Sonali Bendre is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Telugu films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with Aag (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of the Year. Bendre is a recipient of several accolades, including two Filmfare Awards and four Screen Awards.
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma, often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television. Varma has directed films across multiple genres, including parallel cinema and docudrama noted for their gritty realism, technical finesse, and craft. Regarded as one of the pioneers of new age Indian cinema, he was featured in the BBC World series Bollywood Bosses in 2004. In 2006, Grady Hendrix of Film Comment, published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films.
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Sarfarosh (transl. Fervent) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written, produced and directed by John Matthew Matthan and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi. John started working on Sarfarosh in 1992. Seven years were spent on the research, pre-production and production till it finally released in 1999. The film deals with an Indian police officer's quest to stop cross-border terrorism.
Shankar Nagarakatte was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as Karate King. He directed the teleserial Malgudi Days, based on novelist R. K. Narayan's short stories and acted in some episodes as well. He won two National Film Awards, four Karnataka State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.
Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.
Hum Saath-Saath Hain, also abbreviated as HSSH, is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language family drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya under the production and distribution of Rajshri Productions. The film stars an ensemble cast with Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Mohnish Bahl alongside Neelam, Mahesh Thakur, Reema Lagoo and Alok Nath. The story centers on a joint family and its values and togetherness, who grow apart after a misunderstanding.
Sonali Kulkarni is an Indian actress, producer, and writer who primarily appears in Marathi and Hindi films. She has also appeared in Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati and English films. She has received several awards including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Marathi Awards.
Stumble is a 2003 Indian English-language film written and directed by Prakash Belawadi in his debut. It stars Anant Nag and Suhasini Maniratnam in the lead roles. Mukhyamantri Chandru, Ashok Mandanna and Priya Ganapathy feature in supporting roles. Set in Bangalore, the film explores the impact of corruption in the information technology world, the stock market and mutual funds scams and dot-com bubble on ordinary people.
Shwaas is a Marathi film, released in 2004. It was India's official entry to the 2004 Oscars and was ranked 6th in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. Its storyline is based on a real-life incident in Pune. With a low-budget of the Indian rupee of 65 lakhs (6 million), Shwaas won the National Award for best film in 2004, nearly 50 years since a Marathi film last earned this title. Directed by debutant Sandeep Sawant, it was shot in 33 days at Sindhudurg, Konkan, Pune and at KEM Hospital in Pune. Shwaas was acknowledged as a "significant turn for Marathi cinema" which had been going through a low patch. After its success, it was released in Hindi, Bengali and Tamil languages.
Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, also credited as Anant Mahadevan, is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and film director of Hindi and Marathi as well as Tamil Films and television shows. Having been an integral part of the Indian television serials and Hindi films since the 1980s, he is also involved in the professional English and Hindi theatre.
Siddharth Jadhav is an Indian actor, entertainer and comedian widely known for his work in several Hindi and Marathi films and stage productions. He has received several awards including a Filmfare Award Marathi.
Preethse is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language psychological thriller film starring Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra and Sonali Bendre. The film was directed by D Rajendra Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film major part was shot in Australia as well. The film is a remake of the 1993 Bollywood film Darr. The film was dubbed in Telugu as Sadist. Preethse was the second highest grossing Kannada film of the year 2000 behind Vishnuvardhan's Yajamana. It ran for 25 weeks and became Upendra's third consecutive blockbuster after A and Upendra.
Not Only Mrs. Raut is a 2003 Indian Marathi social drama film directed by Gajendra Ahire. Aditi Deshpande, who plays the lead role of Mrs. Raut, has produced the film.
Anant Nag is an Indian actor and occasional film producer who appears as an actor in predominantly in Kannada films and a few Hindi and Telugu films. In a career spanning over 5 decades, he has appeared in over 270 films. After having had a successful theatre career, he made his debut in P. V. Nanjaraja Urs' Kannada film Sankalpa, and Shyam Benegal's Dakhani film Ankur, with the former seeing theatrical release first, in 1973, and won multiple awards at the 1972–73 Karnataka State Film Awards. In G. V. Iyer's 1975 film Hamsageethe, he played the role of Bhairavi Venkatasubbiah, a performance that won critical praise, and the film was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada at the 23rd National Film Awards.
The Pune International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune city.
Rajesh Mapuskar is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He got involved in the world of films at a very young age, as his family owned a cinema hall. He made his writing and directional debut with Ferrari Ki Sawaari (2012). Later, he wrote and directed the acclaimed Marathi language film Ventilator (2016), which won him several accolades, including the National Film Award for Best Director.
Kshitij Patwardhan is an Indian screenwriter, theatre director, playwright, and lyricist. He received Filmfare award for best screenplay in 2018, Filmfare award for best lyrics in 2020, along with the prestigious Tarun Tejankit award 2019. He is also the recipient of multiple Maharashtra State Awards, Zee Gaurav Puraskar, MIFTA and Star Pravah Ratna for his outstanding contribution to Marathi cinema.
