Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Randhir Kapoor 15-February

Randhir Kapoor is one of the most influential men in Bollywood apart being the head of RK Studios in Chembur, Bombay - a studio that was started by his legendary father - the showman Raj Kapoor.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Randhir Kapoor"]Randhir Kapoor[/caption]

He was born in Bombay on February 15, 1947, in this Punjabi-speaking family, to be the first son to Raj and mom, Krishna. His nickname is Daboo.

He first made an appearance on the silver screen and was credited as 'Master Daboo' in 'Do Ustad (1959)' which starred his father and Madhubala in the lead roles.

Subsequently, he made his rather dramatic entry into Bollywood in 'Kal Aaj Aur Kal' - a movie that was released in 1971 and starred three generations of the Kapoor family, namely his grand-dad, Prithviraj, a legend unto himself, his dad, Raj, as well as his college sweetheart and to-be wife, Babita, an actress in her own right, the daughter of actor, Hari Shivdasani, and cousin of popular actress Sadhana Shivdasani.

This movie went on to be hit, followed closely by two more subsequent hits 'Raampur Ka Lakshman' and 'Jawani Diwani'. His other well-known movies include 'Mama Bhanja', 'Chacha Bhatija', 'Khalifa', 'Haath Ki Safai', 'Biwi O Biwi'. His career spanned from 1971 through to 1986 with 'Khazana'. He made a come-back in 'Mother' in 1999; in 2003 with 'Armaan'; and 'Housefull' which was released during the year 2010.

As he achieved moderate success as an actor, he turned to producing and directing movies, which included 'Henna' in 1991 which starred his younger brother, Rishi, and Pakistani actress, Zeba Bakhtiar. This resulted in a trip to Pakistan, where he was treated royally by the then Pakistani President Nawaz Sharif, who turned out to be a fan of his dad. He also directed 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili', which introduced Mandakini to Bollywood.

Randhir belongs to a well-known Bollywood family, with most of it's members being famous stars of the silver screen, including his paternal uncles, Shammi, Shashi, Shashi's wife, Jennifer Kendall; his brother, Rishi and his wife Neetu Singh; and another brother, Rajiv. He has two sisters, Ritu and Reema. Ritu is married to the Nanda family and is the mother-in-law of Shweta, the daughter Bollywood mega-star Amitabh Bachchan; his cousins, Shashi's sons, have also achieved considerable recognition and success in Bollywood, while his nephew, Ranbir', is also an actor in his own right.

Randhir married Sindhi-speaking Babita during the year 1971 and their first daughter, Karisma, was born on 25th June 1974. Their second and last child, Kareena, was born on 21st September 1980. As Babita wanted her daughters to follow in her footsteps, leading to considerable strife in their relationship, and ultimately leading to a separation, with both his daughters moving out with their mother.

Randhir had arranged Karisma's marriage with Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abhishek, followed by an engagement, which was unfortunately broken. Karisma went on to get married to Delhi-based Sanjay Kapur in 2003.

During 2007, the couple patched-up their differences especially in the light of the fact that both their daughters had achieved considerable fame and success.

It was also during the year 2007 that he appeared on a popular TV show 'Koffee With Karan' along with his sister, Rima; his brothers, as well as sister-in-law, Neetu Singh.

He became a grandfather on 11 March 2005 and 12 March 2010 when Karishma gave birth to Samaira and Kiaan respectively.

While not being overly active in neither film-making nor acting, Randhir is still the head of RK Studios, a part of which has been converted into a museum with mementos of his family's movies.

Monday, 13 February 2012

Madhubala 14-February

Arguably the most beautiful artiste to ever grace the Indian screen, Madhubala rose from humble beginnings to become the most captivating star India has ever produced. Madhubala was born Mumtaz Jehan Begum on Valentine's Day 1933, in a poor, conservative family of Pathan Muslims in Delhi, a part of a prolific brood of sisters, and entered the world of films at the tender age of eight. After about five years of playing child roles, Madhubala got her first break in a lead role in Neel Kamal (1947), produced anddirected by her mentor, veteran filmmaker Kidar Sharma. At the age of 14, she played a romantic lead against another fledgling star, Raj Kapoor, and Madhubala had finally arrived on the Indian screen. Over the next two years she had blossomed into a truly rapturous beauty (which earned her the sobriquet of the Venus Of the Indian Screen) and with the movie Mahal (1949), literally overnight, she was a superstar.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Madhubala"]Madhubala[/caption]

It has been often said that her beauty overshadowed her acting talents, which to an extent is true; however this was more due to poor judgement than lack of talent. Being encumbered by a large family to support, and forever living under the domination of an imperious father who, she made several poor choices in movies which seriously undermined her credibility as a serious performer, to the extent of being labelled "box-office poison". However, her more or less dismal repertoire in the 50s was marked by spots of true brilliance - movies like Tarana (1951), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955) and of course her swansong Mughal-E-Azam (1960) showcased her remarkable talents as a serious artiste across several genres and revealed what this ethereal beauty was truly capable of.

Sadly, she was plagued by a persistent heart disease that confined her to a bed for almost nine torturous years, and eventually claimed her life on February 23 1969, nine days after her 36th birthday. In this short life, she had made over 70 movies, and to this day remains one of the most enduring legends of Indian cinema.

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Sarojini Naidu 13-February

She was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="153" caption="Sarojini Naidu"]Sarojini Naidu[/caption]

Sarojini Naidu was a distinguished poet, renowned freedom fighter and one of the great orators of her time. She was famously known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of India). Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India.

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879. Her father Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya was a scientist and philosopher. He was the founder of the Nizam College, Hyderabad. Sarojini Naidu's mother Barada Sundari Devi was a poetess and used to write poetry in Bengali. Sarojini Naidu was the eldest among the eight siblings. One of her brothers Birendranath was a revolutionary and her other brother Harindranath was a poet, dramatist, and actor.

Sarojini Naidu was a brilliant student. She was proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali, and Persian. At the age of twelve, Sarojini Naidu attained national fame when she topped the matriculation examination at Madras University. Her father wanted her to become a mathematician or scientist but Sarojini Naidu was interested in poetry. She started writing poems in English. Impressed by her poetry, Nizam of Hyderabad, gave her scholarship to study abroad. At the age of 16, she traveled to England to study first at King's College London and later at Girton College, Cambridge. There she met famous laureates of her time such as Arthur Simon and Edmond Gausse. It was Gausse who convinced Sarojini to stick to Indian themes-India's great mountains, rivers, temples, social milieu, to express her poetry. She depicted contemporary Indian life and events. Her collections "The golden threshold (1905)", "The bird of time (1912)", and "The broken wing (1912)" attracted huge Indian and English readership.

At the age of 15, she met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu and fell in love with him. a non-brahmin, and a doctor by profession. After finishing her studies at the age of 19, she married him during the time when inter-caste marriages were not allowed. It was a revolutionary step but Sarojini's father fully supported her in her endeavour. Sarojini Naidu had a happy married life and had four children: Jayasurya, Padmaj, Randheer, and Leilamani.

Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant, C.P.Rama Swami Iyer, Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. She awakened the women of India. She brought them out of the kitchen. She traveled from state to state, city after city and asked for the rights of the women. She re-established self-esteem within the women of India.

In 1925, Sarojini Naidu presided over the annual session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur. Sarojini Naidu played a leading role during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with Gandhiji and other leaders. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu was arrested during the "Quit India" movement and was jailed for 21 months with Gandhiji. She shared a very warm relationship with Gandhiji and used to call him "Mickey Mouse".

After Independence, Sarojini Naidu became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. She was India's first woman governor. Sarojini Naidu died in office on March 2 ,1949.

Saturday, 11 February 2012

Pran 12-February

Pran was born in a very wealthy Delhi-based Sikand family on February 12, 1920. His dad, Kewal Krishan Sikand was a renowned civil contractor, Kalsi bridge in Dehra Dun was just one of his projects.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="310" caption="Pran"]Pran[/caption]

As a child he had studied in Meerut, Kapurthala, Unao, Dehra Dun, & Rampur. He is very fond of dogs, and has always had a dog for a pet since his childhood to date.

He wanted to become a professional photographer and joined A. Das & Co. as an apprentice, for which he re-located to Simla.

It was in Simla that he landed his very first role as an actor, albeit on stage with Madan Puri, and played the role of Sita in 'Ramleela'. He went to star in a Punjabi movie 'Yamla Jat' as a villain. Ironically his foray into Hindi movies started as a hero in 'Khandaan' opposite actress Noor Jehan.

After 1948 he re-located to Bombay and launched his career in Bollywood with 'Ziddi'. In this manner 'villainous Pran' was born and went on to star in over 270 films, often as a villain, then in character roles, and is now unofficially called 'Villain of the Millenium'.

He married Shukla in 1945, and both became parents of Arvind, who was born on August 11, 1946. Subsequently they also gave birth to Sunil and Pinky. All three are now married, while Arvind, married to Chitra, is doing business in London, and is the father of two; Sunil is married to Jyoti & has a son; Pinky is married to Vivek Bhalla, and has two children. The names of Pran's grandchildren are Yuvraj Bhalla, Siddharth Sikand, Arjun Sikand, Swati Bijlani, and Sunaina Anand.

He states that he is satisfied with his life so much so that if he were re-born he would like to be Pran all over again.

Friday, 10 February 2012

Tina Munim 11-February

Tina was born in a Gujarati-speaking family in Bombay on February 11, 1955. The Munim family used to live in Bhuleshwar.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="254" caption="Tina Munim"]Tina Munim[/caption]

Tina shot into fame during the year 1978 when she represented India at the International Teen Contest in Aruba. She won the Miss Photogenic and Miss Bikini awards.Pretty, very photogenic, she was discovered by Dev Anand who cast her as his leading lady in Des Pardes and gave two more back to back super-hits opposite Tina. These 3 films went on to become blockbusters, making Tina a household name. Tina then got opportunity to work with Superstar Rajesh Khanna in 7 released films opposite him of which six are super-hits and plus 3 more hits, where Tina was not paired opposite him. She fell in love with him and their affair lasted from 1980-87.

As her career was going nowhere fast after her breakup with Rajesh Khanna in 1987, she re-located to California for completing her studies, then returned back home in 1991, got married to multi-billionaire industrialist, Anil Ambani. She has two sons, Anmol and Anshul.

Thursday, 9 February 2012

Dr. Kumar Vishwas 10-February

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="384" caption="Dr. Kumar Vishwas"]Dr. Kumar Vishwas[/caption]

Kumar Vishwas is a famous Hindi poet. He was born on 10th February 1970 in Pikhuwa, Gaziabad in Uttar Pradesh state. His parents are Dr. Chandra Pal Sharma and Rama Sharma. His father worked as a lecturer at R. S. S. Degree College at Pikhuwa which is affiliated to the Chaudhary Charan Singh University at Meerut. He is the youngest of four brothers and a sister. He did his schooling at Lala Ganga Sahay School and completed his intermediate from Rajputana Regiment Inter College and finished his post graduation in Hindustan Literature.

His father wanted him to be an engineer. But he loved poetry from his childhood days. He started his career as a professor in the year 1994 from Rajasthan and has been teaching Hindi Literature for higher class students for last sixteen years. He has participated in a number of Kavi Sammelan and has number of fans in his social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook and Twitter. His videos are published in YouTube and are viewed by millions of people all over the world. He is very popular among the youths.

He has written the University Anthem of Chaudhary Charan Singh University which is called as Kul-Geet. He has an active participation in the India against corruption mission of Social Leader Anna Hazare. He had performed Kavi Sammelan in IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi, B. J. Medical College Ahmadabad, Sri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering and Technology, Bareilly, NSIT Delhi, Jawaharlal University, Delhi, IIM Lucknow, NIT Trichy, BITS Pilani, IET Lucknow and many other institutions across India.

He has also performed in many other countries like USA, Dubai, Muscat, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Nepal, etc. He received Sahitya Shree Award in 2006 by Hindi-Punjabi Award Academy, Kavya-Kumar award by Dr. Kunwar Baichain Kavya Samman Avam Puruskaar Samiti, etc.

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Rahul Roy 9-February

Rahul Roy was born on 9 Feb 1968 in New Delhi, India. He has a twin, Rohit, who is 26 minutes older than Rahul.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Rahul Roy"]Rahul Roy[/caption]

Rahul dated some gorgeous women like Pooja Bhatt, Manisha Koirala, and Kamal Sidhu. He is now wed to a model, Rajalaxmi.
Films
Rahul Roy met overnight success when he landed the lead role in Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui (1990) opposite another newbie, Anu Agarwal. He received many offers and had a successful run with the release of films like Sapne Sajan Ke (1992), Janam (1992), and Junoon (1992). The latter saw him morphing into a vicious tiger. He seen as Rahul in the made-for-television film, Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi (1993). The film saw him in love with a disturbed woman, played by Pooja Bhatt. It was based on Mahesh Bhatt’s own life. Many of the films he acted in were never completed and the ones which were released didn’t do well at the box office. He acted in films like: Megha (1996), Achanak (1998), Tune Mera Dil Le Liya (2000), and Naughty Boy (2006). He even tried his hand at directing with Mera Juta Hai Japani but the film was shelved when its producer passed away. Rahul was appeared on television in the reality show Bigg Boss (2006), which he won. His adjacent film is Tanvir Ahmad’s Ada (2009)