Shyam Benegal is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received several accolades, including eighteen National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award. In 2005, he was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. In 1976, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour of the country, and in 1991, he was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour for his contributions in the field of arts.
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is a folk tale in Arabic added to the One Thousand and One Nights in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popular Arabian Nights tales, it has been widely retold and performed in many media across the world, especially for children.
Smita Patil was an Indian film and theatre actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi films. Regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Patil appeared in over 80 films, in a career that spanned over a decade. Patil was the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, a Maharashtra State Film Award, two Filmfare Awards Marathi. She received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Shama Zaidi is an Indian screenplay writer, costume designer, art director, theatre person, art critic, and documentary film maker. She is married to director M. S. Sathyu. Shama Zaidi Was Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at ICA - International Cultural Artifact Film Festival in 2021.
Madan Puri was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His brothers were actors Chaman Puri and Amrish Puri. As a character actor mainly in negative roles (villain), he acted in about 430 films in a career spanning above fifty years.
Chor Machaye Shor is a 2002 Indian Hindi action comedy film. The film is directed by David Dhawan and stars Bobby Deol, Shilpa Shetty, and Bipasha Basu in the main leads while Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Rajat Bedi, and Rajpal Yadav play supporting roles. The plot of the film is based on the 1999 Hollywood film Blue Streak.
Vijaydan Detha, also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature. He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Habib Tanvir was one of the most popular Indian Urdu playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He was the writer of plays such as, Agra Bazar (1954) and Charandas Chor (1975). A pioneer in Urdu and Hindi theatre, he was most known for his work with Chhattisgarhi tribals, at the Naya Theatre, a theatre company he founded in 1959 in Bhopal. He went on to include indigenous performance forms such as nacha, to create not only a new theatrical language, but also milestones such as Charandas Chor, Gaon ka Naam Sasural, Mor Naam Damad and Kamdeo ka Apna Basant Ritu ka Sapna.
Nagamandala is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language drama film, directed by T. S. Nagabharana based on a play of same name by Girish Karnad. It was produced by Srihari L. Khoday and the music was scored by C. Aswath. It is an adaptation of a 1988 play by Karnad with the same name which is based on a local folk tale and ritual. It stars Prakash Raj and Vijayalakshmi in the lead roles. The film depicts a romantic plot between a woman and a snake in the disguise of her uncaring husband.
Awam is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed and produced by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Raj Babbar, Smita Patil, Poonam Dhillon, Nana Patekar, Shafi Inamdar in pivotal roles.
Omkar Das Manikpuri is an Indian stage and film actor. He is a native of Brindanagarm (Chhattisgarh) and has been a member of folk-theatre doyen Habib Tanvir's, Naya Theatre company for several years. Manikpuri made his Hindi film debut as a lead in Aamir Khan productions' Peepli Live in 2010.
Kanamarayathu is a 1984 Malayalam film written by Padmarajan and directed by I. V. Sasi. It stars Mammootty, Shobhana, Rahman, Lalu Alex, and Seema. The story was an adaptation of the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. This film won Kerala State Film Awards for the Best Story (Padmarajan), Best Music Director (Shyam), and Best Female Singer.
Ram Sethi, also known as Pyarelal, is an Indian actor who works in the Bollywood industry. Sethi has worked in many films as a main or supporting character in his long career of 6 decades.
Dilwaala is a 1986 Indian Hindi-language film directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Smita Patil in lead roles. The film was a remake of Telugu film Kathanayakudu (1984).
Mahmood Farooqui is an Indian writer, performer and director. He specializes in a type of story-telling known as Dastangoi. Farooqui along with his uncle Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, noted Urdu poet and literary critic, revived Dastangoi, the ancient art of Urdu story telling. He was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in 2010 for it.
Oonch Neech Beech is a 1989 Bollywood film directed by Wasi Khan. It stars Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi, Shashi Kapoor and Smita Patil in leading roles and Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nilu Phule, Sudhir, Jagdish Raj, N.A. Ansari, Sangeeta and Krishan Dhawan in supporting roles. The film is based on a true story about a village woman who gets lost at a railway station and waits fourteen years for her husband to come back.
Projapoti: The Mysterious Bird is a Bangladeshi film which was released in 2011. This film was directed by director of television Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Raz and it is his first film. This film is produced by Enayetur Rahman Bappy and under the banner of NTV Production House. Main star cast of the film was Moushumi, Zahid Hasan, Mosharraf Karim.
Govind Ram Nirmalkar (1935–2014) was an Indian actor and folk theatre artist, known for his contributions to the Nacha folk theatre of Chhattisgarh. His portrayal of the protagonist in Charan Das Chor, an award winning play by Habib Tanveer, won him critical acclaim. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for his contributions to Arts. He was also a recipient of the 2012 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Kaanchli: Life in a Slough is a 2020 Indian period drama film that was produced and directed by Dedipya Joshii, and stars Sanjay Mishra, Shikha Malhotra, Lalit Parimoo and Nareshpal Singh Chauhan. The film was co-produced by Shobha Devi and presented by Anup Jalota. It is based on a story by Vijaydan Detha, a folk-story writer from Rajasthan, India, whose stories have been adapted into many films including Shah Rukh Khan's Paheli. Kaanchli, whose theme is social welfare, tells the story of a strong, self-reliant woman's struggle for survival.
Chandi Dan Detha was an Indian agriculturalist and Padma Shri recipient who is known for pioneering work in the field of agriculture and transforming the desert village of Borunda. Chandi Dan was elected the first Sarpanch of the village panchayat in 1955 and served four terms till he retired. He is also known for founding the premiere Rajasthani folklore institute, Rupayan Sansthan. He was also a member of the Research Advisory Committee (GOI).
