Kishore Kumar was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern Indian music. Kumar was one of the most popular singers in the Indian subcontinent, notable for his yodelling and ability to sing songs in different voices. He used to sing in different genres but some of his rare compositions, considered classics, were lost in time.
Vijay Anand, also known as Goldie Anand, was an Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, editor and actor, who is known for acclaimed films such as Guide (1965), Teesri Manzil (1966), Jewel Thief (1967) and Johny Mera Naam (1970). He made most of his films for the in-house banner Navketan Films and was part of the Anand family.
Sunil Dutt was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was honoured with Padma Shri, in 1968, by the Government of India, for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Sanjay Balraj Dutt is an Indian actor, playback singer and film producer who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi films. One of the most popular and recognised actors of Hindi cinema, in a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 135 films.
Pankaj Kapur is an Indian actor who has worked in Hindi theatre, television and films. Recipient of a Filmfare Award and three National Film Awards, his most acclaimed film roles include that of Inspector P.K. in Raakh (1989), Dr. Dipankar Roy in Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1991) and Abba ji in Maqbool (2004), the latter based on Shakespeare's King Duncan in Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Macbeth.
Utpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little Theatre Group" in 1949. This group enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period now known as the "Epic theatre" period, before it immersed itself completely in highly political and radical theatre. His plays became an apt vehicle for the expression of his Marxist ideologies, visible in socio-political plays such as Kallol (1965), Manusher Adhikar, Louha Manob (1964), Tiner Toloar and Maha-Bidroha. He also acted in over 100 Bengali and Hindi films in a career spanning 40 years, and remains most known for his roles in films such as Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969), Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk (1991), Gautam Ghose’s Padma Nadir Majhi (1992) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's breezy Hindi comedies such as Gol Maal (1979) and Rang Birangi (1983). He also did the role of a sculptor, Sir Digindra Narayan, in the episode Seemant Heera of Byomkesh Bakshi on Doordarshan in 1993, shortly before his death.
Guru Dutt was an Indian film actor, director, producer, choreographer, and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema.
Anjan Dutt is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre anyodharar gaan. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the Mrinal Sen film Chaalchitra, for which he won the best newcomer actor award at the Venice Film Festival. He acted in Aparna Sen's hit film, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. In 2018 he featured in Swapnasandhani's new play Taraye Taraye, as Vincent van Gogh, under the direction of Kaushik Sen.
Vinod Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awards. Khanna was considered a style & fashion icon, often referred as 'Sexy Sanyasi' in media. After joining politics, he became the MP from the Gurdaspur constituency between 1998–2009 and 2014–2017. In July 2002, Khanna became the minister for Culture and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. Six months later, he became the Minister of State for External Affairs.
Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the most successful filmmakers of Indian cinema. His movies are often lighthearted but revolve around significant societal issues with humour and emotional intelligence.
Raj Khosla was one of the top directors, producers and screenwriters in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's director" because he showcased actresses at their best. He has given many successful films with Dev Anand. Starting his career under Guru Dutt, he went on to make hit films like, C.I.D. (1956), Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966), Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Dostana (1980) and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978), the last of which won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. His early background in classical music ensured that most of his films excelled in music.
Amanush is a 1974 Indian bilingual action film simultaneously shot in Bengali and Hindi languages, co-written, produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, under his banner of Shakti Films. Based on Shaktipada Rajguru's novel Naya Basat, which was written being plotted on the Sundarbans, the film stars Uttam Kumar in the titular role, alongside Sharmila Tagore, Utpal Dutt, Anil Chatterjee and Prema Narayan in lead roles, while Abhi Bhattacharya, Amarnath Mukherjee and Asit Sen play another pivotal roles, with Shambhu Bhattacharya in a special appearance. The soundtrack and background score was composed by Shyamal Mitra, with Bengali and Hindi lyrics penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder and Indeevar respectively. The Bengali and Hindi screenplay was written by Shaktipada Rajguru himself and Kamleshwar respectively, while the dialogues for the former and latter version were written by Prabhat Roy, who was also the assistant director of the film, and Kamleshwar respectively.
Abrar Alvi was an Indian film writer, director and actor.
Deepak Adhikari, known by his stage name Dev, is an Indian actor, producer, singer and screenwriter, known for his works in Bengali cinema and more recently, a politician. He is also a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha representing Ghatal since 2014, as a candidate from the All India Trinamool Congress party. He owns the production house Dev Entertainment Ventures.
Kumkum,, was an Indian actress.
Neel Dutt is an Indian composer and singer from Kolkata. He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction from the Govt. of India in 2012 for the soundtrack of the Bengali film Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona. Dutt is the third person from West Bengal to win the Best Music Direction award. He is arguably the first music director in India to rearrange a Rabindranath Tagore composition with modern electronic music.
Aryan is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language sports drama film. Initially directed by Late D. Rajendra Babu, who died while filming half-way, the responsibility of directing the film went to Chi Guru Dutt. The film was produced by Dhruv Das under the banner Dreamweaver Entertainment and stars Shiva Rajkumar and Ramya.
Sanju is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language biographical film directed and edited by Rajkumar Hirani, written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi and produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Films. The film chronicles the life of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, notably focusing his drug addiction, arrest for his suspected association with the 1993 Bombay bombings, relationship with his father, and acting career. Ranbir Kapoor stars as the title character, along with an ensemble supporting cast of Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Manisha Koirala, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza and Jim Sarbh.
Ahare Mon is a 2018 Indian Bengali film directed by Pratim D. Gupta and stars Adil Hussain, Anjan Dutt, Mamata Shankar, Ritwick Chakraborty, Paoli Dam, Parno Mittra and Chitrangada Chakraborty in the lead roles.
Mahesh Kaul was an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who primarily worked in Bollywood film industry during his career span. Kaul is known for his contribution to the cinema of India. He mainly worked as a director in several films such as Talaq, Jeewan Jyoti, Diwana, Sapnon Ka Saudagar among others.
