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- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Rajiv Hari "Akshay Kumar" Om Bhatia was born on September 09, 1967, in Amritsar, Punjab to Aruna Bhatia and Hari Om Bhatia. He is an Indian actor, film producer, former model, and television personality. He went to Bangkok to learn how to use a sword and also worked as a waiter in a restaurant. He studied martial arts in Hong Kong. It was a student who suggested that he should try modeling. Because of his success as model, he was offered films. Along with his good looks and excellent martial art skills, he was always the first choice to do adventurous movies. He does his own stunts in his films. His breakthrough performance was in Saugandh (1991). He was well known for his Khiladi series, an Indian version of James Bond, such as Mr. Bond (1992), Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi (1997) and Khiladi 420 (2000). He dated strings of his co-stars including Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Pooja Batra and Rekha. His recent critically acclaimed performances include Airlift (2016), Baby (2015) and Rustom (2016). He is married to former actress and now author Twinkle Khanna with whom he has two children.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Richa began her career as a model and then she moved to theater. She has performed plays touring in India and Pakistan. Later, she also received her training under Barry John
Richa acted in the critically acclaimed movie Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! as the character of Dolly, both the movie and her role were well appreciated. She was cast by Anurag Kashyap for his movies Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 and Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 wherein she plays the pivotal character of Nagma Khatoon in the narrative. In the movie, she matured from 16 to 60 years of age. She got the name "Ms. Fire" for her spirited portrayal in the epic movie. This performance was well appreciated by the Critics. The movie was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and the entire cast was present at the event.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Kapil Sharma is an Indian stand-up comedian, TV anchor and singer.He was selected among top 100 celebrities in 2013 Forbes India magazines and he was ranked 96th in that list. Currently he hosts The Kapil Sharma Show.[2] He also hosted television comedy shows like Comedy Nights with Kapil, The Kapil Sharma Show, Family Time with Kapil, Chhote Miyan and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa season 6 on Colors. In 2009, he joined the comedy reality show Hans Baliye as a wild card entry.He also won comedy series Comedy Circus Ke Superstars.At CNN-IBN Indian of the Year awards, Sharma was felicitated with Entertainer of the Year award for 2013 by Amol Palekar.In 2014 Lok Sabha Election, he was declared the Brand Ambassador by Delhi election commission.He was to make his film debut with Yashraj film's Bank Chor, but the comedian opted out of it.He is going feature as a first guest on the opening episode of the famous Indian television game show Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 8 on the 2nd of August.
Television The Great Indian Laughter Challenge as Contestant Comedy Circus as Contestant Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa season 6 as host with Manish Paul Star Ya Rockstar as Contestant Comedy Nights with Kapil as host Kaun Banega Crorepati as guest.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
On Stats Alone, The Most Popular Actor In The History Of Cinema!
The only actor to enjoy near God-like status across the length and breadth of India for a quarter century!
Elected in several expert online polls, as The Greatest Actor In The History Of World Cinema !
With 100+ All-Time Blockbusters- 48 Platinum Jubilee hits + 27 Golden Jubilee hits + 26 Silver Jubilee Hits, & 17 average hits, over 25 yrs.
So these quite wonderful film business websites have come up with a inflation adjusted analysis of few of his random films, which I shall present about now, just to open the eyes of today's audiences, to just the massive quantum of collections, achieved by this one actor alone. They've done this chronologically for just few of his mildly to very successful (~42/125 ie 1/3rd) lead/parallel lead films leaving out vast sums of his other massively successful films , from late 60s to late 90s, & only inflation-adjusted worldwide collection numbers, so audiences of today can get a decent idea.
1. Raaz - 284 Crores 2. Bandhan - 437 Crores 3. Aradhana - 1092 Crores 4. Ittefaq - 266 Crores 5. Doli - 344 Crores 6. Do Raaste - 1014 Crores 7. Kati Patang - 540 Crores 8. Safar - 426 Crores 9. The Train - 284 Crores 10. Sachcha Jhutha - 781 Crores 11. Aan Milo Sajna - 710 Crores 12. Amar Prem - 387 Crores 13. Mehboob Ki Mehndi - 233 Crores 14. Anand - 220 Crores 15. Haathi Mere Saathi - 903 Crores 16. Andaz - 516 Crores 17. Maryada - 581 Crores 18. Dushman - 644 Crores 19. Apna Desh - 492 Crores 20. Shehzada - 223 Crores 21. Daag - 689 Crores 22. Namak Haraam - 212 Crores 23. Aap Ki Kasam - 311 Crores 24. Prem Nagar - 440 Crores 25. Ajnabee - 243 Crores 26. Roti - 388 Crores 27. Prem Kahani - 168 Crores 28. Maha Chor - 143 Crores 29. Mehbooba - 177 Crores 30. Chhaila Babu - 197 Crores 31. Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka - 146 Crores 32. Muqabla - 175 Crores 33. Amar Deep - 139 Crores 34. Thodisi Bewafai - 143 Crores 35. Kudrat - 174 Crores 36. Fiffty Fiffty - 179 Crores 37. Rajput - 339 Crores 38. Ashanti - 217 Crores 39. Dharam Kanta - 272 Crores 40. Maqsad - 318 Crores 41. Swarg - 85 Crores 42. Aa Ab Laut Chalen - 153 Crores
Have a look at that. And we've just begun checking (a random 1/3rd of his films) !
He was born on 29 December 1942 in Amritsar, Punjab, India, and entered Hindi films in the year 1965 when began shooting for Raaz and did 180 films - 163 feature films and 17 short films. By 2011, he held the record for maximum number of films as solo lead hero and least number of multi star cast films in Hindi Cinema. Of the 163 films - 106 were solo hero films and 22 were multi star films and 29 films had him in special effective guest appearances(though only 97 solo and 20 two hero films only released and 11 unreleased from 1966 till 2013).He ranked first and won the United Producers All India Contest held in 1965 by beating 10000 candidates and the prize of it was acting in films Akhri Khat and Raaz. He first tasted success as an actor with 3 consecutive hit films like Aakhri Khat,Raaz and Aurat.His first brush with super-stardom was when outburst from his fans forced the director to change the story of Baharaon Ke Sapne's ending from a tragic one to a happy one after 1 week of its release. Though Baharon Ke Sapne was average in some centers it was declared flop in most places. In 1969 Rajesh Khanna achieved super-stardom with Shakti Samantha's 'Aradhana" (1969).He became the craze of the nation, and critics across India started calling him the First Superstar of both Indian Cinema (No. 1 Actor) and Hindi Films and remained so alone as the Superstar for 7 years (1969-1976) and had to share the status with Amitabh from 1977-1991 till he left films to join politics in 1991.He overtook his predecessors Dev-Dilip-Raj, Shammi Kapoor,Rajendra Kumar in terms of extreme popularity with audience and critics, quality of performances, variety of roles and films by doing quickly 47 films from 1966-75 which included 36 Golden Jubilee Hits(21 of the 36 were platinum) and 4 silver silver jubilee hits and only 7 flops in 9 years. He also made the world record of having 17 successive super-hits in 3 years from 1969-71 which included 15 consecutive solo super-hit films and 2 two hero films namely Andaz and Maryada. The main difference between him and his predecessors,successors, contemporaries was that Khanna's films ran successfully in whole of India and not just Hindi speaking areas and he did films of every genre simultaneously and has more critically acclaimed films to his credit than all other Hindi Actors of every generation. He stands out even by selection of his films as he regularly did both offbeat alternate cinema along with commercial potboiler films and had success in both.He introduced intelligent cinema to the masses with ease. Those 15 consecutive hit solo lead hero films from 1969-71 were Aradhana, Doli, Bandhan, Ittefaq, Do Raaste, Khamoshi, Safar, The Train, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Mehboob Ki Mehendi, Choti Bahu, Anand and Haathi Mere Saathi. His next release Maalik flopped ending thereby the record.
Anju Mahendru was his girl friend in 1968-1972, the then aspiring actress but they had breakup in 1972 when Anju was not ready for marriage while Khanna wanted to marry her, and Khanna married his fan Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, 8 months before Dimple's debut film Bobby released in theaters.
Khanna's pairing with Mumtaz always produced much success as they had all of their 8 films together as major platinum jubilee hits.His films with Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh, Tanuja, Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman was a favorite with audiences too in 70's.
From 1976 on-wards till 1978, he had 5 box office hits as lead hero(2 silver jubilee hits, 2 platinum hits, 1 average hit), 3 hits in guest appearances, 1 flop in guest appearance and 8 films of him as the main lead flopped unexpectedly although his performances and the film's music were praised by critics and thereby 76-78 is considered his bad phase.
K.Balaji wanted to establish himself in Hindi film industry as a producer and thereby wanted to remake his Tamil film Sivaji Ganeshan starer Dheepam in Hindi. At a time when Khanna's films were not working at the box office, Khanna got this film out of the blue and went on to become a big hit. Khanna bounced back with twin success of Amardeep and Prem Bandhan then again started giving many critically acclaimed and commercially successful films including 35 Golden Jubilee Hits(includes 25 platinum) and 14 SJH starting from 1979 till 1991 and had 9 average hits from 1976-1996. In the 80's his films opposite Tina Munim, Hema Malini, Reena Roy, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Poonam Dhillon were big hits.
He produced three films and co-produced 4 films. He had total 105 box office hits(91 as lead hero and 14 in guest appearance) from 1966-1991.He left film industry in 1991 and entered politics by joining the Congress Party in 1991 and became a member of parliament. Khanna was awarded Filmfare Special award in 1991 for having starred in 101 films as the solo lead hero(92 solo film released till 1992 and includes 7 unreleased solos and Anuraag) and having done just 21 two hero films(only 19 released till 1991) but having appeared in 153 films in short span of 25 years between 1966-1991. Has won most number of All India Critics Award for Best Actor for a record 7 times and was nominated for same 10 times.He holds record for being the actor to win maximum BJFA awards for Best Actor - 4 and was nominated the most for it - 25 times.He is still adored and fondly remembered by the masses. Songs from his films adorn the lips of youth and adolescents. He was the first mega-star and has left behind a storehouse of the finest moments in film history.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ravi Kapoor was born in a business family that dealt with imitation Jewelery and used to live in a chawl. While supplying jewelry to V. Shantaram, he was cast as Sandhya's double in the 1959 movie 'Navrang'.
His first break as a Bollywood leading man came in 'Geet Gaya Patharon Ne'. Although Ravi Kapoor was born on April 7, 1942, Jeetendra birth's took place in 1964.When he was to go for auditions, he used to seek help from his childhood friend Rajesh Khanna to mug up his dialog and get guidance to give expressions.Geet Gaaya Pattharonne was his first hit, but that didn't fetch him offers as lead hero. It was Farz released in 1967, which was his 4th film appearance and 3 rd as the male lead, which made him a known face in the public.
Ravi had met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways.
Shobha gave birth to a daughter, Ekta, and subsequently to a son, Tusshar. While Ekta became a producer of TV serials, mostly starting with 'K', Tusshar followed in his dad's footsteps. Ekta and Jeetu run a production company by the name of Balaji Films, and have produced Bollywood movies. Their TV productions are usually in Hindi & Tamil languages.
Jeetendra has acted opposite Rajshree Shantaram, Mumtaz, Saira Banu, Mala Sinha, Nanda, Sharmila Tagore,Asha Parekh, Babita, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee, Reena Roy, Jaya Pradha, Sridevi, Komal, Rekha, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Padmni Kolhapuri,Bhanupriya, Madhavi, Anita Raaj, Sangeeta Bijlani, Ashwini Bhave.
Whether running around trees (Tumhari Kasam, Ek Hi Bhool, Mawaali),singing songs (Banphool, Humjoli, Jigri Dost) or playing serious characters (Parichay, Khushboo, Dulhan, Kinara, Meri Awaz Suno,Chhup) or doing old man leading roles (Udhaar Ki Zindagi, Santaan, Jeetendra has always proved himself as an excellent actor, a family man, whose marriage is still intact, and someone who has yet to be involved in any controversy. He did 93 films as the solo lead hero and 103 multi star films as the lead hero and 2 films as a supporting actor and made guest appearances in 26 films.
Ravi had met his present wife, Shobha, when she was only 14. She completed school, went to college, and was employed as an Air Hostess with British Airways. When Jeetendra was struggling between 1960-66 to establish himself as an actor, he was in relationship with Shobha and Shobha was his girlfriend till 1972. But in 1974, after having worked in films like Waris and Gehri Chaal, friendship between Jeetendra and Hema Malini grew and while shooting for Dulhan, both expressed love for each-other and decided to have a quick marriage.But soon this information reached Shobha and Dharmendra.Shobha asked Dharmendra to change Hema's mind as she was in love with Jeetendra since many years. Soon both Shobha and Dharemndra came by helicopter and convinced Jeetendra and Hema not to marry. Jeetendra promised Shobha that if Bidai becomes a hit, he would marry her in 1974. It was not until the release of 'Bidaai"(opposite Leena Chandavarkar) on October 18, 1974, that Jeetendra and Shobha decided to get married, which they did in a simple ceremony on at Janki Kutir with only a few family and friends present (Gulzar, Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar amongst the noted celebrities). The marriage was arranged hastily, as even Shobha's mom, who was in Japan at that time, could not attend.
Jeetendra's friendship with both actors Dharmendra, Hema Malini never got affected after this incident. All 3 remained friends. Jeetendra worked with Dharmendra and had hits like Dharamveer, Jaani Dost, Insaaf Ki Pukar, Nafrat Ki Andhi and flops like The Burning Train, Samraat, The Gold Medal, Jaan Hatheli Pe, Paapi Devtaa, Dharma Karma. Childhood school and college friends Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra worked together and gave 3 blockbusters in the 1980's- Dharam Kanta(1982), Nishaan(1983) and Maqsad(1984). Infact all 3 films revenue showed increasing trend. Maqsad was the highest box office earner in the year 1984. Jeetendra made guest appearances in Roti, Palkon Ki Chaon Mein and Begunaah - all three films which had Rajesh Khanna as the solo lead hero. Jeetendra-Rekha were romantically paired in 26 films and had 16 hits of the 26 films as lead pair starting from 1972-1998 and only 10 flops. In addition Rekha and Jeetendra worked in another 5 films where they were not paired opposite each-other.Jeetendra-Sridevi did 16 films together between 1983-88 and 13 of them were hits and 3 were flops. Jeetendra and Jaya Prada were romantically paired opposite each other in 24 films and 18 of them were box office hits and 6 were flops. In addition 2 more films they did together where they were not paired opposite each-other. Jeetendra gave 113 box office hits (excluding guest appearances in hits Navrang, Khilona, Roti, Umar Qaid, Rani Aur Lalpari,Naya Bakra, Anokha Bandhan, Begunaah and Om Shanti Om) as the lead hero from 1964-1997, off the 198 films he appeared till 2007 as lead hero.He appeared in guest appearance in 26 other movies from 1959 to 2007 and 2 more films in supporting role after 2000. Jeetendra was 2nd highest paid Hindi actor from 1980-89. He made a guest appearance in a TV serial 'Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki'.Hence his total film appearances were in 226 films and 121 of them were box office hits and 102 were flops.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Deepa Mehta is a transnational artist and a screenwriter, director, and producer whose work has been called "courageous", "provocative" and "breathtaking". Her visually lush and emotionally resonating films have played at every major international film festival; receiving numerous awards and accolades, and have been distributed around the world. Deepa was born in India and received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi before immigrating to Canada. She began her career making documentaries in India.
In 1991, Deepa's first feature film Sam & Me, which stars Om Puri, won a Special Jury Mention in the Camera D'Or section at the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1992-1994 she directed two episodes of The Young Indiana Jones, produced by George Lucas for ABC. In 1993, Deepa directed her second feature film Camilla, a Canada-UK co-pro starring Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, Elias Koteas, Maury Chaykin, Graham Greene, and Hume Cronyn. Fire, which Deepa wrote and directed, is the first film in her Elemental Trilogy (Fire, Earth, Water). Fire opened Perspective Canada at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was runner-up for the People's Choice Most Popular Film Award. It played at the New York Film Festival and won many awards worldwide, including the Audience Award for Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver International Festival, the Special Jury Prize at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and Silver Hugo Awards for Best Direction and Best Actress in Chicago.
Earth, based on Bapsi Sidhwa's acclaimed novel about Partition, Cracking India, is the second film in the Elemental Trilogy. It premiered as a Special Presentation at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Prix Premiere du Public at the Festival du Film Asiatique de Deauville and the Critics' Award at the Verona Schermi d'Amore International Film Festival. Bollywood/Hollywood was a change of pace. Written and directed by Deepa, it is a lighthearted, affectionate comedy about two mismatched lovers. It opened Perspective Canada at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was a tremendous crossover box office success. It remains one of the top 10 grossing English language Canadian movies. In 2003 Deepa co-wrote and directed the Canada-UK co-pro The Republic of Love, based on a Carol Shields novel.
After a disrupted and hazardous production history Deepa's final film in the Elemental Trilogy Water opened the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was the first Canadian film acquired by US distributor Fox Searchlight. Water is a powerful, hauntingly tragic story, set in Benares (Varanasi) about a child widow who at the age of eight is forced to enter a house of widows where she has to live for the rest of her life. The movie was to have been shot in India in 2000, but Hindu fundamentalists fomented riots, burnt sets, and issued death threats against the director and actors, forcing production to shut down and the filmmakers to leave the country. Water was successfully remounted in Sri Lanka and completed shooting in June 2004, and features many of India's most renowned actors.
Water was an enormous success. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, and has screened at festivals around the world, winning many awards, and remains an audience favourite. The Vancouver Film Critics Circle named Deepa Mehta the Best Canadian Director of 2006. This fall (2015) is the 10th anniversary of Water's launch.
In 2006 Deepa made a documentary about domestic violence in Toronto's immigrant families called Let's Talk About It, which continues to be used in community outreach programs. She then thematically segued into the feature film Heaven On Earth, which explores arranged marriages and isolation. Starring Preity Zinta, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008. It was awarded a Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival, and received the Best Screenplay Award at the Dubai International Film Festival. It also won the Youth Jury Award at the Schermi d'Amore Film Festival in Verona and the Audience Award at the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival.
In 2012, Deepa completed her epic cinematic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's famous novel about the history of India in the 20th century, Midnight's Children. A novel that won three Booker prizes. The movie, with 127 speaking parts, and covering five distinct time periods from 1917-1977, was a vast, ambitious undertaking and has screened all over the world, including the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival. Midnight's Children was chosen as the Best Feature Film of 2013 at the Directors Guild of Canada's Awards.
Deepa's work as an artist, as a progressive voice about social issues, and her generous mentorship have often been recognized. She has received numerous honorary degrees and many awards and honours, among them: The Life of Distinction Award from the Canadian Centre of Diversity, The Excellence in the Arts Award from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Woman of Distinction, President's Award from the YMCA. She is a recipient of the Governor General's Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Film. Most recently, in 2013, Deepa was appointed as an officer to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for her work as a "groundbreaking screenwriter, director, and producer." She is also a recipient of the province of Ontario's highest honour, the Order of Ontario.- Actress
- Music Department
Shehnaaz Gill is an actor, singer, and model. She has acted in several Hindi and Punjabi movies and television programs. Besides grabbing the third position in the reality TV show, Bigg Boss 13, Gill won the Bollywood Life Television Award (2021), along with Sidharth Shukla as the Best Social Media TV Couple.
After completing her schooling at the Dalhousie Hilltop School, Gill graduated in commerce from the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara.
Gill had a keen interest in acting and singing during her childhood. Her first modelling assignment was in Shiv Di Kitaab, a 2015 music video. She also appeared in the music videos Shartaan: Deep Bhangu feat. Shehnaz Kaur Gill (2016) and Rishtey Te Rishta (2016) and Karan Sehmbi & Tanishq Kaur: Pyar (2017).
Gill started her acting career with Sat Shri Akaal England (2017), a Punjabi movie directed by Vikram Pradhan. Her second film was Kala Shah Kala (2019), in which she acted alongside Binnu Dhillon and Sargun Mehta. Gill has also appeared in movies like Daaka (2019), Silsila Sidnaaz Ka (2021), and Honsla Rakh (2021).
Besides movies, Gill has also been featured in many music videos, including Khauff (2019), Darshan Raval's Darshan Raval: Bhula Dunga (2020), Jassie Gill's Jassie Gill: Keh Gayi Sorry (2020), Arjun Kanungo's Arjun Kanungo: Waada Hai (2020), and Badshah's Badshah & Uchana Amit: Fly (2021). In 2021, she was featured in the music video Shehnaaz Gill: Tu Yaheen Hai (2021). She was also seen in the television show Shaandaar Ravivar (2020).
Gill also hosts the talk show Desi Vibes With Shehnaaz. She has interviewed Bollywood stars like Shahid Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, and Kapil Sharma on her show.- Actress
- Director
- Music Department
Deepti Naval is an Indian film actor, director, writer, painter and photographer. After her schooling at the Sacred Heart Convent, Amritsar, she migrated to the US where she studied Painting, English and Psychology at the City University of New York and received her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts at Hunter College in Manhattan. Her interest in a whole range of other subjects led her to study American Theater, Photography, and Astronomy. After graduation Deepti had a brief stint with the Gene Frankle Institute of Film and Television pursuing her passion for cinema and acting.
A multi-faceted personality, her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and close to life characters that emphasized the changing role of women in India. The first American-Indian actor to join Hindi films, Deepti made her debut in the year 1980 with the path-breaking film Ek Baar Phir, for which she won her first Best Actor award, and has since appeared in more than 90 films carving a distinct niche for herself in the Indian Film Industry. Prominent among these are - Kamla, Ankahi, Main Zinda Hoon, Panchvati, Leela, Freaky Chakra, Didi, Firaaq and more recently, Memories in March, Listen Amaya, Boy With the Top Knot, Lion, NH-10 and Goldfish. She made her debut in theatre with the poetic stage play, Ek Mulaqaat where she played the celebrated Punjabi writer, Amrita Pritam along with Shekhar Suman who played lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi.
Through her work, Deepti has given a prolific aspect to neo-realistic cinema, making her one of the most celebrated and respected artists of her time. She was awarded Best Actor in several international film festivals for her various roles and recognized as the 2007 Tribute Honoree of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
Her directorial debut, Do Paise Ki Dhoop Chaar Aane Ki Baarish on Netflix, won her the Best Screenplay award at the New York Film Festival. She also wrote and directed Thodasa Aasmaan, a women-centric TV serial and produced a travel show called The Path Less Travelled.
As a writer Deepti has four books to her credit. Lamha Lamha her first collection of poems was published in the year 1981. Her second book, Black Wind and Other Poems was published in 2004. The Mad Tibetan: Stories From Then and Now in 2011 displayed her skill as a storyteller. Her recently published memoir, A Country Called Childhood has garnered critical acclaim. Written with charming honesty, her visually rich and evocative prose speaks of her growing years in Amritsar during the tumultuous 50s and the 60s.
As a painter her knife work with oil on canvas is distinctly expressionistic, especially her landscapes, figures, self-portraits and sketches. Reflections was her first solo exhibiton in 1995 at the Jehangir Art Gallery followed by several exhibits in India and abroad. Her paintings are mostly self portraits as she explores different spheres through self. Her landscapes and Kumaon series are a capture of her travels.
FAMILY: Deepti's father, Uday Chandra Naval, hailed from Punjab and was a professor teaching English at Lehman College, City University of New York. He had graduated with honors in English literature from Govt. College Lahore during pre-partition India. Her mother, Himadri Gangahar, was a painter who was born and raised in Burma. She received her education at the Jesus and Mary Convent in Mandalay and later migrated to India during the Japanese invasion in 1942. Himadri's fascination for music, dance, and drama influenced her younger daughter through bedtime stories.
Deepti's older sister, Smiti Khanna, is a biochemist who spent substantial years working on cancer research at the Sloan Kettering Institute in NYC. Her younger brother, Rohit Naval, is a technology product designer and lives with his family in Long Island. Deepti's nephew Sanaj Naval who starred in her debut film as director, Do Paise Ki Dhoop Chaar Aaane Ki Baarish is all set to be a full-time actor.
AWARDS:
Best Actress Filmworld Award for Ek Baar Phir, 1981 Best Actress Award for Leela at Karachi Int'l Film Festival Best Actress for Memories in March at Madrid Imagine India International Film Festival Best Screenplay Award for Do Paise KI Dhoop Chaar Aane KI Baarish at NYIFF (New York Indian Film Festival). Best Actress Award for Listen Amaya at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2013. Deepti Naval Nominated for Best Actress, at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2013 Edition.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:
Goldfish (2023) The Boy With The Top Knot ( 2017) Lion (2016) NH-10 ( 2015) Heartless (2014) Listen Amaya (2013) Memories in March (2011) Firaaq( 2008) Freaky Chakra ( 2003) Shakti: The Power (2002) Leela ( 2002) Bawandar (2000) Current (1992) Suryodaya (1991) Mane/Ek Ghar (1991) Didi ( 1989) Marhi Da Deeva (1989) Mirch Masala (1987) Panchvati ( 1986) Ankahee (1985) Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasaan (1984) Andhi Gali (1984) Kamla (1984) Kissise Na Kehna (1983) Katha (1983) Angoor (1982) Saath Saath (1982) Chirutha (1981) Chashme Buddoor (1981) Hum Paanch (1980) Ek Baar Phir (1980)- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Apinderdeep Singh Born on March 3, 1994, in Amritsar, Punjab, India, Apinderdeep Singh is a well-deserving actor making waves in the Indian film industry. He gained popularity through his role of Swarn Singh Sivia in the biographical drama Amar Singh Chamkila (2024), directed by Imtiaz Ali.
Early Life and Education: Apinderdeep Singh comes from a Sikh family and spent his early childhood in Amritsar. He completed his formal education at Shri Guru Harkrishan Public School and later pursued a diploma in Civil Engineering from Government Polytechnic College Amritsar (2014) and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Amritsar Group of Colleges (2018).
Career: Apinderdeep Singh began his acting career in 2016 with the film "The Battle of Saragarhi," which unfortunately got shelved due to unforeseen circumstances. Undeterred, he started working as an assistant director on several projects, including:
· "Jersey" (2022) as an intern assistant director to Gowtam Tinnanuri · "Middle-class Love" (2022) as a 3rd assistant director to Ratna Sinha · "Breathe Into The Shadows" Season 2 (2022) as a 3rd assistant director to Mayank Sharma
He gained recognition for his role as Sukhi in Netflix's original film Jogi (2022), directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, where he portrayed Sukhi, the elder brother of Jogi, who helped his family escape the 1984 Sikh riots. He also played the role of Harnaam Singh in the historical drama Savarkar (2024), directed by Randeep Hooda. He has a few other projects in pipeline and audience is likely to see more of his craft in the time to come.
Personal Life Apinderdeep Singh's family resides in Amritsar, including his father, S. Surinder Singh, and mother, Mrs. Kamaljeet Kaur. He has an elder sister who lives in Ontario, Canada.
With his dedication and passion for acting, Apinderdeep Singh is sure to make a mark in the Indian film industry.- Actor
- Music Department
- Director
Vinod Mehra was born on 13 February 1945 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. He was an actor and director, known for Gurudev (1993), Crime and Punishment (1974) and Parde Ke Peechey (1971). He was married to Meena Broca, Bindiya Goswami, Kiran and Neeta Mehta. He died on 30 October 1990 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Dara Singh Randhawa (Born Deedar Singh Randhawa, Nov 19, 1928- 12 July 2012 ) was an Indian Wrestler, Film and Television Actor, Director, Producer and Member of Parliament. He was encouraged to take up pehelwani since an early age. He started his wrestling career in Singapore in 1949 and Films in 1952. He hails from the village of Dharmuchak in Amritsar, Punjab. In July 2012, He suffered a cardiac arrest and eventually died on July 12, at his home in Mumbai. He was cremated at Juhu Crematorium with a funeral service attended by thousands In 2019, A statue was erected in his honour at Phase 6, Mohali, Punjab next to his Film Studio, Dara Studio.
Films and TV- Dara started his film career in 1952 with Sangdil and went on to do between 150-200 films and TV serials. He was a part of two national award winning Punjabi Films, Jagga and Mai Maa Punjab Dee. He established Punjab's first film Studio, Dara Studio.
Family- Dara has 6 Children. 1 from his first marriage and 5 from his second.
Wrestling- Dara left studies at an early age to work on his family farm and wrestled locally. He went to Singapore for work in 1949 on board the SS Rajula and had his first international kushti win at Jakarta, Indonesia in the same year. He earlier worked at a Drum Manufacturing plant and later as a security personnel, before doing wrestling full time. During this time he dabbled between Kushti, Freestyle Wrestling and Pro wrestling. He went on to win Champion of Malaysia, Indian Style (1951). This cemented his name which eventually made him rise up in the professional and freestyle wrestling ring, leading him to Rustom-E-Hind (1954), Champion of Commonwealth (1959), Rustom-E-Punjab (1966), World Champion (1968) and NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship, earning him a spot in Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Hall of Fame (1996) and WWE Hall of Fame. (2018).
Biographies- His auto-biography is titled Meri Aatamkatha. (Original Language- Punjabi) His biography Deedara! aka Dara Singh is written by Seema Sonik Alimchand
He is also the subject of a comic book, Journey of the Great Dara Singh, launched in 2019 at Mumbai Comic-Con.- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Amrinder Singh Gill is a Punjabi singer, songwriter, actor and film producer. He started his singing career in 2000 with the album "Apni Jaan Ke". Gill was raised in Boorchand, Amritsar, Punjab. He has studied at Khalsa College, Amritsar. He received master's degree in agriculture science. He is an alumnus of Guru Nanak Dev University. During college, he performed Bhangra dance as a support artist for personalities like Sarbjit Cheema. Before starting his singing career, he worked in the Ferozepur Central Cooperative Bank as a Manager.
He made his acting debut under Punjabi Director Manmohan Singh's super hit Punjabi Film Munde UK De in 2009 in a supporting role with Jimmy Shergill and Neeru Bajwa. He followed that up with a lead role in Manmohan Singh's Ik Kudi Punjab Di. His next film Taur mittran Di for Jimmy Shergill productions released in May 2012, it paired him with actress Surveen Chawla and MTV VJ and Bollywood actor Rannvijay Singh. It Opened to a below average response, it had the seventh highest opening day in Punjabi Films. His next movie was Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22 which pairs him with Punjabi rapper Honey Singh and actress Mandy Takhar.
After that he was seen in Saadi Love Story that co starred Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa and Surveen Chawla and was directed by Dheeraj Rattan who's written several films for of Punjabi Cinema. He then worked in Daddy Cool Munde Fool in the same year for which he was applauded both by critics and masses. His 2014 hit, Goreyan Nu Daffa Karo also earned him praise. However, his best performance so far, is considered to be Angrej - 2015 which has cemented Amrinder Gill's performance as a terrific actor in the industry. Critics as well as masses have given rave reviews about this film. His latest release, Lahoriye (released in 2017) and Love Punjab were declared blockbusters which further made him the leading star in Pollywood and garnered praise from both critics and audiences.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Ranjeet Bedi was born on 12 September 1942 in Jandiala Guru, Amritsar, Punjab, British India. He is an actor and director, known for Amir Garib (1974), Namak Halaal (1982) and Heeralal Pannalal (1978).- Vijay Arora was born on 27 December 1944 in Amritsar, Punjab, British India. He was an actor, known for Jeevan Jyoti (1976), Procession of Memories (1973) and Veerana (1988). He was married to Dilbar Arora. He died on 2 February 2007 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
- Abhishek Sharma was born on 4 September 2000 in Amritsar, Punjab, India.
- Actress
- Costume Designer
Shoma Anand was born on 16 February 1958 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. She is an actress and costume designer, known for Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Hungama (2003) and Salma (1985). She was previously married to Tariq Shah.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Vipul Mehta in an Indian film and TV writer, director, and producer who is best know for his writing works in TV series' like Kyunki... Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000-2001), which he also produced and Pyaar Ki Kashti Mein (2004). His 2023 directorial credit Kanjoos Makhichoos, a Hindi Bollywood film starring Kunal Kemmu, Shweta Tripathi, Raju Srivastav, Piyush Mishra. His 2017 directorial credit includes Carry on Kesar, a Gujarati film starring Supriya Phatak, Darshan Jariwala and Avani Modi. He has directed the 2017 Gujarati movie Best of Luck Laalu, starring Supriya Pathak Kapur, Muni Dilip Jha, Smit Ganatra, Simran Natekar, Devarshi Trivedi, Rishabh Joshi, Abhay Harpale, Kurush Deboo and Devarshi Shah.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Vikas Khanna was born on 14 November 1971 in Amritsar, India. He is a director and writer, known for The Last Color (2019), Barefoot Empress (2022) and Untitled Shabana Azmi/Vikas Khanna Project.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Geeta Bali was born on 30 November 1930 in Amritsar, Punjab, British India. She was an actress and producer, known for Albela (1951), Baaz (1953) and Bawre Nain (1950). She was married to Shammi Kapoor. She died on 21 January 1965 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.- Actress
- Writer
Bharti Singh was born on 3 July 1984 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. She is an actress and writer, known for Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe (2012), The Kapil Sharma Show (2016) and Kahani Comedy Circus Ki (2012). She has been married to Harsh Limbachiyaa since 3 December 2017.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tusharr Khanna was born on 22 August 1995 in Amritsar. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Starfish (2023), The Last Color (2019) and Piyaa Albela (2017).- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guneet Dogra is an Indian film producer, who started out on the sets of some of the most engaging niche films made in India, including 'Bhaag Milka Bhaag', 'Qissa' and 'Zero Dark Thirty'. At the age of 17, he was already writing short films for the German filmmaker, Joanne Rousset. He has donned several other hats along the way, with handling post production on cult classic 'Monsoon Shootout' (2013), to working in the direction team for 'Tigers' (2014) and 'Zubaan' (2015).
He executed international projects such as 'The Ashram' (2018), 'Darkness Visible' (2019) and 'Watch List' (2019). Eventually he led teams as a Producer, creating just under a decade's worth of internationally acclaimed content at Sikhya Entertainment. In 2018, he won a Filmfare award for producing the short film, 'Plus Minus'. Last year he created a Flipkart Video Original, Hindi-language anthology film 'Zindagi inShort', which would shortly be streaming on Netflix. His last project is the Sanya Malhotra starrer 'Pagglait'.
His upcoming projects include a per independence drama, developed by Ravinder Randhawa and to be directed by Bharat Bala, and slice of life dramedy series title Thode Dur Thode Pass with Pankaj Kapur, Kunal Roy Kapoor and Mona Singh, directed by Ajay Bhuyan. He is also producing musical anthology directed by Jyoti Kapur Das. As part of a collaboration with Indian online self publishing and audio-book portal Pratilipi, he is also developing multiple projects based on stories of varying genres from the heartland of India.
He believes that art does not merely reflect reality- it enlarges it. Right collaboration and creative freedom are key phrases in his vocabulary. Cinema's ability to encompass most other mediums of art- narrative, poetry, music, performance- made it an ideal field for him to lay claim to. As someone who sees filmmaking as a process of self-discovery, his work is, at heart, an extension of himself.
With this philosophy in mind, he has embarked on a new venture in collaboration with Shriram Krishnan ( Ex-CFO Fox Star India ) to further the art and craft of meaningful commercial storytelling. Focused on strategic development, production and raising finance for live action and digital media content, their objective is to provide facilities to map out the entire production process and execute it with full perfection. Efficiently equipped and experienced in providing production services across the country, their team has a thorough understanding of the opportunities and challenges across the length and breadth of the country.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 - 27 September 2008), one of Hindi cinema's most prominent singers, on his 9th death anniversary.
Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar, but soon moved to Mumbai. At an early age he was inspired by singer Mohammed Rafi but he started learning classical music under classical singers like Pt. Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pt.Tulsidaas Sharma. Kapoor created a style of his own and won the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition, which led to his debut as a playback singer in V. Shantaram's Navrang in 1958, singing Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra.
Some of Kapoor's most notable songs were the ones he performed in B.R. Chopra's films (Dhool Ka Phool, Gumrah, Waqt, Hamraaz, Dhund and Nikaah) and for Manoj Kumar (Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim).
Kapoor had a very large vocal range, and he is sometimes known as The Vibrant Voice of India. He was the first Indian playback singer to record music in English. He was asked by the group Boney M to sing their songs in Hindi with Musarat from Pakistan, which resulted in the Pop Album M-3. Some of the songs on the album are "Chori Chori Chalo!!"(Original, Hoorray! Hoorray! by Boney M), "O Meri Champe Ki Daali". Most of the songs sung by Mahendra Kapoor are famous, whether they are from B R Chopra movies or Manoj Kumar's movies. His song from 'Bandhan', 'Shakti'. 'Doli', 'Ek Nazar', 'Admi Aur Insaan', 'Sangam', 'Tawaif' are also quite popular.
Mahendra Kapoor also sang a duet with Mohammed Rafi. The song was "Kaisi Haseen Aaj Baharon Ki Raat" from the 1967 film "Aadmi", which was originally recorded as a duet with Rafi and Talat Mehmood. Manoj Kumar, one of the lead stars refused to use Talat's voice for him and the song was re-recorded with Kapoor replacing Talat. Mahendra Kapoor also sang the Doha's, mantras, chopaiyan and also Title track of Mahabharat 1988 TV series.
Kapoor sung in a large number of Indian languages, and is the playback singer who has performed in the largest number of in Gujarati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Marathi movies. He also performed the title song for the TV series Mahabharat. In Marathi he was very popular for being the voice of Dada Kondke in all his movies. In spite of being associated with Dada Kondke's colloquial style his singing for Marathi movies was not limited to Dada Kondke's movies only.
Kapoor was married and had three daughters and also one son. His son Rohan Kapoor is an actor and singer, who acted in a few films in the 1980s such as Yash Chopra's Faasle (1985) and Love 86 (1986), and Prakash Mehra's Imandaar, and later did stage shows together with his father.
On 27 September 2008, Kapoor died following a cardiac failure. He was survived by his wife, children, children-in-law and grandchildren.
Mahendra Kapoor is one of the golden era singers when Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Manney Dey was ruling the main platform of playback singers of the bollywood. He remained as one of the most popular singer in the Bollywood who has given his voice to almost all of the popular heroes like Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shahsi Kapoor, Biswajeet, Raj Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bahchcan, Manoj Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughina Sinha and many more. For Punjabi movies he has given his voice to Varendra, Mehar Mittal, Prem Nath and many more. Till to date, there is many clones of Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh but there is none close clone to his voice. His voice was the most highest vocal in Bollywood.- Born at Amritsar, Indian Punjab in 1955, Pramod got his school and college education at Kapurthala. Besides active participation in college plays, he, along with drama enthusiasts like Lalit Behl, Satish Sharma and Ravi Deep, formed a group that made this small town a hub of theatre activities. After doing his postgraduate diploma in Indian Theatre from Punjab University, Chandigarh, he acted in a number of stage plays, TV serials, TV plays and telefilms at Punjab and Delhi. After having worked with directors like Shila Bhatia, Amal Allana, Nadira Babbar and Ram Gopal Bajaj, he moved to Mumbai to join film industry.
- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Veeru Devgan was born in Amritsar, British India. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999), Ishq (1997) and Mr. India (1987). He was married to Veena Devgan. He died on 27 May 2019 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.