Lala Lajpat Rai 28-January

Contributions
Lala Lajpat Rai immensely contributed in attaining independence the nation. He helped in establishing few schools in the country. He also initiated the foundation of Punjab National Bank. In 1897, he founded the Hindu Orphan Relief Movement to keep the Christian missions from securing custody of these children. He died after the police lathi-charged on the activists, protesting the arrival of Simon Commission.

Life
Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28, 1865 to Munshi Radha Krishna Azad and Gulab Devi at Dhudike village in Ferozpur District. His father was a great scholar of Persian and Urdu while his mother was a strict religious lady and inculcated in her children strong morals values. His family values allowed Lajpat Rai, the freedom of having different faiths and beliefs.

Lajpatrai received his elementary education in the school where his father was posted as teacher. Lajpat Rai joined the Government College at Lahore in 1880 to study Law. While in college he came in contact with patriots and future freedom fighters like Lala Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt. He studied law from Government College in Lahore and thereafter started his legal practice in Hissar, Haryana. Since childhood he had a desire to serve his country and therefore took a pledge to free it from foreign rule. In 1884 his father was transferred to Rohtak and Lala Lajpat Rai came along.

In 1886 the family shifted to Hissar, where he practiced law. There, Lajpat Rai helped to establish the nationalistic Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School and became a follower of Dayanand Saraswati. In 1888 and 1889 he was a delegate to the annual sessions of the National Congress. He moved to Lahore to practice before the High Court in 1892.

In 1895 Rai helped found the Punjab National Bank, demonstrating his concern for self-help and enterprise. In 1897 he founded the Hindu Orphan Relief Movement to keep the Christian missions from securing custody of these children. In the National Congress in 1900 he stressed the importance of constructive, nation-building activity and programs for self-reliance.

Gradually, Lajpat Rai had curtailed his legal practice and was concentrating all his efforts to free the nation from British. In October 1917, he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America in New York.

In 1920, after his return from America, Lajpat Rai was invited to preside over the special session of the Congress in Calcutta, (now Kolkata). He plunged into the non-cooperation movement, which was being launched in response to the Rowlatt Act, in principle. The movement was led by Lajpat Rai's in Punjab and he soon came to be known as "Punjab Kesri" (The Lion of Punjab).

Author
Besides, a great freedom fighter and leader, Lala Lajpat Rai was also a noted writer. The United States of America: A Hindu's impressions and a study, History of the Arya Samaj, Swaraj and social change, England's Debt to India: India, The Problems Of National Education In India were among the books, he had written.

Death
On October 30, 1928 to boycott the arrival of the members of the Simon Commission in Lahore, a peaceful procession, headed by Lajpat Rai was launched. Intercepting the march, Superintendent of Police, Scott ordered his police force to 'lathi-charge' at the activists. The police targeted Lajpat Rai, in particular, and hit him on the chest. The confrontation left Lala Lajpat Rai with severe injuries and also led to his death. To take avenge to the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh and his associates plotted the assassination of Scott. But, the revolutionaries, mistaking J.P. Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, as Scott, killed him instead.

Bobby Deol 27-January

Bobby Deol born as Vijay Singh Deol was born on January 27, 1967, and he is a Bollywood actor. Born into an acting family of Jat Sikh ethnicity, Deol is the son of the acclaimed Bollywood actor Dharmendra and the brother of Sunny Deol, also a successful actor in the Mumbai based Indian film industry.

Deol has been featured mostly in thriller films, often playing wealthy but vulnerable middle class characters, affected by the corrupt establishment and women and often propelled into crime to avenge the deaths of loved ones. His films commonly involve themes of jealousy, deceit and revenge and in his more romantic thrillers often involve him caught in love triangles. Deol was awarded the Filmfare Best Debut Award for his role in the 1995 film Barsaat and was later nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Humraaz in 2002.

Bobby Deol was born into a Jat family and is the second son of Bollywood movie star Dharmendra and Prakash Kaur. He is the younger brother of Sunny Deol (born 1956). Bobby Deol was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He has two sisters, Vijeyta and Ajita, and two half sisters – from his father's second marriage to actress Hema Malini – Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. Actor Abhay Deol is his cousin. Bobby Deol is married to Tanya Ahuja, with whom he has two sons. His eldest son Aryaman was born in June 2001. His second son was born on 5 November 2004 and was named Dharam, after his father.

Career (1990s)

Deol making his debut in Barsaat in 1995 as Badal. The role won him the Filmfare Best Debut Award, and his only Filmfare award to date. Deol first briefly appeared as a child actor in the film Dharam Veer in 1977. Just ten years old at the time, he played the younger version of the film's lead actor, his father, Dharmendra. Deol then made his adult debut with Twinkle Khanna in the 1995 Bollywood film Barsaat, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Deol plays the character of Badal, a naive but intelligent young man who moves from a small village to the big city and gets caught up with corrupt police and criminal gangs amidst falling in love. Partly shot in Scotland, Deol broke his leg in an equestrian accident while filming and had to be flown to London to recuperate and had to call off several publicity shoots which documented his debut. The film was nonetheless a considerable success and garnered him the Filmfare Best Debut Award. In 1997, Deol starred in Gupt: The Hidden Truth, a suspense thriller directed by Rajiv Rai, considered his breakthrough role. Cast alongside Manisha Koirala, Kajol, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Raj Babbar, Deol played the role of Sahil, a young man accused of murdering his step father over an engagement proposal and wrongly imprisoned. He escapes and tracks down the real killer. Gupt: The Hidden Truth was highly acclaimed for its storyline and soundtrack and was a major commercial success. In the same year, Deol appeared in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, alongside Aishwarya Rai in her debut Bollywood role.

In 1998, Deol starred opposite Neha in the Vidhu Vinod Chopra film, Kareeb. Deol played the character of Birju, an irresponsible young man from an upper middle class family in Himachal Pradesh with a love of petty thievery and deceit. Later in 1998, he appeared in Abbas Mustan's military thriller Soldier, alongside Raakhee Gulzar and Preity Zinta. Deol played the mysterious character of Vicky, later revealed as Raju, son of Vijay Malhotra who was convicted of arms smuggling. In 1999, Deol starred in Dillagi, directed by and co-starring his brother Sunny Deol. The film is noted for being the first time Sunny Deol directed a film and also the first time he acted alongside Bobby. This pairing was repeated in 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) and Apne (2007). Dillagi features the two as the brothers Ranvir and Rajvir, fighting for the affection of Shalani (Urmila Matondkar).
2000-2003

In 2000, Deol appeared in the action drama Badal alongside Rani Mukerji, under the director's helm of Raj Kanwar. The film is set in 1984 when riots were engulfing parts of Punjab and Delhi. Deol plays the character of Badal, a boy who witnesses the massacre of his family and villagers by a corrupt police official Police Inspector Jai Singh Rana (Ashutosh Rana) and grows up to be a dreaded terrorist, fuelled by the anger and hatred of the authorities who wrongly deprived him of his family and friends. The film is inspired by The Devil's Own (1997), starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford. Following this he starred alongside Karisma Kapoor in Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000), and reunited with Rani Mukerji to star in Bichhoo (2000), a blatant remake of Luc Besson's 1994 film Leon, starring Jean Reno and Natalie Portman. In Bichhoo, Deol plays Reno's role, Jeeva, a young man from a struggling middle-class family who has the misfortune of falling in love with the wealthy Kiran (Malaika Arora). Her cruel, disapproving father in rage at their relationship has Jeeva's mother and two sisters publicly arrested for prostitution, and eventually all three kill themselves. Jeeva becomes a professional killer and later extracts vengeance against Kiran's father and his henchmen. The film and Deol's performance was panned by the critics, with Sakanya Verna of Rediff.com citing the film as "one of the most painful of the year" and commenting, "Bobby Deol's performance is quite, well, robotic. He religiously hangs on to a brooding expression right through the film. Why o why doesn't someone insist he goes to an acting school?"

In 2001 (although filmed in 2000), Deol starred alongside Karisma Kapoor, Rahul Dev and Smita Jaykar in Aashiq. Following this, he featured in Abbas Burmawalla and Mustan Burmawalla's thriller, Ajnabee, alongside Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu. The film, adapted from the 1992 American thriller film Consenting Adults, features Deol as Raj, the new husband of Priya Malhotra (Kapoor) who after moving to Switzerland and initially befriending their neighbours (Kumar and Basu), become entangled in a web of deceit and extra-marital activity. Ziya us Salaam of The Hindu was unconvinced with Deol's performance, remarking that he "only occasionally manages to transmit fear of the fugitive."

In 2002, Deol starred alongside his brother Sunny in the historic film 23rd March 1931: Shaheed. Set in British India, it depicts the events leading up to the hanging of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and his companions Rajguru and Sukhdev on March 23, 1931. The film stars Bobby Deol as Bhagat Singh and Sunny Deol as another revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad. The film received a mixed reception from critics, with some good reviews. Rediff.com believed the movie had plenty of good moments, and plenty of bad ones and believed the film was superior to that of the original on Bhagat Singh, although they believed the agony of Bhagat Singh's fight was underplayed, diminishing the brutality and anguish suffered in the real life event. While Deol was praised for some scenes, he was criticized for shouting and Rediff believed he was overshadowed by Ajay Devgan remarking, "In terms of performance, Devgan is clearly the winner, with the advantage of a stronger script and a better director. Devgan, who reportedly lost weight to look the part, is today emerging as one of India's finest actors, willing to try out different roles. Deol tries his best, but it is difficult to shout and act simultaneously."

Later in 2002, Deol was nominated for the prestigious Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a suave, wealthy shipping businessman in Abbas-Mustan's romantic thriller Humraaz. The film is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder (1954) (remade in 1998 as A Perfect Murder) and features Deol in a love triangle with Akshaye Khanna and Amisha Patel. The film was generally praised by critics/ with Chitra Mahesh of The Hindu, saying "Bobby Deol spends the entire first half looking moony eyed and spaced out, but overcomes the stupor towards the end where he actually gives a good performance. Deol's final film of 2002 was David Dhawan's Chor Machaaye Shor in which he played Shyamm alongside Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty, Bipasha Basu and Om Puri, a small time crook who gets his hands on some diamonds worth millions.

2004-2006

In 2003, Deol took a hiatus from acting and returned to the screen in 2004 in Kismat opposite Priyanka Chopra. In Bardaasht, a drama based on the screenplay written by Vikram Bhatt, Deol starred alongside Lara Dutta and Rahul Dev as Aditya Shrivastav, a deserted army officer. The film deals with themes of police brutality and corruption and justice. Deol then played another army officer, a Lieutenant Commander in Anil Sharma's Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo as Kunaljit Singh/Vikramjeet Singh. The film, which featured some prominent Bollywood actors such as Amitabh Bachchan (who played a general and Deol's father), and Akshay Kumar, it was arguably Deol's highest profile film to date but despite high box office expectations it was a commercial failure. His most famous role of all time in ab tumhare watan satio was when he wore a pugh/turban. That gave him more audience from the Punjabi crowd, and had gotten comments saying he looks better in a turban.
In 2005, Deol starred in Vikram Bhatt's thriller Jurm as the wealthy businessman Avinash Malhotra who suspects his wife Sanjana (Lara Dutt) of having an affair with Rohit (Milind Soman). Deol's performance was praised by a number of critics, with Vivek Fernandes of Rediff.com remarking, "Bobby Deol, Bhatt's schoolmate, does his alma mater proud with his controlled performance. There's a sense of maturity about his candour, which is good news." Deol then starred alongside Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty and Ajay Devgan in Mani Shankar's war movie Tango Charlie as an Indian trooper named Tarun Chauhan of the 101st BSF Battalion, operating in the northeastern Indian province of Manipur. He followed this role by featuring in Suneel Darshan's romance film Barsaat as the ambitious young Indian Arav, who, in living in the United States, becomes involved in a love triangle with beauties Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu. The film was not a critical success, with Ziya us Salaam of The Hindu concluding, " A moth-eaten love triangle with all the stereotypes Bollywood survives on - a devoted wife with her karva chauth ki thali, the other woman with her mini-skirts, a joint family, songs, festivities..... No shower of rejuvenation, this "Barsaat" is just drenched in mediocrity." She was equally unimpressed with Deol's performance, remarking, "The girls are ready with their curls and curves, the guy just appears lost, making you wonder if Bobby has grown even an inch as an actor since he made his debut in Rajkumar Santoshi's film by the same name." His final role of 2005 was as Karan in Dosti: Friends Forever, opposite Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Kareena Kapoor, and Juhi Chawla. He once again plays a wealthy businessman but is down on his luck with his finances and romancing women. The film, although performing below average in India was a major success in the United Kingdom, where it became the highest grosser of Bollywood in 2005, grossing around £888,000.

In 2006, Deol starred in the romantic musical film Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai. Deol played Raj, a character who falls in love with Durga (Amisha Patel), a beautiful blind woman with a talent for shaping pottery but faces competition from Rohit (Arjun Rampal). Deol and Patel have been labelled as the "Bollywood equivalent of Hugh Grant and Rene Zellweger". Although the film received a mixed reception, a number of critics praised Deol's performance as Raj, with Taran Adarsh commenting, "Bobby Deol is only getting better as an actor. He manages to register an impact in a film that belongs to Amisha and Arjun primarily." Later that year, he made a brief special appearance in Alag in the song Sabse Alag.

2007-present

In 2007, Deol starred in 7 films. The first of them, Shakalaka Boom Boom, was shot in South Africa and is based on conflicts and the power game involved in the functioning of the music industry, addressing the themes of envy, jealousy, insecurity, anxiety, manipulation and anger. The film, which featured Bobby alongside Upen Patel, Kangana Ranaut and Celina Jaitley was generally praised by critics, especially for its choreography, and Deol received some very positive reviews. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM.com said after viewing the film, "Both Bobby and Upen get fabulous roles and the two actors make the most of it. Bobby is one of the most under-rated actors around. His work has been consistent all through, but one tends to overlook this talented actor's abilities all the while. Watch him go negative in Shakalaka Boom Boom and you'd agree that he's amongst the best in the business today. His outburst in the end is remarkable."
Deol's second film of 2007 was Jhoom Barabar Jhoom , which saw him play the character of Steve/Satvinder Singh opposite Abhishek Bachchan (who played a gypsy in London), Preity Zinta, and Lara Dutta. Directed by Shaad Ali, the film was produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film was not critically acclaimed and was mostly criticized by what critics believed was a shallow screenplay. the gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 rating, saying, "the film is all gloss, no substance". He also believed that Deol was overshadowed by his co-stars, remarking that the film, "belongs to Abhishek first and Preity next". Deol next starred in the boxing drama Apne. The film was a family affair, featuring Bobby Deol alongside his father Dharmendra, a disgraced retired boxer who trains Bobby and his brother (Sunny Deol) to become champion boxers but in doing so creates a rift within the family. Apne was a major commercial success, particularly in northern India and overseas, especially in the UK, where it made £579,457 on the opening weekend, entering into the UK. Top Ten at Number 3."Acting skills cannot be taught. They can only be explained. Everybody has their own styles and techniques. I cannot ape my father nor can he ape me. So these are the things I've learnt from my father". - Deol commenting on the acting profession during the promotion of Apne in 2007. Deol next starred in the suspense thriller Naqaab, another Abbas-Mustan film which features him alongside Akshaye Khanna and Urvashi Sharma as another millionaire caught in a love triangle. Deol received a mixed reception for his performance. For instance, Raja Sen of Rediff.com praised several of his scenes, remarking, "Bobby gets a considerably meaty role, and there are a couple of moments when he genuinely works the audience", but describes his character as "sensitive to an annoying hilt".
In 2008, Deol starred opposite in Priyanka Chopra, Danny Denzongpa and Irrfan Khan in the crime drama Chamku, playing the lead character and titlesake of Chamku, a man raised by Baba (Denzongpa), a Naxal leader based in the southern interiors of Bihar, after his family was brutally murdered. He is assigned by a covert governmental program jointly conceived by RAW and Intelligence Bureau to carry out political assassinations but after falling in love with the kindergarten teacher Shubhi (Chopra), he decides to lead a reformed life but is later tempted to turn to crime again. Kabeer Kaushik, the director of the film had originally approached Deol to play the lead role in his debut film, Sehar, but despite liking the script, Deol turned it down because at the time he was not prepared to work with a debutant director. Deol next featured in Heroes as an army officer and DJ Dhananjay "DJ" Shergill alongside a strong cast which included Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sunny Deol and Mithun Chakraborty. Although initially set to be released on 6 June 2008, it was pushed to 24 October 2008, the opening weekend of the holiday Diwali. Much of the filming took place in northern India, including Ladakh (notably Pangong Tso), Chandigarh, Punjab, and Delhi. Deol's last role in 2008 was in the film Dostana , as Abhimanyu Singh, supporting role to the films' main stars Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Priyanka Chopra under the Dharma Productions banner The film explores the story of two men who pretend to be gay but both fall in love with the same girl, their roommate. Dostana is the first Bollywood film to be filmed entirely in Miami, United States and went on to become the eighth highest grossing film at the Indian Box Office in 2008.

In 2009, Deol portrayed Nandu, an orphan turned assassin wrongly accused of a politician's murder in the movie Ek - The Power of One. Deol's next film titled, Help, was shot in Mauritius, in which he appeared opposite Mugdha Godse. The film was released on August 13, 2010. His next release Yamla Pagla Deewana is set to release on January 14, 2011.

Republic Day 26-January

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Happy Republic Day
26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. In this day India became a totally republican unit. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.
To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, from the Rajghat, along the Vijaypath. The different regiments of the army, the Navy and the Air force march past in all their finery and official decorations even the horses of the cavalry are attractively caparisoned to suit the occasion. The crème of N.C.C cadets, selected from all over the country consider it an honour to participate in this event, as do the school children from various schools in the capital. They spend many days preparing for the event and no expense is spared to see that every detail is taken care of, from their practice for the drills, the essential props and their uniforms.
The parade is followed by a pageant of spectacular displays from the different states of the country. These moving exhibits depict scenes of activities of people in those states and the music and songs of that particular state accompany each display. Each display brings out the diversity and richness of the culture of India and the whole show lends a festive air to the occasion. The parade and the ensuing pageantry is telecast by the National Television and is watched by millions of viewers in every corner of the country.
The patriotic fervor of the people on this day brings the whole country together even in her essential diversity. Every part of the country is represented in occasion, which makes the Republic Day the most popular of all the national holidays of India.
Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Then, the President comes forward to award the medals of bravery to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage in the field and also the civilians, who have distinguished themselves by their different acts of valour in different situations.

National Voter's Day 25-January

In order to encourage more young voters to take part in the political process, Government of India has decided to celebrate January 25 every year as 'National Vot

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ers' Day' (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय मतदाता दिवस).

A meeting of the Union Cabinet , chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , approved a Law Ministry proposal to this effect, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.

Observing that new voters, who have attained the age of 18 years, were showing less interest in getting enrolled in the electoral rolls, she said the level of their enrolment was as low as 20 to 25 per cent in certain cases.

"In order to effectively deal with this problem, the Election Commission has decided to take up a vigorous exercise to identify all eligible voters attaining the age of 18 years as on January one every year in each of the 8.5 lakh polling stations across the country," she said.

Such eligible voters would be enrolled on time and handed over their Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) on January 25 every year, Sonisaid, adding this initiative is expected to give the youth a sense of empowerment, pride and inspire them to exercise their franchise.

The new voters would be provided with a badge with its logo "Proud to be a voter - Ready to vote", she said.

Subhash Ghai 24-January

Ram Lakhan (1989), _Khalnayak (1993)_, Hero (1983/II), Karz (1980) ....grand films made by a grandiose director. Since 1976 Subhash has been directing films. But recently where has the fanfare and the fire gone from Mukta arts main director? Subhash started in 1976 with the film Kalicharan (1976), a film he made without any previous directorial experience. The film was rejected seven times before it came to NN Sippy who gave Ghai his shot. He followed this two years later with Vishwanath (1978) but struck big time with his third film, and first under his Mukta Arts banner, Karz (1980). With hit pairing of Rishi Kapoor and Tina Minium, Karz brought together Subhash & Laxmikant-Pyarelal. He then hit the audience with Hero (1983/II), starring an actor he would repeat many time in his future films, Jackie Shroff. This was his first film as the main protanganist. It also established Menakshi as a top heroine. In the first two weeks the film was declared a dud. However, from its third week onwards it went on to run at cinemas for many golden jubilees.

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Again musically Ghai had the genious stroke of having Pakistan's top singer Reshma sing Lambi Judaai with just 11 instruments. He hit next with _Meri Jung (1982)_ with Anil Kapoor and then he gave the term multi-starrer blockbuster its true home. Karma was released in 1986 with huge fanfare. The pre-production hype matched its pre-release hype with the rivalry of Dillip Kumar and Naseeruddin Shah. It was a superhit. Again new faces were brought in. Anupam Kher made his appearance as Dr. Dang. Ghai received a national award for making an anti-terrorism film. In his next film, one of Bollywood's legends was born, Madhuri Dixit in Ram Lakhan (1989). Another superhit for a barely text-book script. Like his track record, Saudagar (1991), his next release united two icons together. Dillip Kumar and Raj Kumar. Again Ghai launched another star, Manisha Koirala. Another film another superhit. His next film was one of the most talked about films of its time and could match any film today for column space. Sanjay as the bad guy. Jackie as the good guy. Madhuri caught in between the two. _Khalnayak (1993)_ was notorious for many things. At the same time Sanjay wound up in jail on terrorist charges. Before jail, Sanjay and Madhuri were said to be having a relationship, but when Sanjay ended up in Jail Madhuri dropped him like hot cakes and denied all knowledge of being anything more than a co-star. The main song choli ke peechay was at the top of every chart and just as controversial. This was the showman's greatest moment. From here it could only go down.

Though Trimurti wasnt directed by Subhash, it came from the same production house. The film was put on hold for ages. It was meant to be a triumphant moment for Ghai. The showman and the star, Shah Rukh Khan united. For all the time he had been in Bollywood he had never made a film with Amitabh and this was his time to show the world what he could do with the star of the moment. But the project was laid back for months as Subash waited for Sanjay Dutt to be released from prison. Eventually Dutt had a face to face meeting with Ghai and told him straight. Replace me. Anil Kapoor was drafted in. But even with Jackie Shroff, Shah Rukh Khan and Anil Kapoor the weak script was destined to fail. Its failure hit Ghai hard and Mukul Anand even harder. The later never got the chance to direct another film. His venture after Trimurti was Dus. He died towards the end of shooting. The film never saw release. With the knives that were stuck in Ghai he came back with another Shah Rukh film this time directed by himself. Pardes (1997) was launched with Ghai declaring that from now on his films would be aimed at NRIs. From that moment on Ghai lost his biggest supporter, the press. An average hit compared to the Ghai catalogue. By now he'd even changed his musical directors to Nadeem-Sharavan. Music is where the hits and flops were made. Ghai knowing this asked AR Rehman to write the music for his next film. He struck gold again. The star of the show was Aishwarya. It made phenomenal amounts of cash - not bad for a film where nothing interesting happens until the interval where one A. Kapoor makes an appearance. Ghai was back. He knew who'd been the people who'd stuck the knives in his back and isolated them, the press.

He had the last laugh. Or did he. Forward to 2001 and Ghai was planning to make history. Hrithik and Kareena together for the first time. _Yaadein (2001)_. From its announcement the press were out to hound Ghai. And it showed. The film was written off from day one. Critised from anything and everything. The coke ads, the numerous other in film adverts, too fluffy. Jackie Shroff was the only saving grace to come out of this film. Subhash has isolated the one thing that gave his film the hype and now he's feeling very left out from the Indian press who have warmed up to other directors. Ghai had a rule of releasing a film every two years yet two years after Yaadein he has not announced a single directorial venture, just two producer ventures, ek aur ek gyarah and Joggers Park. His ego and his own ability to create hype for his films could be to blame. He raises the expectations of his own films to such a level that the audience are expecting much. And if it fails to deliever even slightly, the audience and the press will hype up the faliures even more so. What the future holds for Ghai is unknown and only he can answer. Though don't expect The Showman to let any other director take his title any time soon!

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose 23-January

 

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Subhashchandra Bose was the most visionary and fierce activist in the pre-independence era. Known as Netaji, he followed the path which no one even could have thought of.

An unparalleled example of the declaration of Independent Indian government with a cabinet & its own army was seen in form of the Indian National Army under the leadership of  Subhash Chanda Bose. It literally had a military attack on British India & had confronted them till Imphal. With the help from Germany & active support from Japan, they shook the very foundation of the British Empire. The saga of their valor is chronicled separately, under the head Indian National Army.

While he was the president of Indian National Congress during 1937 to 1939, he founded the Indian National Congress. He was acclaimed as a god like figure, akin to the many mythological heroes like Rama or Krishna, and continued as a legend in Indian mind.

Subhas Chandra was born on January 23rd 1897 in Cuttack (in present day Orissa) as the ninth child among fourteen, of Janakinath Bose, an advocate, and Prabhavatidevi, a pious and God-fearing lady. A brilliant student, he topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. He joined the Indian Civil Services in England as per his parent's wishes. This kept him a little away from the Indian Freedom Movement. He finished those examinations also, at the top of his class (4th rank), he could not complete his apprenticeship and returned to India, being deeply disturbed by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.  He came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress . Gandhiji directed him to work with Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, the Bengali leader whom Bose acknowledged as his political guru.

Due to his outspoken character for the British Government, he went to jail for around 11 times between 1920 and 1941 for periods varying between six months and three years. He was the leader of the youth wing of the Congress Party, in the forefront of the trade union movement in India and organized Service League, another wing of Congress. He was admired for his great skills in organizational development .

Bose advocated complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas the Congress Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Other younger leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru supported Bose and finally at the historic Lahore Congress convention, the Congress had to adopt Poorna Swaraj (complete freedom) as its motto. Bhagat Singh's martyrdom and the inability of the Congress leaders to save his life infuriated Bose and he started a movement opposing the Gandhi-Irvin Peace  Pact. He was imprisoned and expelled from India. But defying the ban, he came back to India and was imprisoned again!

He was elected president of  the Indian National Congress twice in 1937 and in 1939, the second time defeating Gandhiji's nominee. He brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand  India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block (1939).

During the World War 2nd he was against rendering any kind of help to the British. He warned them so. The second World War broke out in September of 1939, and just as predicted by Bose, India was declared as a warring state (on behalf of the  British) by the Governor General, without consulting Indian leaders. The Congress party was in power in seven major states and all state governments resigned in protest.

Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. To him, it made no sense  to further bleed  poor Indians for the sake of colonial and imperial nations.  There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him . He took to a hunger-strike, and after his health deteriorated on the 11th day of fasting, he was freed and was placed under house arrest. The British could do nothing except locking him in the prison.

It was in 1941, that Bose suddenly disappeared. The authorities did not come to know for many days that he was not in his Barrack ) the house in which he was being guarded) He traveled by foot, car and train and resurfaced in Kabul (now in Afghanistan), only to disappear once again.  In November 1941, his broadcast from German radio sent shock waves amongst the British and electrified the Indian masses who realized that their leader was working on a master plan to free their motherland. It also gave fresh confidence to the revolutionaries in India who were challenging the British in many ways.

The Axis powers (mainly Germany) assured Bose military and other help to fight the British. Japan by this time had grown into another strong world power, occupying key colonies of Dutch, French, and British colonies in Asia. Bose had struck alliance with Germany and Japan. He rightly felt that his presence in the East would help his countrymen in freedom struggle and second phase of his saga began. It is told that he was last seen on land near Kiel canal in Germany, in the beginning of 1943. A most hazardous journey was undertaken by him under water, covering thousands of miles,  crossing enemy territories. He was in the Atlantic, the Middle East, Madagascar and the Indian ocean. Battles were being fought over land, in the air and there were mines in the sea. At one stage he traveled 400 miles in a rubber dingy to reach a Japanese submarine, which took him to Tokyo. He was warmly received  in Japan and was declared the head of the Indian army, which consisted of  about 40,000 soldiers from Singapore and other eastern regions. Bose called it the Indian National Army (INA) and a government by the name "Azad Hind Government"  was declared on the 21st of October 1943. INA freed the Andaman and Nicobar islands from the British and were renamed as Swaraj and Shaheed islands. The Government started functioning.

Bose wanted to free India from the Eastern front. He had taken care that Japanese interference was not present from any angle. Army leadership, administration and communications were managed by Indians only. Subhash Brigade, Azad Brigade and Gandhi Brigade were formed. INA marched through Burma and occupied Coxtown on the Indian Border. A touching scene ensued when the solders entered their 'free' motherland. Some lay down and kissed, some placed pieces of  mother earth on their heads, others wept. They were now inside India and were determined to drive out the British! Delhi Chalo (Let's march to Delhi) was the war cry.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed the history of mankind. Japan had to surrender. Bose was in Singapore at that time and decided to go to Tokyo for his next course of action. Unfortunately, the plane he boarded crashed near Taipei and he died in the hospital of severe burns. He was just 48.

He was the man whom the Indians looked upon as their future leader. They never believed that he died in plane crash. Some believe that he is still alive. 

Namrata Shirodkar 22-January

Born in a moderate Marathi-speaking family, Namrata Shirodkar is an Aquarian, born on January 22, 1972, and one of the most beautiful Bollywood actresses, who used to live in Khar, an elite suburb in Bombay.

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She is the grand-daughter of actress Meenakshi Shirodkar, who starred in Brahmachari (1930s), and was the first actress to wear a swimsuit and gambol in a pool, albeit to depict Lord Krishna bathing in the Holy river Yamuna with his gopis.

In addition she is a model, and has been crowned Miss India in 1993.

Namrata finished amongst the top six at Miss Universe in 1993.

She was also chosen as the 1st runner up for Miss Asia Pacific during 1993.

She is the sister of Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shirodkar. Namrata is affectionately called "Chinoo" by her family and close friends.

Her mom's name is Vanita. She has a niece, Anushka, who was born in London during 2002. She keeps in touch with Shilpa on a regular basis.

Some of her movies include Mere Do Anmol Ratan, Vaastav, Pukar, Hathyar, Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye, Aaghaaz, and Bride & Prejudice.

Namrata and Telugu speaking actor, Mahesh Babu, have been romantically linked for some time now. On February 10, 2005, both Mahesh and Namrata tied the knot at the J.W. Mariot, Bombay, India. They are expecting their first child soon.