Suchitra Sen

Suchitra Sen, born Rama Dasgupta (6 April 1931 – 17 January 2014), was an Indian actress who acted in several Bengali and a few Hindi films. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali Cinema.

Suchitra Sen was the first Indian actress to receive an award at an international film festival when, at the 1963 Moscow International Film Festival, she won the Silver Prize for Best Actress for Saat Paake Bandha. In 1972, she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards in India. From 1979 on, she retreated from public life and shunned all forms of public contact; for this she is often compared to Greta Garbo. In 2005, she refused the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest cinematic award in India, to stay out of the public eye. In 2012, she was conferred the West Bengal Government's highest honour: Banga Bibhushan.

Personal life and education

Suchitra Sen was born in Pabna, in the present-day Pabna District of Bangladesh, on 6 April 1931. Her father Late Karunamoy Dasgupta was the headmaster of the local school, and her mother Indira Devi was a homemaker. She was their fifth child and third daughter. She received her formal education in Pabna.

Suchitra Sen married Dibanath Sen, son of wealthy Bengali industrialist Adinath Sen, in 1947 and had one daughter, Moon Moon Sen, who is a former actress. Her father-in-law Adinath Sen was supportive of her acting in films after her marriage. Her industrialist husband initially invested a lot in her career and gave her all possible support.

Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Singh Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Kashyap made his directorial debut with as yet unreleased Paanch, with Kay Kay Menon as the lead. As a filmmaker, he is known for Black Friday (2004), a controversial and award-winning Hindi film about the 1993 Bombay bombings, followed by No Smoking (2007), Dev D (2009), Gulaal (2009), That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). As a screenwriter, he wrote the scripts for the Filmfare Award-winning Satya (1998) and the Academy Award-nominated Canadian film Water (2005).

In 1999, Kashyap won the Best Screenplay award for Satya at the Star Screen Awards. The next year, his short film Last Train to Mahakali won the Special Jury Award at the same awards. His feature film debut Black Friday won the Grand Jury Prize at the 3rd Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (2005), and was a nominee for the "Golden Leopard" (Best Film) at the 57th Locarno International Film Festival (2004). In 2010, he announced his association withTumbhi where he and his team will make six short films for Tumbhi and start his blog with them, as well He was listed on the The DNA power list: Top 50 influentials, a list of 50 most influential Indians in 2011. Kashyap currently serves on the board of Mumbai-based NGO, Aangan Trust, which helps protect vulnerable children around India. He is one of the most influential and important directors in India.

Ekta Kapoor

Ekta Kapoor is the daughter of actor Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor. Her brother Tusshar Kapoor is also a Bollywood actor. She did her schooling at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim and attended college at Mithibai College.

She has produced numerous soap opera, television series and movies. Her most popular path breaking soaps being Hum Paanch, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Kaahin Kissii Roz, Kabhii Sautan Kabhii Sahelii, Kahiin to Hoga, Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil, Kasamh Se, Kkusum, Kutumb, Bandini, Kitani Mohabbat Hai, Tere Liye, Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani, Parichay—Nayee Zindagi Kay Sapno Ka, Gumrah – End Of Innocence and many others. She is currently producing Pavitra Rishta, Bade Achhe Lagte Hain, Mera Tera Rishta Purana and Jodha Akbar.

She ventured into Bollywood movie production in 2001 beginning with Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta . Kucch To Hai and Krishna Cottage based on supernatural themes followed in 2003 and 2004. Kyaa Kool Hai Hum starring her brother Tusshar Kapoor proved to be her breakout hit and went on to become one of the highest earners of 2005. She then went on to co-produce Shootout at Lokhandwala with Sanjay Gupta which became her profitable venture at the box office. Mission Istanbul and EMI – Liya Hai Toh Chukana Parega in collaboration with Sunil Shetty followed. The years 2010 and 2011 proved to be important for her with critical and commercial successes such as Love Sex aur Dhokha, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Shor in the City, Ragini MMS, Kyaa Super Kool Hai Hum and The Dirty Picture.[5] Her upcoming productions include Ek Thi Daayan, Shootout at Wadala, Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi, Lootera, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Again, Ragini MMS 2, Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Milan Talkies, Main Tera Hero and The Villian

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan (11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades. Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. So total was his dominance of the movie scene in the 1970s and 1980s that the French director Francois Truffaut called him a "one-man industry”. He occupied the top slot of Box Office India's Top Actors list for a record (shared with Dilip Kumar) sixteen consecutive years.

Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including three National Film Awards as Best Actor he shares with Mammootty and Kamal Hassan, a number of awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies and fourteen Filmfare Awards. He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 37 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contributions towards the arts.

Salman Khan

Salman Khan born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965) is an Indian film actor, producer, television presenter, and philanthropist. The son of actor and screenwriter Salim Khan, Khan began his acting career with Biwi Ho To Aisi but it was his second film Maine Pyar Kiya in which he acted in a lead role that garnered him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Khan has starred in several commercially successful films, such as Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Judwaa (1997), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998), Biwi No.1 (1999), and Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), having appeared in the highest grossing film nine separate years during his career, a record that remains unbroken.

In 1999, Khan won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended guest appearance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). In 2011, he won the Screen Award for Best Actor for his performance in Dabangg and in 2012, he won the Best Actor Popular Choice for his performances in Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2. Eight of the films he has acted in, have accumulated gross earnings of over 100 crore (US$18 million) worldwide. He played leading roles in five consecutive blockbusters including Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, and Dabangg 2. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films and thus far has established himself as a leading actor of Hindi cinema.

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan born Aamir Hussain Khan on 14 March 1965) is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.

Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional career eleven years later with Holi (1984) and had his first commercial success with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). He received his first National Film Award (Special Jury Award) for his role in the film Raakh (1989). After seven previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the major grosser Raja Hindustani (1996) and later earned his second Best Actor award for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan, which also marked the debut of his own production company.

Following a four-year break from acting, Khan made his comeback playing the title role in the historical Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and later won a Critics Award for Best Performance for his role in Rang De Basanti (2006). The following year, he made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par, for which he received a Filmfare Award for Best Director. This was followed by Ghajini (2008), which became the highest grossing film of that year, and 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time, unadjusted for inflation. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.