress' that dies on stage performing her last 'mujra' for Dharmendra in Naukar Biwi Ka (1983); and the talented psychiatrist determined to cure Vinod Khanna in the comical, Jail Yatra (1981). Top directors like Prakash Mehra, Raj Khosla and Sultan Ahmad grabbed her for crucial roles. Her off-screen relationship with Shatrugan ended by 1979.Her dream of working with Kaka and Shashi Kapoor got fulfilled in 80's.
Reena Roy concentrated on her career, as she was providing Hema Malini stiff competition for the No. 1 position by the early 1980s such that Reena replaced Hema and Zeenat Aman as the highest paid actress from 1981-85 and was & 2nd highest paid Hindi actress from 1976-81. In 1982 alone, she had thirteen releases, by far more than any of her rivals. She was now demanding equal footing with Hema, and effectively stealing the show from Rekha in emotional melodramas like Prem Tapasya (1983) and Asha Jyoti (1984). Her characters became more versatile, as did her dances, as she effortlessly shifted from classical 'natyam' (Rocky (1981)) to "Disco Station" (Hathkadi (1982)). The sophisticated, glamorous model of Karishmaa (1984) was equally seductive as the village belle of Dharam Kanta (1982). Her profile was further enhanced with an extraordinary double role in the Muslim social, Ladies Tailor (1981), opposite Sanjeev Kumar.
At the pinnacle of her popularity, Reena's dormant desire to prove herself found expression in a number of female-oriented films. Enacting the role of a tormented 'bahu' in Sau Din Saas Ke (1980), she defies conventions to oppose her tyrant mother-in-law. With an author-backed role in Bezubaan (1982), she gives a realistic portrayal of a woman whose past returns to threaten her present married life. But it was Roy's presentation, Lakshmi (1982) that glorified the presence of Reena Roy in Bollywood cinema. Playing the role of a misfortune 'tawaif', she dances to her never-ending tragedies. Reena, anguished by the commercial failure of Lakshmi, found solace in the sensational success of her other home production - the musical comedy, Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), opposite upcoming Kamal Hasan and produced by her sister Barkha Roy.
In 1983 - at the zenith of her stardom - Reena Roy decided to quit films to marry Pakistani cricketer, Mohsin Khan. Her last shooting took place in the year 1984 for 2 films opposite Rajesh Khanna - Asha Jyoti and Hum Dono and for Inteha (1984) - a tragedy, in which she is raped by Raj Babbar, crying out for help to the tune of Lut Gayi Main To Saiyan Lut Gayi. Despite its lack of widespread acceptance, Inteha is considered as Reena Roy's swan song. However, last memories of Reena as a heroine, is as the struggling Moran in Ghulami (1985) and as fun-filled girl Rani in Hum Dono (1985) which released in March 1985.
The actress that played the role of a fairy to perfection in Rani Aur Lalpari (1975) soon realized the grim realities of the real world, as her marriage to Mohsin Khan disintegrated and she initially lost custody of her daughter Jannat, whom she lovingly calls Sanam. She returned to Bollywood in 1993. In a pivotal role, the hit film Aadmi Khilona Hai (1993) greeted the arrival of the mature Reena Roy and she acted in 9 more films till 2000 but except for Gair(1999) none were successful. However, the bright spot came when Mohsin Khan, at the urging of his current wife, gave up custody of Jannat, and she came back to live with Reena. Reena and her sister Barkha decided to open an acting school in 2004. She has also ventured out into politics.- Savitri Chatterjee was born on 21 February 1937 in Comilla, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Bangladesh]. She is an actress, known for Kal Tumi Aleya (1966), Marutirtha Hinglaj (1959) and Daner Maryada (1956).
- Manjeet Kaur Kular (also known as Manjeet Kullar or Manjit Kular) is an Indian actress. She has worked in Punjabi and Hindi movies as a leading actress. She is considered as one of the top Punjabi movies actress. She is known for her work in movies like Jatt Jeona Mour (1991), Mehndi wale Hath (2006), Ikke Pe Ikka (1992), Yalgaar (1992), Maahir (1996), Main Maa Punjab Di (1998), Mirza Jatt (1992), Dhadkan (2000). She has worked in TV serials also as Shaktimaan, Om Namah Shivay, Zimbo.
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Persis Khambatta was born on October 2, 1948 in Bombay, India. When aged 16, as Femina Miss India, she entered Miss Universe 1965, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. Khambatta became a model for companies such as Revlon. Her biggest acting break was getting the role of Lieutenant Ilia, the bald Deltan alien in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982) and Warrior of the Lost World (1983). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams. Khambatta became the first citizen of India to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her Star Trek role. Khambatta also made guest appearances in many popular American television series. In the early 1980s, she was seriously injured in a car crash in Germany and had to have heart bypass surgery.
A year before her death, she wrote and published a coffee table book titled "Pride of India" which featured former Miss Indias; it was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. On August 17, 1998, Persis Khambatta was taken to the Marine Hospital in South Mumbai, complaining of chest pains. She died of a heart attack on August 18, 1998 at the age of 49; her funeral was held in Mumbai.- Actress
Sneha Paul is an Indian actress, model, and social media influencer. She completed her education at a private school in Kolkata and later graduated from Calcutta University.
Paul began her career as a model in 2016, working on her first major project, The City and A Girl (2021), for Disney+ Hotstar. Her popularity grew with her song in the Kannada movie Dream Girl (2017) and her appearance in Altaf Raja's music video for Phool Ke Badle Patthar.
Paul's breakthrough came with her role as "Renu Bhabhi" in the web series Charmsukh (2019), which attracted a large fan following. Since then, she has appeared in other web series such as Laal Lihaaf (2021) and Chawl House 3: Part 2 (2022) on various platforms like Ullu and Hotstar, garnering appreciation for her performances. Prior to her career in the film industry, she was active in Marathi theater productions and has also starred in short films such as Lag Gaye (2020).
Paul is an enthusiastic fitness enthusiast, serving as a brand ambassador for various fitness-related brands. Apart from her acting and modeling career, she is also an influential social media personality with a considerable following. Her contributions to the film industry and other domains have established her as a versatile personality and a source of inspiration to many of her fans.- Actress
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Beena Banerjee was born on 19 February 1943 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. She is an actress, known for Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Radhe Shyam (2022).- Born to an Irish mother and an Indian father. Was a Femina Miss India. Quit movies to marry (and later divorce) hotelier Tilakraj Oberoi. She later married Goan poet Dom Moraes, who was her childhood sweetheart. Vogue named her as one of most beautiful women in the world, along with Maharani Gayatri Devi. Became an icon for women's liberation in India after her non-orthodox role with Sunil Dutt in "Yeh raastae hain pyar kae".
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Shyama was born on 7 June 1935 in Lahore, Punjab, British India. She was an actress, known for Sharada (1957), Khazanchi (1958) and Aar-Paar (1954). She was married to Fali Mistry. She died on 14 November 2017 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Actress
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Suraiya was born on 15 June 1929 in Lahore, Punjab, British India [now Pakistan]. She was an actress and producer, known for Anmol Ghadi (1946), Jeet (1949) and Dastan (1950). She died on 31 January 2004 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- A film career spanning from the 1940s to the 1980s, Nanda was born on January 8, 1939, to a show-business Marathi family in Bombay, India. Her father was actor Master Vinayak, and her mother was Sushila. Nanda was the third of seven brothers and sisters. When she was just 5 years old, her father wanted to cast her in his film "Mandir" (1948). She didn't want to do it, but her mother cajoled her into it. She played a boy in the film, a role that could have been easily played by her brothers. But Nanda always believed that the reason her parents cast her in the film was because she was their favorite child. It was during the filming of "Mandir" that her father suddenly died. The film was eventually completed by Dinkar Patil. Nanda went onto become a child star, where she was credited as Baby Nanda, in films like "Jaggu" (1952). Her income supported her large family.
When Nanda was a teenager, Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre asked her to attend a wedding in a sari. When he saw her, he felt she was ready to graduate from child roles to sister roles. He cast her in "Toofan Aur Diya" (1956), and she was no longer called Baby Nanda but just Nanda. The film's success led to more sister roles, gaining recognition with the release of "Bhabhi" (1957) for which she received her first Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Nanda played the title role in "Chhoti Bahen" (1959), and it became a major hit. She was declared a star and earned a reputation as a talented actress who can do tragedienne roles. She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award for "Aanchal" (1960), a major accomplishment, considering that she was still a teenager. She impressed Dev Anand when she played his sister in "Kala Bazaar" and also his heroine Waheeda Rehman who became her close friend for the next 55 years. Anand promised her that he would graduate her to be his heroine in his next film "Hum Dono" (1961), and when the film became a hit, she was offered more heroine roles. She was considered a generous and kindhearted actress, agreeing to act with an then-unknown Shashi Kapoor in "Char Diwari" (1961). Even though, the film flopped, she signed onto do seven more films, for which Kapoor always remained grateful to her, calling her his favorite leading lady. Their biggest hit was "Jab Jab Phool Khile" (1965), where Nanda played a glamorous, Westernized woman in love with a native Kashmiri played by Kapoor. The film totally changed her career from a tragedienne to a trendy fashionable star. She also had another big hit that same year, the murder mystery "Gumnaam" (1965), which put her in the top league of heroines. She continued in heroine roles for the next nine years, again drastically changing her image from a good girl to an adulteress/murderess in "Ittefaq" (1969), which earned her a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. She started winding down her career in the 1970's, with her memorable cameo in "Shor" (1972). She ended her career as a heroine with "Naya Nasha" (1974), playing a drug addict, a daring role that other actresses would have been afraid to play. Then, she vanished from the screen for several years and reappeared in 3 movies in 1982: 'Mazdoor', 'Ahista Ahista', and 'Prem Rog', the latter two earned her back-to-back Filmfare Nominations as Best Supporting Actress. In all 3 movies she coincidentally played the mother of actress Padmini Kolhapure. Then, she permanently retired from films.
Very shy and introvert, Nanda kept to herself, staying close to family and friends. A middle-aged Nanda finally agreed to marry film-maker Manmohan Desai, an engagement took place in 1992, but before the wedding could take place, Manmohan died when he fell from a building. That death, along with her mother and brother's deaths, made her shun the spotlight even more.
She did stay in touch with her friends, Waheeda Rehman, Sadhana Shivdasani, Asha Parekh, Shammi, Helen, and Saira Banu almost to her dying day. She died of a sudden heart attack on March 25, 2014. The film industry had a public funeral, grieving the loss of their beloved star, an award-winning actress who was respected for her talent, versatility, and longevity of her career. Her family and friends grieved that they lost a sweet, wonderful woman. - Actress
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Simple Kapadia was born on 15 August 1958 in India. She was an actress and costume designer, known for Rudaali (1993), Darr (1993) and Chakravyuha (1978). She died on 10 November 2009 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Actress
Kumkum was born on 22 April 1934 in Sheikhpura, India. She was an actress, known for Mem Sahib (1956), Son of India (1962) and Naya Daur (1957). She was married to Sajjad Akbar Khan. She died on 28 July 2020 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.- Komal Mahuvakar was born on 4 November 1969 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She is an actress, known for Naduvaazhikal (1989), Captain Prabhakaran (1991) and Pulan Visaaranai (1990).
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Khurshid started her film career way back in the late thirties and was among the two surviving actresses to have shared stellar honours with the renowned singer K.L. Saigal. Suraiya, another popular singer-actress of the forties and fifties, remains the only one now. Irshad Begum in real life, Khurshid had done a number of movies for Ranjeet Movietone and her leading men included Saigol, Motilal, Isharilal and Jairaj. Soon after partition she migrated to Pakistan and settled down in Karachi, where she did only two movies, Mandi and Fankar, both of which didn't fare well at the box-office. In 1956 Irshad Begum got married to Yusuf Bhaimia, and made philanthropy the mainstay of her existence. Since then she refused to give interviews or even talk about her film career. She was 79 when she passed away.- Actress
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Anjali Devi, a veteran actress and producer in Telugu and Tamil cinema, is widely recognized for her iconic portrayal of Sita in "Lava Kusha" and her remarkable roles in films like "Suvarna Sundari" and "Anarkali." In Hindi cinema, she left an indelible mark with performances in movies such as 'Devta,' where she starred opposite Gemini Ganeshan, 'Sati Savitri' alongside Mahipal, and 'Bhakta Prahlad.' The timeless songs picturized on her, including 'Tum gagan ke chandrama ho,' 'jeevan dor tumhi sang bandhi,' and 'kabhi to miloge, jeevan sathi' from 'Sati Savitri,' continue to enjoy popularity.
Born as Anjani Kumar in Peddapuram, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India, she later settled in Chennai. Initially named Anjani Kumari during her theater days, director C. Pullaiah bestowed upon her the name Anjali Devi. Her journey in the film industry began with a minor role in "Raja Harishchandra" in 1936, followed by her debut as Mohini in "Gollabhama" in 1947, a film that propelled her to stardom. Her first venture as a heroine was in L. V. Prasad's 'Kashtajeevi,' though the film was abandoned after three reels.
Anjali Devi's cinematic career spanned over 350 Telugu films and a handful of Tamil and Kannada films. She married music director P. Adinarayana Rao in 1940, and together, they produced numerous Telugu films under the banner of Anjali Pictures. The iconic milestone in her career was the role of Sita in "Lava Kusha," the first color film in the Telugu industry in 1963.
Aside from her diverse roles as a damsel, angel, dancer, demon, goddess, and traditional woman, she gracefully transitioned into portraying motherly roles in later years. Anjali Devi's granddaughter, Saila Rao, also followed in her footsteps as an actress.
In 1955, she took on the role of a producer with the film "Anarkali," where she played the lead character opposite Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Salim. Over her career, she produced 27 films, including noteworthy ones like "Bhakta Tukaram" and "Chandipriya," featuring Bollywood and Tollywood actress Jayapradha.
Anjali Devi's illustrious career came to a close with films like "Brundavanam" (1992), "Anna Vadina" (1993), and "Police Alludu" (1994), where she shared the screen with Brahmanandam. Her impact on Indian cinema, spanning mythological roles to modern characters, remains a cherished legacy.- Actress
Aamani, the accomplished Indian actress, hails from Bengaluru and has left an indelible mark on the Telugu film industry with her versatile performances. Making her debut in the lead role opposite Naresh in the 1992 blockbuster "Jamba Lakidi Pamba," directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana, she quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
Her cinematic journey includes not only Telugu gems but also noteworthy contributions to Tamil and Kannada cinema. Aamani has graced the silver screen alongside acclaimed actors such as Vishnuvardhan, Nagarjuna, Balakrishna, Krishna, Mammootty, Arvind Swami, Jagapathi Babu, and Kamal Haasan. Her early career saw her in smaller roles in films like "Aadadhi" and "Chandamama Kathalu."
Aamani's prowess as an actress garnered critical acclaim, earning her prestigious accolades such as two state Nandi Awards and a Filmfare Awards South. Notably, the film "Mister Pellam" (1993), directed by Bapu, not only showcased her talent but also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.
The 1990s witnessed Aamani's involvement in successful ventures like "Amma Donga," "Vamshanikokkadu," "Subha Lagnam," "Jamba Lakidi Pamba," and "Nakshatra Poratam." Her standout performances in "Subha Lagnam" (1994), "Subha Sankalpam" (1995), and "Mister Pellam" (1993) earned her both Filmfare and Nandi Awards, solidifying her position as a leading actress in Telugu cinema.
After a hiatus, Aamani returned to the silver screen with the film "Aa Naluguru." In recent times, she has continued to captivate audiences with her roles, playing a street vendor and actor Kartikeya's onscreen mother in the 2021 romantic comedy-drama "Chaavu Kaburu Challaga." Her portrayal of the money lender Kanaka Ratnam in "Muthyamantha Muddu" showcased her enduring talent.
Beyond the reel world, Aamani made a delightful guest appearance on the Telugu reality show Drama Juniors in 2021, further endearing herself to fans. With an illustrious career spanning decades, Aamani remains a revered figure in Indian cinema, leaving an indelible legacy as an actress of immense talent and versatility.- Aamna Shariff is an Indian actress and fashion designer who works in Indian television shows and Hindi movies. She was born in Mumbai to an Indian father and Persian-Bahraini mother and studied at St. Anne's High School, Bandra.
When Shariff was in her second year of college, she began receiving modeling offers for brands such as Close-Up Toothpaste, Beetel Mobile phones, Emami Cosmetic Cream, Clearasil Skin Cream, Nescafe and many others. She also appeared in Kumar Sanu's "Dil Ka Alam Main Kya Bataun Tujhe" music video as well Falguni Pathak's "Yeh Kisne Jadoo Kiya", Abhijeet's "Chalney Lagin Hain Hawain," Daler Mehndi's "Eh Le 100 Rupiya" and Shael's "Nachana Kamal Tera."
Aamna Shariff became a household name by appearing in Balaji Telefilm's "Kahiin To Hoga" where she plays the role of "Kashish", the eldest sister in a middle class family. The show was a major success and is one of the most successful shows in Star Plus history making it #5 on Starplus's top 10 shows of all time. Most of the credit for the shows success goes to the sizzling chemistry between Aamna Shariff and her co-star Rajeev Khandelwal.
Shariff made her film debut in the 2009 Bollywood film Aloo Chaat opposite Aftab Shivdasani. She appeared in another film that same year with Shivdasani again, called Aao Wish Karein.
She is the brand ambassador of "Sweet Dreams", "Kangan Fashion Jewellery", "Gem and Jewellery Creation", "Dressline" and "Bharat Plaza". - Actress
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Aarti Chabria began modeling at 3 years of age. She was the Farex Baby, and appeared in over 300 commercials including Maggi Noodles, Pepsodent tooth paste, Clean and Clear face wash, Amul Frostick ice cream, LML Trendy Scooter, Krack Cream.
After completing her education, Chabria shot to fame when she was crowned "Miss India Worldwide 2000" in November 1999, being the youngest among 22 Indian contestants from all over the world.
She then appeared in the music videos - Harry Anand's Teri Chahat Mein (2000), Sukhwinder Singh's Nasha Hi Nasha Hai (2000), Adnan Sami's Roothe Hue Ho Kyon (2002) (from album Tera Chehra) and another by Avdhoot Gupte, Meri Madhubala (2003)
Her debut Bollywood film was Tum Se Achcha Kaun Hai (2002) which did fairly well at the box office, and the music of which was a super hit, but before that she appeared in a cameo role in a tele-film, Akanksha (1989) as a child artist and Lajja (2001) as Danny Denzongpa's daughter opposite Sharman Joshi.
She then worked with some of the best names in the industry in films like Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) opposite Akshay Kumar, directed by Vikram Bhatt which was a super hit at the box office and for which Aarti received a lot of acclaim and rave reviews for her role as Chiman Chappus daughter, a NRI 'tapori' in love with an underworld don 'Guru Gulab Khatri'. Following that there was Raja Bhaiya (2003) opposite Govinda where she essayed the role of a girl who loses her memory and has a mental level of a 5 year old, Shaadi No. 1 (2005) as a hot diva opposite Fardeen Khan directed by David Dhawan, Ssukh (2005) opposite Govinda where she played a multi layered character and Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera (2006) directed by Harry Baweja. She even did a special appearance in a film called Partner (2007) which was a box office hit directed by David Dhawan. Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), directed By Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Sanjay Gupta was a super hit in which Aarti played a Muslim girl "Tannu" who's a bar dancer in love with an underworld gangster played by Tusshar Kapoor. Both her item songs from the film "Unke Nashein Mein" and "Mere Yaar" were super hits. Daddy Cool: Join the Fun (2009) was a film by Inder Kumar, in which she was opposite Suniel Shetty as a christian housewife. Dus Tola (2010) opposite Manoj Bajpayee where Aarti played a village belle Suvarnalata Shastri in love with a Gold and a Goldsmith which got her a lot of critical acclaim for her performance in this author-backed role. Aarti left a mark with her performance in Telugu and Kannada movies as well which got her popularity in the South Indian Film Industry with films like Okariki Okaru (2003), Gopi Godameda Pilli, Intlo Srimathi Veedhilo Kumari (2004)(remake of Priyadarshan's Hindi film Hungama (2003)), Aham Premasmi (2005) directed by V. Ravichandran , Santha (2007) opposite Shivarajkumar and Rajani (2011) opposite Upendra.
Aarti was hugely appreciated as "Preeto" in a Punjabi Movie Viyah 70 Km (2013) which released in Sept 2013
She was the winner of the fourth season of Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi in 2011.
Aarti has also studied Film Making at the New York Film Academy in New York in 2012.
Aarti participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (season 6) 2013 (which is the Indian version of Dancing with the Stars) and was praised for her performances by all three judges for her sincerity, perfection in dance style, grace, and beauty. She was injured on the show, but still continued with true competitive spirit without giving up.
Aarti is known to be a dancer and mimic who performs live as well as comperes shows with élan.
She was also seen in the latest Kalyan jewels advertisement with Amitabh Bachchan.- Actress
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Anita Raj was born on 13 August 1962 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. She is an actress and producer, known for 24: India (2013), Choti Sarrdaarni (2019) and Clerk (1989). She has been married to Sunil Hingorani since 1986. They have one child.- Actress
Sandhya, born "Vedavalli" in 1924 in Srirangam, Madras Presidency, British India, was an actress, known for Maya Bazaar (1957) and Krishna Leelalu (1959). When Sandhya was widowed, she followed the footsteps of her sister, Ambujavalli, into acting. She subsequently encouraged her daughter, Jayalalitha J., to become an actress as well. Jayalalitha became extremely successful, both in her acting career and later in politics.- Music Artist
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Geeta Dutt was born in Faridpur District in East Bengal in 1930. Music Director Hanuman Prasad gave her chance to sing two lines in the film Bhakt Prahlad (1946). Her major assignment came the following year, 1947, with Do Bhai. From 1947-1949 Geeta Duttt was number playback singer in Mumbai. Initially Geeta was a singer well known for bhajans and weepy, weepy sad songs. But in 1951 after the release of a film, Baazi revealed a new facet. During the recording of the song she met Guru Dutt and later in 1953 they got married. However in 1957 they had some problems. Due to marriage problems she was not readily available for rehearsals and found solace in drink. She suffered a nervous breakdown but resumed singing again. But her drinking problems were not over and she died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1972.- Dulari was born on 18 April 1928 in Nagpur. She was an actress, known for Paying Guest (1957), Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966) and Deewaar (1975). She died on 18 January 2013 in Pune.
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Daughter of Bombay film industry (Bollywood) director Ravi Tandon. Raveena dropped out of Bombay's Meethibai College to pursue a career as a model with middling success. She made her movie debut with the flop _Pathar Ke Phool (1991)_. Her next few films were also failures and it was only with Andaz Apna Apna (1994) that she tasted success. Mohra (1994) made her a superstar all set to become Bollywood's reigning actress. However she then began a tangled affair with co-star Akshay Kumar. All her films flopped and her arch-rival Karisma Kapoor had her fired from some top films. By the end of 1995 her career was in tatters and she was reduced to the level of a starlet doing bit roles. Her career revived with a huge hit Ziddi (1997) and she now is again a top rung star.- Sonali Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Stardust Talent Search". She was invited to Bombay and received training from a variety of top actors and performers of the Indian film industry. Sonali has three sisters and was in her own words a quiet child who loved to read, while she was growing up. Since her debut in 1994, Sonali has appeared in several films and has starred opposite top stars such as Sunjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh. Sonali was also awarded the price of "Newcomer of the year" in 1995. She married Goldie Behl in 2002, and during 2005 became a mother.
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Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title, which she won, her beauty and charm made her India's darling. Ash stormed into the Indian movie industry, where she has proven herself a brilliant & genuine actress. Her performance in Iruvar (1997) was critically acclaimed, and she won the Screen best female debutant award for her role in ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997). She was adored in movies like Taal (1999), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Devdas (2002), her item number in 'Bunty & Bubbly' had sent waves of rhythm across the nation. With her successful Bollywood movies and prestigious Hollywood projects lined up for release it is impossible to ignore this Indian diva in international scenes.- Actress
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Manisha Koirala (born 16 August 1970) is a Nepali actress who mainly appears in Bollywood, though she has worked in several South Indian and her native country's films. Noted for her acting prowess, Koirala is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards-and is one of India's most well-known actresses. Critics have noted that her niche as an actor remains unharmed irrespective of her commercial potent. Manisha was born into the politically prominent Koirala family, in which several of her family members went on to rule the nation, but she did not aspire to pursue a career in politics. A stint in modeling opened a career path in films, and she made her Bollywood debut with the top-grossing production Saudagar (1991). In spite of initial struggle to leave a mark, she went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses in the 1990s with such films as 1942: A Love Story (1994), Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), Agni Sakshi (1996) and Gupt (1997). Koirala gained particular recognition for her willingness to experiment with a variety of strong, dramatic roles, and she delivered several acclaimed performances in a range of films that did well with critics, including Bombay (1995), Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Dil Se.. (1998), Mann (1999), Lajja (2001), Company (2002), and Escape from Taliban (2003). These films brought Koirala several awards and nominations, including three Filmfare Critics Awards for Best Actress, a South Filmfare Award for Best Actress, and a Star Screen Award Best Actress, among others. This was followed by a major period of decline when most of her films failed to do well. Her work in the Malyalam drama Elektra, the anthology film I Am (both 2010), and the romantic comedy Mappillai (2011) was received well, but she took a break from acting in 2012 to return three years later with the psychological thriller Chehere: A Modern Day Classic (2015).
She was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund in 1999 and 2015, and was involved in the relief works after the Nepal earthquake 2015. She promotes various causes such as women's rights, prevention of violence against women, prevention of human trafficking and cancer awareness.
Manisha was seen back on the Silver Screen with Sunaina Bhattnagar's Dear Maya. Manisha received appreciation from her fans and industry from across the whole of India. She has been seen doing some amazing motivational and social events.
She was one of the speakers along side Dalai Lama and CM of Andhra Pradesh at the Womens's Parliament, Amravati. She advocated on how we need more women in our board rooms, court rooms, schools and universities to make policies for women and that women should stand in solidarity for each other. Manisha's TEDx talk touched hearts of millions of people and she has received appreciation from across worldwide for same. She spoke about her struggle with cancer and her brave victory as a warrior and highly advocates on how focusing from early day on our personal health can do wonders. Her philosophy is to focus on mind, body and soul rather than just physical body to stay fit and positive.- Actress
- Producer
Among very few actresses, Shilpa Shetty was nominated for her first film Baazigar (1993). The following year she delivered another blockbuster hit Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) where she starred with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. However, the proceeding years her movies failed to succeed at the box office, though she did receive critical acclaim for some of her performances. Then in 1998, 'Pardesi Babu' was released and people noticed her again. Two years after that she finally delivered a super hit, 'Dhadkan'. Since then her career has taken an up turn. In 2002, she had several releases and films like 'Hathyar' and 'Rishtey'. They solidified her status as a brilliant actress. In 'Rishtey' she stole the show from superstars Anil Kapoor and Karishma Kapoor. However, it was in 2004 that her performance in 'Phir Milenge' that brought her to the top actress list. In 2005, she delivered modest hits like 'Fareb' (where she costarred with sister Shamita Shetty and Manoj Bajpayee) and Dus.
Though she has worked with top actors, unlike many Bollywood actresses who are either scared of or shy away from working with top actresses, Shilpa has worked with numerous talented actresses (such as Juhi Chawla, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Tabu, Kajol, Mahima Chaudhry and Konkona Sen Sharma) and is said to share a great rapport with her co-stars.
Today her career boasts of her versatility. In 'Baazigar' she played a naive college student, in 'Aag' a charming village girl, in 'Main Khiladi Tu Anari' a street dancer, in 'Himmat' a seductive cop, in 'Dus' an anti-terrorist agent, in 'Fareb' a doctor and housewife, in 'Phir Milenge' an HIV positive, in 'Pardesi Babu' a charming city lass, in 'Dhadkan' she is forced to betray her lover, in 'Khamosh' a prostitute, in 'Jung' a sensational club dancer, in 'Tarkieb' a promiscuous military nurse, in 'Rishtey' a comical and tragic performance as a fisher woman, in 'Darna Mana Hai' a housewife haunted by apples and in 'Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar' a negative role where she plays a model turned housewife.
In 2000, Shilpa reinvented herself and became known as one of the hottest actresses in the industry! She is the only Bollywood actress who has been seen to do a split on screen and is known today to have the best body in Bollywood. She is also recognized as a graceful dancer.
Shilpa Shetty laughed a lot when she was young. She still laughs most of the time. According to Shilpa's mother (Sunanda), Shilpa was a naughty child and was called a "fightercock" as she mostly fought with her younger sister (Shamita). Her mom also acknowledges that she was a very bubbly and vivacious child and her pet name is "Manya" but her mom calls her "babucha" or "Honeybunch". Shilpa went to school at St. Anthony's Girl's convent in Chembur, then she went to Podar College.
Shilpa was her school team's baseball captain. She is a black belt karate champion. She actively participated in her father's chemical business. Acting was the only thing she had not tried her hand at.
Shilpa is known to have a great sense of humor and has the capacity to crack jokes on herself. She'll start laughing even before you crack a joke. Shilpa's favorite actors include Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan. Shilpa's method of spending a holiday would be to wake up late, cook, watch movies, work out and spend time with her family. She is also a huge fan of prints, especially Tiger and Leopard prints. Her room is filled with all the different kind of prints. Even her pillow case.she got married to Raj Kundra in 2009 and after that, she entered the Married life- Actress
Nandita Morarji, widely known as Nagma, is a versatile Indian actress who has left an indelible mark on Bollywood, Tollywood, and Kollywood. Born on Christmas Day to a Muslim mother, Seema Sadhana, and a Hindu father, the late textile magnate Sri Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji, Nagma's given name at birth was Nandita.
Her journey in the entertainment industry began in Bollywood, where she made her mark with the 1990 hit debut film "Baaghi: A Rebel for Love" alongside Salman Khan at the young age of 16. Despite initial success, Nagma decided to shift her focus to South Indian cinema, where she found greater success and became a dominant force in Tamil and Telugu movies during the 1990s.
Fluent in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and English, Nagma showcased her acting prowess by working in various languages, including Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, and Punjabi. Her ability to transcend language barriers highlighted her versatility as an actress.
Nagma's family background is rooted in the prestigious Dharamsinh Morarji family. Her mother, Seema Sadhana, played a significant role in Nagma's decision to pursue acting, being her constant companion on film sets. Nagma's father, Arvind Morarji, passed away in 2006, and despite the family's history of separation, she maintained a close relationship with him.
In addition to her successful film career, Nagma ventured into the world of fashion with her clothing boutique, "Nagma's," located on Mumbai's Hill Road. This venture showcased her connection to her father's background in textiles.
Despite her personal life being occasionally marred by controversies and romantic linkages, Nagma remains single and has expressed a cautious approach towards marriage, stating that she would only consider it with the perfect man.
Nagma's career trajectory took her back to Mumbai, where she transitioned into supporting roles in Bollywood hits like "Chal Mere Bhai" (2000), sharing the screen with Karisma Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Sanjay Dutt. However, she continued to contribute significantly to Telugu and Tamil cinema, even taking on leading roles in Malayalam films.
Her spiritual journey led her to enroll in the Art of Living course, and she eventually became a teacher of the course. Alongside her acting career, Nagma actively participated in political campaigns, notably campaigning for the Congress party in Bihar and Jharkhand.
In recent years, Nagma has become a major star in Bhojpuri cinema, earning accolades for her performances and winning a Best Actress award at the 2005 Bhojpuri Film Awards. She has successfully navigated different film industries, proving her mettle as an actress in various languages.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Saira was born into a Urdu-speaking family in India. Her mom's name is Naseem Banu.
She spent much of her childhood in London and was able to debut in 1961 in a Bollywood movie 'Junglee' opposite Shammi Kapoor.
At the age of 22, she got married to Yusuf Khan, alias Bollywood superstar Dilip Kumar.
Saira has a niece, Shaheen, who was once married to Bollywood actor, Sumit Saigal, and the couple have a daughter, Sayesha.