Action Superhero: Akshay Kumar
This super-stylish actor from Bollywood is one of the top paid actors. He was born on September 9, 1967. This Indian actor has appeared in almost 80 movies by far. Primarily he made his mark as an action hero of Bollywood but in the recent years he has proved to portrait every role very efficiently. Before coming into Bollywood, Akshay used to work as Chef and he is very good at martial arts. The birth name of Akshay Kumar is Rajiv Om Bhatia. He was a student of Don Bosco School. He has come from a non-film background and despite that fact, he has given some superb performances in the films.
In the recent past, Akshay has evolved as the superstar of Bollywood along with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan. He has won the ‘Filmfare Best Villain Award’ for the movie ‘Ajnabee’(2001). He is one of the most prominent actors of Bollywood. Last year, Akshay had four releases and four of them have proved to be huge hits. His career reached great heights after the movie ‘Hera-Pheri’. In the recent past, Akshay has given the maximum hits. His movies include ‘Khiladi’, ‘Yeh Dillagi’, ‘Mohra’, ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anadi’, ‘Khakee’, ‘Aitraaz’, ‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’, ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Naamstey London’, ‘Heyy Babyy’, ‘Bhul Bhulaiya’ and lots of others. Akshay Kumar has a huge fan following and he will certainly give more commendable performance in the coming years. With such a deadly physique and a great sense of humor, Akshay Kumar ruled the Bollywood sets last year and will continue to do so, in the days to come.
Kangana Ranaut
The girl with poise: Kangana !
Born on 23rd March 2008 in Bhamla , Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut is the latest to create waves in Bollywood. Kangana Ranuat is an Indian actress who hails from a village called Bhamla. She did her schooling from a school in Shimla. She had studied science and had aspired to become a doctor. Kangana’s father is a businessman whereas her mother is a teacher. She had a passion for acting and has done a number of theatre shows in Delhi. She has an elder sister and a younger brother. Her first on screen appearance was in the movie ‘Gangster’ in 2006, which was directed by the much-acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Basu. The film was produced by Mahesh Bhatt and proved to be a huge hit both commercially and critically. The film also featured Shiney Ahuja and Imraan Hashmi. Kangana was very much appreciated.
For ‘Gangster’ Kangana Ranaut won the mentioned awards : 2006: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer – Female for Gangster 2007: GIFA Best Female Debut Award for Gangster 2007: Filmfare Best Female Debut Award for Gangster 2007: ;Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow – Female for Gangster 2007: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for Gangster 2007: IIFA Star debut for Gangster 2007: AIFA Awards, Best Debut – Female for Gangster 2007: Bollywood Movie Award – Best Female Debut for Gangster. ‘Woh Lamhe’ which was released in 2006 also helped Kangana in winning more praises. In the 2007 movie ‘Life In A…Metro’ Kanagna portrayed the role of a confused girl searching for real love. Kangana Ranaut is a brilliant actress.
Amrita Rao
The cute Amrita Rao !
One of the cutest looking female actors of Bollywood is Amrita Rao. This Bollywood actress was born on 7th June, 1981 and has remained a successful and popular model. At the beginning of her career, Amrita was a model and has featured in a number of advertisements which include: Cadbury’s Perk and Bru Coffee. These advertisements helped Amrita get offers for films by many filmmakers. The school where Amrita has studied is C.G High School and she took admission in Sophia College for pursuing a degree in psychology. When she was in college, she gave audition for an advertisement for Fairever Face Cream and was chosen amongst 60 other participants. This helped Amrita to become one of the sought after models in India.
It was after completing her education that Amrita Rao went into films. Her debut was ‘Ab Ke Baras’ in 2002 opposite Arya Babbar, the son of the popular yester actor Raj Babbar. This film did not fair well at the box office. In 2003, she appeared opposite the then newcomer Shahid Kapur in the Ken Ghosh directed film ‘Isqh Vishk’ which became a huge hit of the year. Here she portrayed the image of a girl next door. In 2004, Amrita had two releases and both of the films proved to be big hits. One was ‘Main Hoon Na’ which starred Shahrukh Khan, Zayed Khan ,Sushmita Sen and Suneil Shetty and ‘Maasti’, where she was paired opposite Vivek Oberoi. The hit film ‘Vivah’ (2006) opposite Shahid Kapur gave Amrita Rao loads of appreciation and won her a Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award.
Vidya Balan
The graceful Vidya Balan!
Vidya Balan is a graceful Indian actress who was born on January 1, 1978. This is one actress who started her career through music videos, soap, commercials and operas and then landed on doing films because of her talent. Vidya has studied in St. Anthony’s Girls High School in Chembur and has been brought up in Mumbai. She graduated with a degree in sociology from the St. Xaviers’ College, Mumbai. Her father is the Vice President of ETC Channel while her mother is a homemaker. Vidya Balan won the Anandalok Puraskar Best Actress award in Kolkata for this film. She has acted in the famous serial of the mid 90s ‘Hum Paanch’ under the Balaji banner. Her debut movie was a Bengali movie named ‘Bhalo Theko’ in 2003. This film won her critical acclaim.
In 2005, Vidya Balan made her debut in Hindi film with ‘Parineeta’ directed by the famous ad maker Pradeep Sarkar. The film starred popular actors like Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt ,Sabyasachi Chakrovorty. Vidya Balan was very much praised for her performance in the movie and she won her first ‘Filmfare Best Female Debut’ award. She has appeared on plenty of music videos including videos by Euphoria, Subha Mudgal and Pakaj Udhas. The film ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ where Vidya Balan was paired opposite Sanjay Dutt was a huge box office success and her performance was again appreciated by the critics. Her famous movies include: ‘Guru’, ‘Hey Babby’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’ and few more. Her film ‘Eklavya: The Royal Guard’ was selected as India’s official entries to the Oscars. Vidya Balan is indeed a versatile female actors in Bollywood and she is here to reach the stars.
Ritesh Deshmukh
Ritesh Deshmukh has a lot of promise!
Ritesh Deshmukh, the son of the Chief Minister of Maharastra, Vilasrao Deshmukh is better known as the upcoming star of Indian films, especially`Bollywood. Ritesh was born in Latur city in Marathwada, Maharastra on December 17, 1978. He has completed his schooling from G.D Somani High School and has graduated from the Kamala Raheja School of Architecture in Mumbai. After completing his education he has worked in the New York City and has also studied acting at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’ which was released in 2003 proved to be the debut movie for Ritesh Deshmukh. The film was an average hit at the box office and had Vievek Oberoi, Amrita Rao, Aftab Shivdashani, Ajay Devgan and others in prominent roles.
After the famous comedy film ‘Maasti’ which came in 2004, Ritesh became a known face and helped him to get established as an actor. Ritesh Deshmukh is known for his perfect comic timing. His other successful comedy films are ‘Kyaa Kool Hai Hum’ , “Malamaal Weekly’ and ;Apna Sapna Money Money’. In 2007, Ritesh had two releases; ‘Cash’ which was a multi starrer film, having Zayed Kahn, Diya Mirza, Shamita Shetty, Ahay Devgan and isha Deol in the lead and ‘Heyy Babyy’ which proved to be a highest grosser of 2007. The film also had Fardeen Khan, Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and Boman Irani. He says that his father’s and mother’s support helped him in his decision to join films. In the recent times, Ritesh is considered as one of the best comic actors and also a promising star of Bollywood. A true gem in the making!
Manish Malhotra
Leader in designs: Manish Malhotra
One of the leading fashion designers of the fashion industry and also of Bollywood in recent years is Manish Malhotra. He did his first assignment at the age of 25 in the movie ‘Swarg’ where he designed for Juhi Chawla. His name became synonymous with style in Bollywood. He has designed for more than a dozen of the famous Bollywood stars. His different way of styling his ladies makes him stand out from the rest of the designers. He mainly designs for the leading ladies of Bollywood but there have been few occasions where Manish has designed for the leading men, including Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. The fashion scene in Bollywood is considered to have been revolutionized by Manish Malhotra.
He has designed for Sridevi, Urmila Matondkar, Karishma Kapoor, Kajol, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Twinkle Khanna, Shilpa Shetty, Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. The films where he created magic include Raja Hindustani for Karisma which earned her a different image, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Khamoshi, Rangeela, Hero No.1, Judaai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Hum Saath Saath Hai , Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Mast, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Satya, Dhadkan and Mohabbatein.
Manish Malhotra has been showing his talent in the film industry for over a decade by now. He even won a Filmfare Award for his costume designs in ‘Rangeela’. Manish has also been felicitated by the NIFT with Indira Priyadarshini Memorial Award for his contribution to the fashion industry. His first fashion show was in November 1999 and since that day he has moved a long way.
Fardeen Khan
Fardeen Khan: the hunk!
This good-looking son of yesteryear actor Feroz Khan is one of the most popular actors in Bollywood, especially among women. Though he was brought up in India, his education is done abroad. He was born on 8th March, 2008 to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother. From the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the USA, Fardeen has completed his education in Business Management. Fardeen hails from a distinguished family and his family has been in the film industry for years. His father Feroz Khan is both an actor and a director while his uncle is actor Sanjay Khan and his cousin; Zayed Khan is also an actor of Bollywood. In the year 1998, Fardeen Khan made his debut in Bollywood, with the film ‘Prem Aggan’, his father, Feroz Khan, directed the movie. He won the ‘Filmfare Best Debut Male’ award for his performance in the film. This was his first award ever.
The Ram Gopal Verma directed movie ‘Jungle’ which came in 2000 was a hit and this helped Fardeen Khan to establish himself as an actor. In this movie , Fardeen was paired opposite the versatile actress Urmila. In fact, Fardeen and Urmila has done four movies together including ‘Jungle’, the other two are ‘Pyar Tune Kya Kiya’, ‘Om Jai Jagdish’ and ‘Bhoot’. His other noticeable movies are ‘Khushi’(2003), ‘Dev’(2004), ‘No Entry’ , ‘Heyy Babby’ and others. The film ‘Dev’ which came in 2004 gave Fardeen critical acclaim, the movie also had Amitabh Bahchan, Om Puri and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. An actor of a different class, this actor has given performances that will put him in the top spot with the best in Bollywood.