Anupam Kher

Anupam Kher Introduction

Anupam Kher's father Pushkar Nath Kher was a clerk with the forest department and mother Dulari, a housewife. His brother Raju is also an actor.Anupam Kher passed out of National School of Drama, Delhi, in the year 1978. He made his debut in the film Aagman in 1982. In 1984, Anupam played the role of a senior citizen in the film Saransh. He married actress Kirron Kher in the year 1985. Anupam Kher was applauded for his performance in the film Daddy (1989). He has starred in numerous Hindi and crossover films. He has also starred in the TV show ER (2004) as the father of Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham fame). He's also served as the Chairman of the Indian Film Censor Board. Anupam Kher runs an acting school in Mumbai, called Actor Prepares, with a branch in London. His most famous student is Deepika Padukone.Career

Kher made his acting debut in the 1982 Hindi movie Aagman. Then in 1984 came Saaransh, where he played a late-age retired person having lost his son and never looked back since then. He hosted TV shows such as Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle and Sawaal Dus Crore Ka. He has mainly done comic roles but has done many villain roles for which he got critical acclaim such as Karma (1986) where he played terrorist Dr. Dang. He was applauded for his performance in the film Daddy (1989). Considered one of his best performances, he received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Kher is a frequent winner in the Comedian category.

He ventured into directing with Om Jai Jagadish (2003) and is also a producer. He produced and starred in the film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005). He received the Best Actor Award from the Karachi International Film Festival for his performance in the film.

Kher is known internationally with the films Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), his appearance on the hit TV show ER, and most recently in The Mistress of Spices (2006) and Lust, Caution (2007).

He also starred in the 2005 Punjabi film Yaaran Naal Bahaaran.

He also served as the chairman of the Indian Film Censor Board until recently, when he was replaced by Sharmila Tagore. He is an alumnus of National School of Drama (1978 batch) and later became its director, between 2001 and 2004.

In 2007, Anupam Kher, with his batchmate of NSD, Satish Kaushik,started a new film production company, 'Karol Bagh Productions', and their first film, Tere Sang, is being directed by Satish Kaushik.



Personal life

Anupam Kher was unlucky with his marriage to Madhu but lucky second time when he married Kirron Kher. Kirron Kher was a divorcee. Sikander Kher made his debut in a Sanjay Gupta film. Anupam's brother Raju Kher is also an actor who appeared in his directorial debut Om Jai Jagadish and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and many TV shows. He has a brother who workes in the Zee TV drama called " Hamari Batiyoon Ka Vivah"

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Introduction

Imran Khan is Aamir Khan's nephew and the grandson of Nasir Hussain one of the Bollywood legends. Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was his Bollywood debut, which was being produced by his uncle Aamir Khan. As a child, Imran starred in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander as a younger version of Aamir Khan. The actor aspires to be a director, as that was his original plan before he entered B'wood as an actor.

Career

Khan made appearances as a child artist in his uncle Aamir's films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992). Both times he played the role of a young Aamir Khan. He aspired to be a director, as that was his original plan before he entered Bollywood as an actor. Khan joined Kishore Namit Kapoor's Acting Institute in Mumbai.

He made his debut as a lead actor in the 2008 film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, which was produced by his uncles Aamir Khan and Mansoor Khan. The film also starred Genelia D'Souza as the heroine. The film received excellent reviews from the critics and proved to be one of the highest grossing films of the year. Imran was nominated for "The best debutant (male)" at the 54th Filmfare awards and won it along with Farhan Akhtar who won it for Rock On!!. His next movie was Kidnap with Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba where he played his first negative role. The movie took a flying opening, but flopped at the box office due to its poorly executed direction, Although Imran's performance was appreciated. Khan will make his next appearance in raw action flick Luck with Shruti Haasan and Sanjay Dutt. His forthcoming movie Delhi Belly is an English language caper comedy which is being produced by Aamir Khan. He co-hosted the 54th Filmfare Awards with Ranbir Kapoor. News is that Ranbir and Imran are making preparations to start a production house of their own. They also say that they want to keep their chemistry fresh for the big screen and therefore will not host any event together until the release of a film starring both of them. Rumors also reveal that Ranbir and Imran's first film will be directed by Jab We Met fame, director Imtiaz Ali. Rumors are that Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor will star together in a film by Yash Raj Films, directed by Chak De! India fame, director Shimit Amin.

Personal life

He is currently dating Avantika Malik from 6 years. The media has been saying that Avantika was dating actor Ranbir Kapoor but they have both denied

Controversies and Link ups

During the release of Khan's second film, Kidnap, Imran was linked to his co-star in the film, Minisha Lamba which created a lot of buzz about the film amongst the audience. Unfortunately, this was only a rumor. The film flopped big time at the box office as well

John Abraham

John Abraham Introduction

John's parents are Mr Abraham and Phiroza and he has a younger brother named Alan. He did his schooling from Bombay Scottish School and graduated from Jai Hind College in Mumbai. John also did an MBA from MET. In 1999, he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went to Singapore for Manhunt International where he won a second place.John Abraham joined Kishore Namit Kapoor acting lab and successfully completed a course on acting while juggling modeling assignments. In 2003, he made his debut with the film Jism. In 2004, his first blockbuster came with the movie, Dhoom. In 2005, he had a major role in Water, which portrayed the tragic fate of Hindu widows in colonial India. The film was popular overseas and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards which exposed John to a more international audience. In 2006, he starred in the films Zinda, Taxi No 9211, Baabul and Kabul Express. Among these Taxi No 9211and Kabul Express were fairly successfulNikhil Advani's multi-starrer, Salaam-e-Ishq: Attribute To Love was his first release in 2007. The movie failed to do well at the Indian box office but was successful in the overseas market.Early life

Born in Mumbai, India on December 17, 1972, John Abraham has been one of the most successful male models in India. Abraham's father is a Malayali Syrian Christian architect, from Alwaye, Kochi, Kerala in India. His mother, Phiroza Irani, is part of Mumbai's Parsi community. Abraham's Parsi name is "Farhan" to which his father, being a catholic, added "Abraham" as a respect for the Bible and named him "John". He has one younger brother, Alan.

Abraham first went to the Bombay Scottish School and later to Jai Hind College, where he completed his BA (Honors) in economics. He was an avid sportsman, captaining the college football team. He earned his MMS degree from Mumbai Educational Trust.

Career

Abraham started his career with the media firm Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd., which, however, closed down due to financial problems. Later, he worked for Enterprises-Nexus as a media planner.

Modeling

In 1999, he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and went to Singapore for Manhunt International, where he won second place. Following this, he appeared in a number of commercial advertisements and in music videos for singers like Pankaj Udhas, Hans Raj Hans and Babul Supriyo. To further improve his acting skills, Abraham joined Kishore Namit Kapoor acting lab and successfully completed a course on acting while juggling modelling assignments.

Acting

Early Acting Career

Abraham made his acting debut in 2003 with the controversial film Jism, a thriller with him and Bipasha Basu in lead. The film was a surprise box office success and his work was noticed widely.It was while making of this film that John and Basu started dating each other. Later the same year came the paranormal thriller Saaya (2003) the film was a commercial and critical failure. It was followed by a bunch of failures like Pooja Bhatt's directorial debut Paap (2004) and Ahmed Khan's Sunny Deol starrer Lakeer (2004).

Breakthrough

After having many box office failures John's first blockbuster hit came with the movie Dhoom in 2004 where he played the role of the villain 'Kabir', the film was a big commercial success and was one of the highest grossers of the year.

In 2005 he starred in the supernatural thriller Kaal and the comedy Garam Masala both of which did well at the box office. Later that year he had a major role in the critically acclaimed film Water, which portrayed the tragic fate of Hindu widows in British India. The film was written and directed by independent Canadian film-maker Deepa Mehta. The film was popular overseas, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards, which exposed John to a more international audience.

In the summer of 2006, he performed at the "Rockstars Concert" along with fellow Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Zayed Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol, Shahid Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat. In the same year, he starred in the films Zinda, Taxi No 9211, Baabul and Kabul Express (2006). Among these Taxi No 9211 and Kabul Express were substantially successful.

Johny Lever

Johny Lever Introduction

Johnny Rao dropped out of school when he was in Std. VII. He is married to Sujatha and their two children are Jamie and Jesse. His younger brother Jimmy is also a stand-up comedian and mimicry artist. He used to work for Hindustan Lever Limited. That's where the Lever in his name comes from.One of India's top comic actors, he started doing stand-up comedy when he was 10. He started off as a comedian in real life while still at school. His beginnings as a comedian in his village were mainly comprised of imitations of his teachers, his father and his grandfather. He got his first break in Indian cinema in the film Dard Ka Rishta.Johnny Lever has worked in more than 160 films.He also started his own show called Johnny Aala Re on Zee TV.

Career

Lever got his first break in Indian cinema was in the film Dard Ka Rishta, thanks to the late Sunil Dutt, who saw him perform at a charity show organized by Kalyanji-Anandji. Since then, Johny has worked in more than 160 films.

Even though he mimics many people, he has created a style of his own which makes him unique. His younger brother Jimmy Moses, is too, a stand-up comedian and mimcry artist.

He also starred on Zee TV on his own show called Johny Aala Re. In 2007, he also appeared as a judge on the stand-up reality show Comedy Circus.

He often appears in cameos with Shahrukh Khan.

National Anthem Controversy

On 8 December 1998, Johny Lever was convicted and sentenced to seven days imprisonment for disrespect to the Indian National Anthem and Indian Constitution during a private performance in Dubai. According to the Police, this private performance was on the occasion of birthday party of the son of Anis Ibrahim, brother of international smuggler and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.

Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor Introduction

Ranbir Kapoor belongs to the fourth generation of the prestigious 'Kapoor Family' that is reckoned as the first family of Bollywood. His father is Rishi Kapoor and his mother, Neetu Singh. He did his schooling from Bombay Scottish High School and graduated from Lee Strasberg Institute, New York. He made his debut in November 2007 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya opposite newcomer Sonam Kapoor. The response for the film was not too great, but Ranbir's work was well appreciated. In 2007, Saawariya also won him the Filmfare award for the Best Male Debut.

Career

Before starting off his career as an actor, Kapoor worked as an assistant to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, where he was involved in the making of the film Black (2005). Kapoor later made his acting debut in November 2007 with Bhansali's Saawariya opposite newcomer Sonam Kapoor. The film failed to do well at the box office, though he received many positive reviews for his portrayal of the lovesick singer, Ranbir Raj. Critic, Taran Adarsh commented, "Ranbir Kapoor is supremely talented, no two opinions on that. Yes, he looks handsome, but what you carry home is the sincerity in his performance. If that's the [high] level of performance in his debut film, this lad will only make the Kapoor clan proud in years to come. It's a 10 on 10 for this debutante."

Kapoor was then seen in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno, which released on August 15, 2008. The film did reasonably well, therefore acquiring a semi-hit status at the box office. As of September 2008, he is filming for Rajkumar Santoshi's Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani opposite Katrina Kaif. Kapoor's other forthcoming projects include Wake up Sid, where he will be seen opposite Konkona Sen Sharma. The film is directed by Ayaan Mukherjee & produced by Karan Johar.

Sunny Deol

Sunny Deol Introduction


Sunny Deol is actor Dharmendra's son and his mother is Prakash. His wife's name is Pooja and his two sons are Rajvir and Ranvir. Actor Bobby Deol is his brother. Sunny did his schooling form Sacred Heart Boys' High School. In 1983, He made his acting debut in the blockbuster movie Betaab. In 1985, in film Arjun he played the role of a jobless youth who is forced to become a gangster by circumstances. This role established his image as the action hero of Bollywood. In 1990, Sunny's breakthrough role came with Ghayal directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. His role of a boxer who fights for his family received cult status. The government of India awarded him a national award for his role of a lawyer in Damini.Many of his films in the action genre including Tridev (1989), Vishwatma (1992), Imtihaan (1995), Ghatak (1996), Ziddi (1997), Border (1998) and Indian (2001) were some of the biggest hits of his career.He has also had success in romantic and dramatic roles in films including Chaalbaaz (1989), Damini (1993), Darr (1993), Jeet (1996) and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001). Gadar: Ek Prem Katha remains his most successful film to date at the box office.Sunny Deol has also tried his hand at direction with the film Dillagi starring himself, Bobby Deol & Urmila Matondkar.ction

Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt Introduction


Sanjay Dutt is the son of Bollywood's most popular star couple, Nargis and Sunil Dutt. He was educated at Lawrence School, Sanawar in Himachal Pradesh.He has two sisters, Priya and Namrata. He has a daughter, Trishala, who studies Forensic Science in the USA. His first wife Richa died from cancer. He got married to model Rhea Pillai later. They got divorced in 2005, after spending the last few years of their marriage apart. Sanjay Dutt started his film career with Rocky in 1981. In a period of 20 years in Bollywood, he's acted in about 60 films, which established him in the film industry though he had many ups and downs.Today, Sanjay Dutt is one of the top 10 Bollywood actors.He was arrested under the TADA Act for being in possession of an AK-47 rifle without a licence. In 1999, after his release from jail he had three consecutive hits Daag: The Fire, Haseena Maan Jaayegi and Vaastav. His performance in Vaastav earned him a Filmfare Award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 2000, he appeared in the movie Mission Kashmir, and in 2002, in the film Kaante. In 2003, his movie Munnabhai MBBS was a super-duper comedy hit of the year. He also got the Filmfare Best Comedian award for this movie.On November 28, 2006, a special TADA Court found actor Sanjay Dutt guilty under the Arms Act of possessing an illegal weapon.


He was cleared, however, of the charges of terrorism and conspiracy. Dutt's bail has been extended a number of times since the ruling and is still in progress. On July 31, 2007, Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to a jail term of six years for illegal possession of firearms. On August 2, 2007, Sanjay Dutt was moved from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai to the Yerawada Jail in Pune. On August 20, 2007, the Supreme Court of India granted him interim bail. On November 27, 2007, Sanjay Dutt was granted bail by the Supreme Court. Less than three months after Dutt was released on bail, he married Manyata Patil, on the 7th of February 2008.

Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan Introduction

Saif Ali Khan is the son of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore. His sister is actress Soha Ali Khan. Saif also has another sister. He did his schooling from Lockers Park Prep School. He did his graduation from Winchester College in England. He married actress Amrita Singh in October 1991. They divorced in 2004. They have two children, a daughter named Sara and a son named Ibrahim. In 1992, he made his Bollywood debut in the film Parampara opposite Neelam. In 1993, he won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for the film Aashiq Awara. His acting career went through a relative slump until 2001, when he was cast in Farhan Akhtar's film, Dil Chahta Hai. The success of this film established Saif as one of the industry's most promising stars. In 2006, he was critically acclaimed for his villainous role in the Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, Omkara. Is the Brand Ambassador of Royal Stag, Lenovo, Taj Mahal tea, Asian paints Royale, Chevrolet's mid-sized car Aveo among others.Race has generated good business but the response to Tashan was not as expected. Roadside Romeo is his next release which is expected soon.

Early life

Saif Ali Khan was born into a Muslim family of the Nawabs of Pataudi. His grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, was the Nawab of Pataudi as well as an accomplished cricketer who played for England and then for India as the captain of the team. His paternal grandmother was Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal and his great-uncle was Pakistani general Nawabzada Sher Ali Khan Pataudi. His father is Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, like Nawab of Pataudi, he was not only the Nawab of Pataudi but also a former captain of the Indian cricket team. Khan has two sisters Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan. Khan's mother is Sharmila Tagore, she is a Bengali Indian film actress, head of the Indian film censorship board and a relative of the Nobel laureate - Rabindranath Tagore. His mother later converted to Islam after her marriage to Khan's father, and changed her name to Begum Ayesha Sultana. He spent his childhood in a Muslim atmosphere, reading the Quran, with his grandmother being the center of his religious education. Khan says that "Religion played a major role in my upbringing."

Initially Khan studied at the Lawrence School Sanawar but later attended Lockers Park Prep School. Later, he followed in his father's footsteps by attending Winchester College, a famous independent school for boys in UK.


As an actor

Saif was meant to make his debut in Bekhudi in 1992 opposite Kajol but the film took off without him.

In that same year, he made his Bollywood debut in the film Parampara as a parallel lead.In 1993, For his next film Aashiq Awara, which also released that year, he won the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His breakthrough role came in 1994 with Yeh Dillagi starring opposite Kajol and Akshay Kumar which was his first major hit. Khan went on to star in many films but they failed at the box office. He only had success with multi-starrer hits like Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Imtihaan (1995), Kachche Dhaage (1999) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999). After some box office failures he had a hit with the film Kya Kehna (2000).

His acting career, more or less, went through a relative slump until 2001, when he was cast in Farhan Akhtar's contemporary drama Dil Chahta Hai. He received much acclaim for his role as Sameer with critic Taran Adarsh calling it his career-best performance. The success of this film firmly established Saif as one of the industry's most bankable stars.

He has since had many box office successes, starting with Nikhil Advani's drama Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, set in New York, starred Saif as Rohit, Zinta's best friend, who later realises that he loves her. The film was the second top-grossing film of the year, and Khan's performance was praised by critics. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, as well as other awards in that category in other award ceremonies. Khan followed it with the leading role in Kunal Kohli's romantic comedy Hum Tum (2004), his first collaboration with Yash Raj Films. The film follows the encounters of the two main characters until they, after several years and various meetings, become friends and finally fall in love. Khan played the role of Karan Kapoor, a young cartoonist and womaniser whose relationship with Rhea Prakash, played by Rani Mukerji, changes his perception of women and life. Khan's performance was applauded by both critics and audiences. He won the Best Comedian award at the Filmfare, and was conferred the coveted National Film Award for Best Actor in 2005. Khan's next project with the Yash Raj Films production, Salaam Namaste (2005), became India's top-grossing film in the overseas market. The film, which was the first Infian film to be entirely shot in Australia, starred Khan and Preity Zinta as a contemporary cohabiting Indian couple. Khan's performance was again well-received by critics. He was also noted for his performance in a negative role in Ram Gopal Verma's Ek Hasina Thi (2004) and for his role of Shekhar Rai in Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta (2005), an adaptation of the 1914 Bengali novella, Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.

In 2006 Khan played the protagonist in the English-language art film, Being Cyrus. His role as Cyros got him positive reviews, and he went on to receive enormous acclaim for his villainous role in the Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, Omkara. Rediff.com stated, "Omkara marks Saif's emergence into the very forefront of his acting peers, and we gleefully applaud". He won the Best Villain awards at all the major award ceremonies, including the Star Screen, Filmfare, Zee Cine and IIFA Awards.

Khan next starred in Eklavya: The Royal Guard, which saw him and starring alongside his mother for the second time since Aashiq Awara. Though the film was a box-office failure, it was a critical success and was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars, and Khan's performance as Harshwardhan was appreciated by critics. Taran Adarsh commented, "watching him emote with amazing precision makes you realise the giant strides he has taken as an actor".

Khan's 2007 release, Ta Ra Rum Pum was a moderate box office success. In 2008 Khan starred in Race, which went on to well at the Indian and overseas box office. It broke box office records for first week collections. His next films, Tashan and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, however, performed poorly both critically and commercially.

As of March 2009, Saif will be seen acting in one of his own productions, Love Aaj Kal and Karan Johar's untitled production.

As a producer

Khan turned Producer when he setup his production company called Illuminati Films in 2009. His first film which is titled Love Aaj Kal, will be directed by Imtiaz Ali who directed the successful film Jab We Met. Saif's second film production titled as Agent Vinod, will be directed by Sriram Raghavan. Both films will be made by Saif's production company and will see a UK release by Eros International based in London.

Suhasini

Suhasini Introduction

Suhasini Mani Ratnam (born Suhasini Chaaru Haasan on August 15, 1961) is an award winning south Indian actress. She made her film debut in 1980 with the Tamil movie Nenjathai Killathe.

Personal Life

Suhasini was born in Chennai to actor Chaaru Haasan, the elder brother of Kamal Hassan.

Suhasini is a trained costume designer, hair stylist and cinematographer. She is known as the first female student to graduate from the Madras Film institute.

In 1988, she married Mani Ratnam and the couple have a son, born in 1992.

Film Career

In 1996, Suhasini stepped into direction, helming her first film Indira. She also wrote the screenplay for the film. The project was produced by G.V films . She and husband Mani Ratnam, are both involved in the running of their production company Madras Talkies, along with G. Srinivasan.

She won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress in 1986 for her role in the 1985 Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi, directed by K. Balachander.

She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada as well as Malayalam films. She was introduced to Malayalam cinema through Padmarajan's Koodevide (1983), which also featured Mammootty. Her role in the AFI Fest nominated feature Vaanaprastham (1999), which starred Mohanlal was particularly well received.

She is also a very talented make-up artist and hair stylist. Suhasini has helped her co-stars who were equally popular like Radhika, Radha, Vijayashanthi, Sumalatha and Ambika on their make up and hair. She even volunteered to do Radhika's hair for the movie, "Keladi Kanmani", a sort of come-back movie for Radhika. She was very instrumental in getting Radhika back to Cinema after the later succumbed to some personal problems.

Sneha

Sneha Introduction

Suhasini "Sneha" Rajaram (born October 12, 1981 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is a Tamil film actress in Chennai, India. She has acted in several Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language films. She debuted in Ingane Oru Nilapakshi, a Malayalam film directed by Fazil. Her first commercial success was in her debut Tamil film Ennavale, which was the second film in her career. Sneha has won two Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards and has been nominated once for a Filmfare Best Actress Award. She has also received one Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Virumbugiren. Got her Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu Government in the year 2006 and Nandi Award from Andhra Pradesh Government in the year 2005 for her wonderful acting in the film Radha Gopalam. She recently received Excellence Award from Chennai Rotary Club.

Career

Sneha, began her film career in the 2001 Malayalam film Ingane Oru Nilapakshidirected by Anil BAbu in a supporting role, however her major breakthrough came later that year in a Tamil language film, Ennavale opposite Madhavan. Later that year, she starred in the film, Aanandham as well as K. Balachandar's, Parthale Paravasam. She finished the year with a foray into Telugu cinema, making two appearances in notable films.

A total of 8 films, were released in 2002 including her first major hit in Telugu with Hanuman Junction as well as other hits in Unnai Ninaithu and April Madhathil. Prestigious films with top actors also followed, such as King and Pammal K. Sambandam with Vikram and Kamal Haasan respectively.

After a successful previous year, Sneha acted in only two films in 2003. The first being Vaseegara with Vijay, the second being a heroine-oriented double role in Parthiban Kanavu. The film became a commercial hit as well as winning plaudits for Sneha's portrayal of the double role.

The year 2004 was a mixed year for the actress, with Jana, Bose, Venky and Adhu, a horror film, all failing at the box-office. However, Vasool Raja MBBS opposite Kamal Haasan became a blockbuster, while Autograph was a box-office hit which won critical acclaim.

Simran

Simran Introduction

Simran Bagga (born Rishibala Naval on April 4, 1976) Is an Indian actress who has acted in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. She recently appeared in the 2008 Tamil film Vaaranam Aayiram directed by Gautham Menon, costarring Surya Sivakumar

Personal Life And Background

Simran was born as the first daughter to Ashok Naval and Saradha Naval on April 4,1976. She has two sisters Monal(Actress who committed suicide) and Jyothi Naval and a brother Sumith. She finished her B.Com., in Mumbai and was doing modelling simultaneously. Then she came to film industry. She speaks Telugu Punjabi, Hindi, English, French.Simran is a versatile dancer and can perform Bharatanatyam with the same ease as she performs Salsa.

She married Deepak Bagga on December 2,2003. They have a son 'Adheep' born on June 11,2005.

Career

Simran made her debut in the Hindi film Sanam Harjai directed by Saawan Kumar. Jaya Bachchan (ABCL Corp) who saw her in "Superhit Muqabla" on Doordarshan’s Metro channel offered her a leading role in "Tere Mere Sapne". But the movie only an average grosser and she was not recognized in Bollywood.

Tamil

She later on moved south by acting first in a high budget Malayalam film, Indraprastham with Megastar Mammootty in the lead role and she tasted success too. Then she came to Tamil movie industry with Nerukku Ner opposite Surya in 1997 and the movie was a huge success and she was highly appreciated for her dancing in the song Manam Virumbudhe. Then she starred in several successful movies such as V.I.P, Natpukaga, Aval Varuvala and Kannethirae thondrinaal with leading actors Prabhu Deva, Sarath Kumar, Ajith Kumar and Prasanth respectively and then Simran was called as the Queen of kollywood. She got her first break through the movie Thulladha Manamum Thullum opposite Vijay in 1999. Her performance as a blind woman was well praised. In the same year she acted in blockbuster Vaali opposite Ajith Kumar and she won several awards for her acting in Vaali which includes a National Award, a Filmfare award, a Tamilnadu government award and a Kalaimaamani award. Later in 1999 she acted in Jodi which was commercially successful and she became the Lady Super Star of Tamil film industry and ruled kollywood till 2004. Her success streak continued in 2000 with the films Priyamaanavale and Parthen Rasithen in which she acted in a negative role and won a Tamil Nadu government award. She saw a new low in her tamil career in 2001,as she concentrated in telugu, and once again became the leading actress in 2002 with several successes such as Ramana opposite Vijaykanth, Panchathantiram opposite Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal opposite Madhavan. She won several accolades for her performance in Kannathil Muthamittal including a National Award, a Filmfare award, a Tamilnadu government award and a “Dinakaran Best Actress Award”. She left the Tamil Industry after her Marriage with her last movie New which was a blockbuster of 2004. She became the Highest paid south Indian actress by getting 75 lakhs for her last movie New in 2004.

She has acted in all kind of characters right from glam roles as in Vaali to family roles in Kannathil Muthamittal. Her character in Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi(2003) as a tribal girl is highly spoken.

Telugu

She enjoyed an average success in Telugu movie industry as she acted with all the super stars of Tollywood such as Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna. Her notable Telugu films include Daddy opposite Chiranjeevi, Samarasimha Reddy,Seema simham and Narasimha Naidu,Okka Magadu opposite Balakrishna, Nuvvuvasthavani and Bava Nachadu opposite Nagarjuna and Yuvaraju opposite Mahesh Babu. She has received Nandi Award twice for the films Nuvvuvasthavani in 2000 and Narasimha Naidu in 2001 and Filmfare award twice for the same movies.

Asin

Asin Introduction

Asin's father Joseph Thottumkal is a businessman while her mother Seline is a doctor. Asin attended the Naval Public School in Cochin and later on completed her Junior College from St. Theresa's Higher Secondary School. She has a degree in BA from St Theresa's College. Asin began her career as a businesswoman before entering filmdom. Asin is brand ambassador for various products such as Fairever, Tanishq, BIG 92.7 FM, Spinz, Parachute, Colgate and Mirinda. Her breakthrough in films came with Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (Telugu) where she starred opposite Ravi Teja. Asin's first Tamil film was M Kumaran, Son Of Mahalakshmi in 2004. The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year. Asin's Dasavathaaram (Tamil) opposite Kamal Hassan released in 2008 and was also appreciated, though it was not a big hit. This film was to be dubbed in eight languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Marathi and Hindi. Her 2005 movie Ghajini with Surya, which was released simultaneously in both Tamil and Telugu, was a mega hit in both languages. Asin also stars in the film's remake in Hindi with the same title, with Aamir Khan opposite her. The Hindi Ghajini has broken all previous box-office opening week records for Bollywood, garnering Rs 900 million worldwide until last count. Asin has shifted base to Lokhandwala, Mumbai and is currently shooting for Vipul Amrutlal Shah's London Dreams opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. She's also doing a film with Akshay Kumar called Patiala House.Early life and background

Asin was born into a Syrian Catholic Christian family in Kochi , Kerala. Her father, Joseph Thotumkal originally from Thodupuzha, managed several businesses and was considered a prominent entrepreneur before he stopped managing his businesses and decided to manage his daughter's acting career instead. Furthermore Asin's father accompanies her to all her foreign shoots. Her mother, Seline Thottumkal, remains a surgeon despite moving settlements from Cochin to Chennai to Mumbai to live with her daughter. Asin has quoted that her name "means without blemish and pure". She claims that "the 'A' in [her] name is from Sanskrit and word 'Sin' from English". She also mentions that she "has not come across anyone with same name"

Early work, until 2004

Asin Thottumkal debuted in a supporting role in Sathyan Anthikkad's unsuccessful Malayalam film Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka in 2001, at the age of 15. After taking a year out to pursue her education, Asin returned with her breakthrough film as an actress, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi opposite Ravi Teja, portraying a Tamil girl in her first Telugu language film, which subsequently fetched her the Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In the same year she won the Santosham Best Actress Award for her performance alongside Nagarjuna in her second Telugu film, Shivamani. Her following two Telugu films, Lakshmi Narasimha and Gharshana, both portrayed Asin as the love interest for police officers, giving her two more solid hit films, cementing her place as a leading actress in the Telugu film industry.

Asin's first Tamil language film was M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi, in which she co-starred with Jayam Ravi. Asin reprised her role from her film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi for the remake, which saw her portraying a Malayali girl instead of the Tamil girl in the original. The movie subsequently went on to become one of the biggest hits in Tamil cinema during 2004, introducing Asin to Tamil film industry. After a brief return to Telugu films, to do Chakram, her first failure as a senior artiste, she appeared in Ullam Ketkumae. The film, initially launched in 2002, was originally meant to be the launch for Asin as a lead actress, along with then-debutants Arya and Pooja Umashankar. The college love story, directed by Jeeva, was long-delayed but eventually became a successful venture at the box-office, creating wider opportunities for her and the rest of the lead cast.

Breakthrough, 2005 - 2007

After the release of Ullam Ketkumae, Asin became publicized as a leading heroine after signing films with the four leading actors of the Tamil industry: Surya, Vikram, Vijay and Ajith in Ghajini, Majaa, Sivakasi and Varalaru respectively. The venture which provided the breakthrough for Asin to become the leading South Indian actress was her Tamil film, Ghajini. The film, co-starring Surya and Nayantara and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, helped Asin secure the Tamil Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her role, that of a vivacious young model called Kalpana who dies, became a trendsetter and was parodied in several other films after the release of Ghajini. Sify.com praised her portrayal as "magical" and that "Kalpana was the lovable chatterbox, [with] sheer ability in the romantic interludes, the poignant and heartfelt scenes when she rescues minor girls from villains and her gory end are touching". The reviewer further went on to mention that "The chemistry between the lead pair in the first half is a delight", a view that became common among film producers who attempted to put their pair opposite each other for the films, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Vaaranam Aayiram, both of which started without Asin. The following Diwali in 2005, Asin had two big releases in Sivakasi and Majaa. Despite the latter becoming an average grosser, the former also went on to be a successful venture at the box office, despite Asin's poorly etched out role.

The following year, Asin opted for a less hectic schedule, becoming more choosy with her roles, rejecting several opportunities in the process. Her long-delayed venture, Varalaru opposite Ajith Kumar, became the biggest blockbuster of 2006 in Tamil cinema, after releasing for Diwali 2006. The film's hero-centric plot retreated Asin to the sidelines, but her role was well acclaimed by critics. Asin kept intact with her popularity in Telugu films by appearing in Pawan Kalyan's Annavaram, another successful venture in which she had a poorly-etched out role. In January 2007, Asin appeared opposite Ajith Kumar and Vijay in two different films, Aalwar and Pokkiri, with the latter becoming a super success, whilst Aalwar became a failure. The two projects which released on the same day, had been billed up as rival films due to the rivalry of the lead actors in the films. Whilst Asin's role in Aalwar was criticized, her performance in Pokkiri was lauded by critics. Her final project of the year was opposite in Hari's Vel, which had a Diwali 2007 release, subsequently becoming her third successful film which released during the Diwali season in three years. The film saw Asin and Surya put apart their creative differences and appear alongside each other after Ghajini. Asin, who portrayed a TV anchor, was appreciated for her role in the film.

Success, 2008 - present


Asin appeared in her first dual role in K. S. Ravikumar's magnum opus Dasavathaaram opposite Kamal Haasan, who portrayed ten roles. The film, which was under production since September 2006, became Asin's largest film till date. Despite being overshadowed by Haasan's ten roles, Asin's portrayal's in the film were praised as her "best-to-date" with one of her roles being that of a Vaishnavite in the 12th century; whilst the other character was a Brahmin girl from Chidambaram. Dasavathaaram subsequently went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters in South Indian film history.Since establishing herself as the leading actress in South India, Asin opted to move into Bollywood, to get nationwide fame. Her first film, Ghajini opposite Aamir Khan was the remake of her breakthrough film of the same name. Upon release, the film garnered positive reactions from critics and masses alike, with Asin being singled out for her "fabulous" portray. Noted critic, Taran Adarsh describes her Hindi debut as "fabulous" and that "to share the screen space with an actor of the stature of Aamir Khan and yet remain in your memory even after the show has ended is no cakewalk. She looks fresh and photogenic and acts her part brilliantly", giving Asin's performance a positive outlook. Asin is committed to Vipul Shah's London Dreams alongside Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, in which she plays a member of a five-troupe band. Furthermore, Asin is commited to Bharat Bala's trilingual international project titled 19th Step made in English, Japanese and Tamil in which she co-stars along with Kamal Hassan and Tadanobu Asano. In the project, Asin reportedly plays the role of an Indian Princess who falls in love with a Japanese Warrior who comes to ancient Tamilakam to learn the ancient Dravidian martial art of Kalaripayattu from a veteran.

Trisha Krishnan

Trisha Krishnan Introduction

Trisha Krishnan, (born on May 4, 1983) is a prominent, award-winning actress in both Tamil and Telugu film industries. She rose to fame in the Tamil industry with her roles in movies, Saamy and Ghilli and the Telugu industry with her movie, Varsham.

Early Life

Born to Krishnan and Uma Krishnan , in Palakkad the Tamil Iyer actress got her higher education in Ethiraj College, Chennai. Later, she modelled and won Miss Salem in 1999, Miss Chennai in 1999 and Miss India Miss Beautiful Smile in 2001. In school, she participated in several cultural activities, sports and school band. She studied at Sacred Heart Church Park School, in Madras.

She started her career as a model, appearing in many TV advertisements including that of Fair and Lovely and Josco Jeweller. She also starred in Falguni Pathak's music album Meri Chunar Ud Ud Jaye.

Film Career

Trisha Krishnan first made her debut in films when she was offered a small cameo in the film Jodi. However, the first movie in which she signed up to enact the role of the leading lady was Priyadarshan's Leysa Leysa. A string of flops marked the beginning of her career, such as Manasellam, and Alai. However she was well suited for her role opposite Surya in Mounam Pesiyadhe and won critical acclaim. She is well acclaimed for her facial expressions while acting. She then played Vikram's lady love in the mega blockbuster Saamy. The next huge film she took part in followed immediately afterwards, was Ghilli with Vijay, which was a remake of Telugu blockbuster Okkadu.

In 2004, she starred in Varsham in Telugu which went on to become the biggest hit of the year and turned her into an overnight sensation. In 2005, she starred alongside Siddharth Narayan in the telugu flick Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana as the village girl Siri. The movie is about a rich boy, who tries to marry a girl - however her brother opposes. It is directed by Prabhu Deva, was successful at the box office, and Krishnan won two awards for the film which include the Filmfare Award and Nandi Award.

She appeared in Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu which was remade into a hit Hindi movie Yuva. The Tamil version included Siddharth Narayan, Madhavan and Surya. Her later movies, Ji, Aathi and Aaru did not do well - though Aaru was received well by critics and both dubbed in Tamil and Telugu and produced by Saran, who had previously directed several successful movies. Her 2006 Telugu movie, Pournami, directed by Prabhu Deva, was a flop. However, another 2006 film, Something Something ... Unnakum Ennakum, where Krishnan acted opposite Jayam Ravi, did well at the box office. Something Something ... Unnakum Ennakum is a remake of the Telugu movie, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana where she plays the same role.

Her Telugu film Sainikudu with Mahesh Babu was released on November 30, 2006. There were high expectations in the trade circles from this film especially after the smashing hit Pokiri, but this high budget film started off with below average reviews. Despite receiving bad reviews from the film trade, the film managed to get a decent opening in India and overseas.

Her next release after Sainikudu was Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule where she was cast opposite Venkatesh. This film was Selvaraghavan's first film in Telugu. The film released on April 27, 2007. The film is a family entertainer and received good response especially from the family audience. The box office returns exceeded the collections of later releases like Aata and Munna. Krishnan's performance is one of the highlights of the movie.

In Kireedam with Ajith, Krishnan tried comedy and received rave reviews. Kireedom opened with high expectations and received good reviews from media and audience. Her 2008 films, Bheema and Kuruvi failed to succeed at the box-office, whilst Krishna with Ravi Teja , opened to rave reviews. Her other movie Bujjigadu starring Prabhas, directed by Puri Jagannadh was released during Summer and made a decent run. Her other projects include three Tamil films, Radhamohan's Abhiyum Naanum, Sarvam with Arya and a Gautham Menon film. She has also signed a Telugu film: King starring Akkineni Nagarjuna directed by Sreenu Vaitla is awaited for December release. King has so far done well at the box office.

Krishnan recently replaced Rani Mukherjee as the Brand Ambassador of Fanta India. She is the brand ambassador of Scooty Pep+, for which she has replaced Preity Zinta. She endorses Perk chocolate, for which also she has replaced Preity Zinta. She is also the brand ambassador for Fiama Di Wills, a product by ITC

Vikram

Vikram Introduction

Vikram (born John Kennedy on April 17, 1966 in Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu, India) is a Tamil film actor who has been a prominent figure in Indian cinema, as well as a playback singer and as a dubbing artist.

Vikram began his career appearing in series of unsuccessful small budget films throughout the early 1990s. He made his film debut in En Kadhal Kanmani (1990). Following the failure of his early films, Vikram appeared as a dubbing artiste to prominent actors, whilst trying to find a breakthrough in terms of his acting career. After the critical and commercial success of Sethu (1999) he has been part of numerous other commercially successful films and has earned major critical acclaim for many of his performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won three Filmfare Awards, as well as securing India's most prestigious film award, by achieving the National Film Award for Best Actor.

While some of Vikram's best-known films, Dhill (2001), Dhool (2002), Gemini (2002) and Saamy (2003), remain some of Tamil cinema's biggest hits, performances in films like Sethu (1999), Kasi (2002), Pithamagan (2003) and Anniyan (2005) have won him critical acclaims and awards, making Vikram one of the most successful actors of Tamil cinema.

Personal Life


Vikram was born on April 17, 1966 in Paramakudi, a town in Ramanathapuram district. Vikram did his schooling in a boarding school named Montfort School in Yercaud. The school presented him with ample opportunities for extra curricular activities such as karate, dance and swimming. Right from the time, he was in school his one and only aim was to become an actor. His parents however wanted him to do his graduation after finishing his final high school year. Thus, he completed his graduation in English from Loyola College, Chennai after which he also completed his MBA degree. He then got an offer to act in a Tamil film titled, Meera.

Vikram's father is also a supporting actor, acting in many films. He is known for his role in Ghilli as the father of the film's lead actress, played by Trisha Krishnan. Vikram and his father have not appeared together in a film yet.

Acting Career

Vikram debuted in the film Meera in 1990. Following its release, the film did not run well in the box office. Vikram still accepted subsequent offers he received and saw his first hit film, Sethu in 1999.

Sethu, which was released in 1999, was Vikram's first blockbuster though he made his debut almost a decade earlier. The film grossed over Rs.50 million at the box office. Vikram's second blockbuster Dhill came in 2001. The film grossed over Rs.100 million at the box office. Vikram's next blockbuster Gemini came the very next year in 2002. It grossed over Rs.200 million at the box office. Dhool and Saamy both came in 2003 and yet were top grossing films of the year. Also in 2003 was the critically acclaimed Pithamagan which earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor. His successful performance prompted S. Shankar to cast him for his high budgeted Anniyan. Anniyan was also another top-grossing film released in 2005 for which he received a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award. Along with Telugu as for all his films, the film was also dubbed in French and Hindi, which made his Bollywood debut.




Vikram later appeared in Majaa which was a comedy flick but did not do well at the box office. Three years later, in 2008, his film Bheema released, also receiving critical acclaim. He is currently working in the film Kandaswamy which is being directed by Susi Ganesan and has been under production for nearly two years. He will also be casted in Mani Rathnam's next Tamil film tentatively titled Ashokavanam. Vikram is married to Shylaja, a Keralite.

Vijaykanth

Vijaykanth Introduction


Vijayakanth (born Vijayaraj Azhagarswami on August 25, 1952 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India) is a Tamil film actor and politician in Tamil Nadu, India. He is the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and a Member of Legislative Assembly representing Virudhachalam, Tamil Nadu, India.Early Life

Vijayakanth was born as A. Vijayaraj Azhagarswami on August 25, 1952 in Madurai, India. His parents are K. N. Alagarswami and Aandal Azhagarswami. He married Premalatha on January 31, 1990 and had two sons named Vijay Prabhakar and Shanmuga Pandian. Upon entering the film industry to pursue an acting career, he changed his name to "Vijayakanth", dropping the "raj" out of his name and suffixing "kanth," by director Khaja . He is nicknamed "Captain" which was taken from one of his popular films Captain Prabhakharan.

Acting Career

Vijayakanth has starred in various hits such as like Amman Koil Kizhakkaley, Vaidegi Kathirundal, Chinna Gounder, Vallarasu, Vanathai Pola,Sethupathi IPS, Ulavu Thurai,Periyanna, Kannupada Pokuthayya and Ramana, Neranja Manasu, Sabari. He was considered as the third major star in Tamil films after Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth in the 80s and early 90s till now. He is instrumental in giving break to actors like Mansoor Ali Khan , Livingston and Sarath Kumar . Only he can outshine himself when it comes to incredible stunts he performs in tamil movies.Although he is a man of much controversy, vijayakanth never fails to entertain his fan bases .Inspite of not much media coverage , he still holds some of the largest fan bases equivalent to all "so called " top stars of kollywood .

He has a very large fan base mainly in B and C centres.The films like "Chatriyan" and "Ramana" were also acclaimed by A centres. His Action Films dubbed into Telugu often do good business. Vijaykanth has a peculiar style of fighting especially with his leg kicks which is very popular among fans. vijaykanth is the only leading actor from Tamil Film Industry who has done only Tamil Films in his entire filmography of 150 Films. Moreover he has the habit of giving chance to new directors. After a string of flops, Arasangam , Vijayakanth's 150th film was a super hit. Vijayakanth is also acting in a film called Engal Aasan now.

After a successful film career Vijayakanth is set to make his mark in the Tamil politics and had a very good start .

He took great effort to settle the debts owing to Nadigar Sangam by organising shows in Malaysia and Singapore.

Politics


He formed the center-left winged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), a regional political party in Tamil Nadu. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai. His party contested in all 234 seats in 2006 assembly elections and won one seat contested by him.

Awards



Vijayakanth as been honoured with several allocades and awards from associations, such as Filmfare, Cinema Express, Cinema Studio, Malai Malar, Peasum Padam, Dinakaran, Makkal Kural, and the Mathi Arts Academy. In 2001, he was given the title and award of Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu. The same year, he was also awarded with the Best Indian Citizen Award from the Indian Government -- adapaavigala

Siddharth Narayan

Siddharth Narayan Introduction

Siddharth is a Indian actor, film executive, playback singer and screenplay writer. After his business management studies, Siddharth chose to work in film making and worked as assistant director before making debut in the Tamil movie Boys. In the subsequent years, he had worked in many Telugu, Hindi and Tamil movies.

Personal Life

Siddharth married Meghna on November 3, 2003 and later divorced in early 2006. He is currently dating Soha Ali Khan, his co-star in Rang De Basanti. However, in numerous interviews with Soha Ali Khan for reknowned English newspapers such as The Times of India, she has claimed that she is not in a relationship with Siddharth.

Education

Siddharth was born as Siddharth Suryanarayanan in Chennai. He studied at DAV Boys' Senior Secondary School,Chennai and Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi. He got his B.Com (Honors) degree from Kirori Mal College, New Delhi. Siddharth was popularly known as "Siddu" in school and college, and was part of the reputed theatre group of the college The Players. He was also president of the college's debating society and attended the World Debating Championships. He completed his MBA in 2001 from S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai. He was declared "CNBC Manager of the Year" in 1999.

Film Career

After his MBA, Siddharth landed the role of assistant director for Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal through cinematographer P C Sreeram and his brother Jayendra. Screenplay writer Sujatha recommended his name to Shankar for casting in his then upcoming movie Boys. The movie was a moderate success in Tamil but the dubbed version in Telugu gave Siddharth an opening in the Telugu industry.

Siddharth worked for Prabhu Deva in the film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantanathat gave his first filmfare best actor award. In 2005, Siddhu also ventured into the writing forum as well as singing forum as he wrote the screenplay for his Telugu film Chukkallo Chandrudu directed by Siva Kumar and sang as a playback singer. Siddharth debuted in Bollywood as part of the critically acclaimed Rang De Basanti which starred Aamir Khan as a lead. Siddharth received the Star Screen Debut Award for his role in as Karan Singhania in the movie. Siddharth's next Telugu film - Bommarillu received critical acclaim as well as box office success. He worked with director Vishal Bhardwaj and Oscar winning Lensman Guillermo Navarro on a short film titled "Blood Brothers" which screened at the Toronto film festival.

Siddharth run of success at the Telugu box office ended when Aata (2007) didn't fare to expectations, ending up as an average grosser. In 2009, Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam directed by debutant Dolly Kishore and oppsite with Tamanna received good responses from the critics and the audiences. Siddharth has signed to the lead role in debutant director Anand Ranga's Oye and is awaiting the release of his second Bollywood movie Striker.

Silambarasan

Silambarasan Introduction

T. R. Silambarasan (born Silambarasan Rajendar on February 3, 1983 in Chennai, India), is a Tamil film actor, director, playback singer and songwriter. He began his acting career doing many minor uncredited roles as a child artist, produced by his father T.Rajendar. He made his debut under his father´s direction in 2002 and has since acted in several films in lead roles. He has also directed one film, Vallavan.

Film Career

Silambarasan acted in Tamil films as a child artist in his father's films like Monisha En Monalisa, Sabash Babu, Rajadi Rajavan, and Thiruvalla in minor roles. His father, T. Rajendar had an idea to make Silambarasan direct a film at the age of 15 but dropped later. His debut in movies as a hero came in the form of Kaadhal Azhivathillai, a Tamil language movie also featuring the debut of Charmy Kaur, a popular Telugu actress. The film was highly hyped but the film flopped at the box-office and it was followed by Dhum and Kuthu with Rakshitha and Divya Spandana respectively. These films also did average business at the box-office.


Alai with Trisha Krishnan followed, which ran over 50 days at the box-office but once again he faced controversy due to some scenes between Trisha Krishnan and himself. His next film, Kovil with Sonia Agarwal but it also failed to make an impact at the box-office. Silambarasan then took a year break to concentrate on the filming of Manmadhan, for which he also wrote the screenplay. The film starred Jyothika Saravanan, Mandira Bedi and Yana Gupta and became a runaway triumph at the box-office breaking many records. The film was also the first blockbuster in Silambarasan's career. His next film, Thotti Jaya also did not meet up with the expectations at the box-office, in which he had paired with Gopika. For Thotti Jaya he sported a black beard in the role of an orphaned gangster who finds love.

In 2006, Saravana was released. After the success of Manmadhan, he paired up with Jyothika Saravanan to act in the film directed by K.S. Ravikumar. But later it also ended up becoming a great flop at the box office.[citation needed] Silambarasan decided to turn director in Vallavan. It was released on Diwali 2006 and starred him opposite Nayantara, Reema Sen and Sandhya.It was hyped a lot and released with huge expectation and later became a huge failure at the box office. His latest film, Kaalai, was released in January 2008 which flopped at the box office. However in December 2008, Silambattam released with mixed reviews, though garnering the super hit talk since the film is running packed houses at box office, thus an overall good rating for the film.

Currently Silambarasan has three projects lined up: Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya which pairs him up with Trisha Krishnan under the direction of Gautham Menon, Podaa Podi, a cosmopolitan love story set in Canada featuring Varalaxmi Sarathkumar as well as Kettavan.

Television Controversy

Silambarasan donned the role of a judge during the second season of Star Vijay's Jodi Number One, where the participants are television artistes. On the episode aired on October 6, 2007, Silambarasan told the participant, Prithvi Raj, that he didn't perform well in the round. Prithvi Raj, unable to accept the comments, refused to talk. However Silambarasan provoked him to talk, which made Prithvi Raj say that Silambarasan was using the situation to get some footage of himself. Silambarasan left the show in disbelief only to return teary eyed after recalled by the remaining participants. Later Prithvi Raj was eased out of the show as the show rules state that, "Once a participant leaves the stage/set before the judges, he forfeits his chance to participate in the show".

Relationships

Silambarasan created headlines when publicity posters sprung up around Chennai of his Vallavan co-star, Nayantara and him kissing. However, despite maintaining a high-profile relationship, involving the press, the pair broke up soon after the film was released citing differences. Nonetheless, after the break-up, pictures were released anonymously of the pair kissing each other at Nayantara's apartment. Further controversy was created when rumours leaked out that the plot of Silambarasan's forthcoming film, Kettavan, was based on the couple's true love story.

Sources have concluded that Silambarasan rank in the Tamil Industry has dropped significantly because of his films like Vallavan,and Manmadhan. Many actress are afraid to act with him, since the accident of him and Nayantara kissing in her apartment. Also, there have been videos posted on Youtube of both of them being very close. The videos can't confirm that it was them but it could possibly be those two. With all the controversy surrounding around him, he still as a good rank in Telugu Cinema. Most of his films dubbed in Telugu are more successful than in Tamil.Silambarasan may make his first step in the Telugu Cinema if he isn't successful in his upcoming movies in the "Tamil Industry."

Ajith Kumar

Ajith Kumar Introduction

Ajith Kumar is the son of Subramaniam and Mohini. He has two brothers, Anil and Anup. He is married to actress Shalini. They have a baby girl called Joan. Ajith is a high school drop out. He was a salesman in the garment export business for a while and also tried his hand at modelling. Ajith starred in a few advertisements before he got the chance to act in films.Ajith debuted in the film Prema Pustagam (Telugu) in 1992. Ajith Kumar is recognized for his triple roles in Varalaru (Tamil) that is his biggest grosser to date and for his sensitive character portrayal in Kireedam (Tamil). Ajith has more than 60,000 fan clubs throughout Tamil Nadu. Ajith had a small role as Asoka's brother in Shah Rukh Khan's Asoka (Hindi) in 2001.

Early life

Ajith Kumar was born as the middle child in Hyderabad, India to a Tamil father and a Sindhi mother. However he has strong ties to the Tamil culture and society as he grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He dropped out of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School in 1986 to become a full-time garment exporter based in Erode till 1990. Several business agencies pushed him into modelling for advertisements in print media.


Romantic hero (1992-2000)

Ajith started his film career at the age of 21 as an actor in the Telugu movie Prema Pustakam in 1992. His next film was the Tamil film Amaravathi. And his second film was the Tamil film Pavithra. Both of these films were below average at the box office. But it was the super hit film Aasai, released in 1995 and directed by Vasanth had established his career as a leading actor in Kollywood.Ajith's first big budget venture was Aasai. But it was only until the release of the National Award winning Kadhal Kottai which was his blockbuster ever in his career, released in 1996. Ajith later played the lead in Amitabh Bachchan's debut Tamil production Ullasam. This venture paid him a salary of Rs. 5 million for the first time ever.

A string of very successful movies followed, most notably Kadhal Mannan and Vaali which cast him alongside Simran. Vaali saw a new peak in Ajith's career. He played a dual role in the film. One as a deaf-and-dumb twin who lusts after his naive brother's wife. After Amarkalam with his then-fiancee, now wife Shalini, Ajith set up his own distribution company AK International with the office located within the premises of NIC Arts which was run by his ex-friend, producer and distributor S. S. Chakravarthi. This office was shifted in 2006. In 2000, Ajith was cast alongside Mammooty, Abbas, Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in Kandukondain Kandukondain. Mugavari followed as Ajith acted alongside Jyothika Saravanan.

Ups and downs (2001-2005)

In 2001 , Ajith played the role of Shahrukh Khan's brother in the commercially unsuccessful historical film Asoka. He began the year with the scintillating movie Dheena directed by A. R. Murugadoss. This movie showed Ajith as a rowdy and he acted alongside Suresh Gopi and Laila Mehdin. Citizen opposite Vasundhara Das was experimentally successful and earned the actor with lot of appreciation and awards but the movie failed to mark it's signature in the box office, Citizen was followed by Poovellam Un Vaasam which was also an average grosser. The film Raja opposite Jyothika Saravanan and the action flick Red proved to be a disaster for the actor and marked the downfall and an proved to be an all time low in the actor's career.

In 2003 and 2004, Ajith acted in Anjaneya, Jana and Attagasam opposite Meera Jasmine, Sneha, and Pooja Umashankar respectively. While Anjaneya and Jana flopped at the box office, Attagasam became an average. He later went on to act in the film Ji which opened very well but failed to sustain success in the longrun.

Billa and the future (2006-present)

During 2006, Ajith acted in 3 projects. First he acted in Paramasivan directed P. Vasu and then in Thirupathi directed by Perarasu. Both were below average films. Later that year he released his 3 year-pending project Varalaru: History of Godfather directed by K. S. Ravikumar. Varalaru turned out to be a blockbuster movie in terms of collection due to the three roles he played as an old man who was once a classical dancer and two identical twins, with one being the antagonist.

Ajith's first film in 2007 was with the newcomer director Chella in his maiden film entitled Aalwar. Aalwar did not live up to the expectations created by the success of Varalaru. As a result it was a major let down for Ajith. After Aalwar, Ajith acted in a remake of a 1989 National Film Award winning Malayalam film, Kireedam with Trisha Krishnan. The film was produced by Adlabs and marked the production company's entry into Kollywood. With a few controversies regarding the film's immensely emotional climax, it was appreciated for Ajith's excellent performed and it was an average movie of that year. On the sets of this film, Ajith sustained a recurring spinal injury.

In December 2007, Billa its large international released since it was the remake of the 1980 Rajinikanth-starrer Tamil film of the same name which itself was a remake of Amitabh Bachchan's 1978 Hindi film Don which in turn was remade by Shah Rukh Khan in 2006 as Don again.

After Billa, Ajith acted in the film Aegan, which was directed by the choreographer turned director Raju Sundaram. Ajith is currently acting in the film Asal which is being directed by Saran, making Asal their fourth film together. By 2008, Ajith was paid a salary exceeding $2 million

Personal life

Ajith began dating his Amarkalam co-star Shalini in 1999 . At that time, their involvement made him a regular subject of tabloid gossip, a role to which he was unaccustomed. They were married in 2000 in Chennai, where they invited many other Kollywood actors and actresses including Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Joseph Vijay, Surya Sivakumar and R. Madhavan. As both were of different religions, Ajith being a Hindu and Shalini being Catholic, they were married together under the customs of both religions . After their marriage in the year 2000, Shalini retired as an actress and became a full time housewife. However she did accompany Ajith to the sets of his films as moral support. On January 3, 2008, the couple have a baby girl, Anoushka Kumar.

Professional car racer

Ajith is a professional "car racer" and has driven in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai , Chennai and Delhi. He has also been abroad for various races including Germany and Malaysia. He drove in the Formula 3 for the team Mango Racing.

He was in 2004, India's third best driver after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok.

The Green Revolution, Chennai


Ajith is an ambassador for the Green Revolution, an organization to clean up the Chennai environment. He uses his films for subtle marketing of his ideas and planted 101 saplings in his locality in Adyar, Chennai in 2004. This was to make an awareness about the environment and to increase the oxygen levels in Chennai due to the pollution caused by everyday motorists. This action was welcomed by the public. Since then the Green Revolution themselves have went on to plant many saplings in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

Mohini-Mani Foundation

Ajith created this non-profit organisation named after his parents in order to promote self-hygiene and civic consciousness and to help ease the problems of urban sprawl . The Mohini-Mani Foundation became important to Ajith from 2003 onwards and he now continues to fund the non-profit organisation to make sure he keeps helping to ease the problems of urban sprawl.

Brahmanandam

Brahmanandam Introduction

Padma Shri Dr.Brahmanandam Kanneganti is a popular and Leading Telugu film comedian-actor.The roles he portrayed are usually comic in nature.Padma Shri Dr.Brahmanandam was born on February 1, 1956 at Sattenapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India. Prior to movies, he was a Telugu lecturer in the town of Attili, a town in West Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Film Career

He began his film career with popular Telugu director and writer, Jandhyala's Aha Naa Pellanta in which Rajendra Prasad played the lead role. After a brief hiatus, he was given a role by Jandhyala in 'Ahana Pellanta' and Brahamanandam never looked back .Owing to his comic abilities, he is now one of the most respected comedians in the history of Tollywood. Nowadays he is an well versatile active comedian in Tamil movies as well, such as in Ghilli, Mozhi, Kuselan and Sathyam.

According to him, Jandhyala and S.V.Krishna Reddy were the best comedy directors he has ever worked with. He is presently writing a book based on his experiences in the film industry.

Family

He has two sons and the elder son Gautam has been introduced to the Telugu film industry through Pallakilo Pellikooturu. The film is directed by renowned choreographer and writer, Chandrabose's wife Suchitra.