Om Prakash Puri, was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films, as well as independent and art films. He is one of the most notable actors in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his author-backed roles in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982), Ardh Satya (1983) and television films like Sadgati (1981) and Tamas (1987) and also light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997). He had various collaborations with director Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani. Puri also appeared in non-Indian productions in the United States and Britain. In the 1990s, he appeared in My Son the Fanatic (1997) and the comedy drama East Is East (1999), receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Bhatoora is a fluffy deep-fried leavened sourdough bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly served as a midday meal or a breakfast dish in northern and eastern India. Paired with chickpea curry, it forms a traditional dish called chole bhature which originated in Punjab.
Water is a 2005 drama film written and directed by Deepa Mehta, with screenplay by Anurag Kashyap. It is set in 1938 and explores the lives of widows at an ashram in Varanasi, India. The film is also the third and final installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy. It was preceded by Fire (1996) and Earth (1998). Author Bapsi Sidhwa wrote the 2006 novel based upon the film, Water: A Novel, published by Milkweed Press. Sidhwa's earlier novel, Cracking India was the basis for Earth, the second film in the trilogy.
Nandita Das is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Azhagi (2002),Kamli (2006), and Before The Rains (2007). Her directorial debut Firaaq (2008), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and travelled to more than 50 festivals, winning more than 20 awards. Her second film as a director was Manto (2018). Based on the life of 20th Century Indo-Pakistani short story writer Sadat Hasan Manto, the film was screened at Cannes Film Festival in the "Un Certain Regard" section. In September 2019, Das produced a two-minute Public Service Announcement music video India's Got Colour. The music video is about the issue of colourism and urges the audience to celebrate India's diversity of skin colour. Her first book was 'Manto & I' chronicles her 6-year long journey of making the film. She wrote, directed, produced and acted in a short film called, Listen to Her, that sheds light on the increase in domestic violence and overburden of work that women have been facing during the lockdown.
The Topp Twins are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often perform as characters, the most notable being the roles Ken & Ken, and Camp Mother & Camp Leader.
36 Chowringhee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role, along with Dhritiman Chatterjee and Debashree Roy.
Ae Fond Kiss… is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach, and starring Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle. The title is taken from a Scottish song by Robert Burns, the complete line being "Ae Fond Kiss, and then we sever..."
Seema Biswas is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and the theatre. She came to prominence with the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen (1994), for which she won the National Film Award for Best Actress. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta's Water (2005). Her other mainstream films include Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), for which she won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress, Bhoot (2003), Vivah (2006) and Half Girlfriend (2017). In addition to films, Biswas has appeared in many television shows.
The Adjuster is a 1991 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan. It premiered at the New York Film Festival, and invited to the Director's Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. It is Egoyan's fourth feature film, and the first of his works to achieve international acclaim. The film has won five awards, as well as two other nominations upon its initial release. Egoyan based the film on a true story in 1989, when a fire burned down his parents' home. He realized how strange it could be for victims of a house fire to be emotionally dependent of insurance workers, which led to the inspiration for the project.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian actress and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant. Primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She has often been cited in the media as "the most beautiful woman in the world".
Niharika Singh is an Indian film actress. She began her career as a model and won the title of Miss Earth India in 2005. As an actor, she made her debut with the critically acclaimed drama Miss Lovely which competed in Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Niharika was selected for Berlinale Talents in 2016 and in 2019, she joined Future East as one of the directors of the company.
Nandita Chandra is a multiple award-winning actress and model.
Guru En Aalu is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Selva and produced by K. R. Gangadharan. It stars Madhavan, Abbas and Mamta Mohandas in the leading roles, while Vivek and Brinda Parekh portray supporting roles. The film was a remake of Aziz Mirza's 1997 Hindi film Yes Boss starring Shahrukh Khan. The music was composed by Srikanth Deva with cinematography by U. K. Senthil Kumar and editing by V. T. Vijayan. The film began production in late 2007 and released on 24 April 2009 to mixed reviews, becoming an average grosser at the box office.
Firaaq is a 2008 Hindi political thriller film set one month after the 2002 violence in Gujarat, India and looks at the aftermath in its effects on the lives of everyday people. It claims to be based on "a thousand true stories". Firaaq means both separation and quest in Arabic. The film is the directorial debut of actress Nandita Das and stars Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Inaamulhaq, Nassar (actor), Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Suri, Raghubir Yadav, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash and Tisca Chopra.
Seema Rao is popularly known as “Wonder Woman of India” in the Indian media. She is India's first woman commando trainer, having trained Special Forces of India for over two decades without compensation. She is an expert in close quarter battle (CQB) — the art of fighting in tight proximity — and is involved in training various Indian forces. She works in partnership with Major Deepak Rao, her husband.
Oonga is a Hindi and Oriya film directed by Devashish Makhija, and produced by Speaking Tree Pictures & Moo Print Pictures. It is a story of a little adivasi boy's obsession with becoming Rama, set against the backdrop of corrupt land mining activities threatening to destroy his village and the civil strife it leads to. The film stars Nandita Das, Seema Biswas, Salim Kumar and Raju Singh.
Prohor is a 2002 Bengali feature film directed by Subhadro Chowdhury. The film is based on Dulendra Bhowmick's short story Dash Number Bed. The cinematographer of the film was Amlan Dutta. It revolves around a nurse who, in one night, discovers that there is a patient in her hospital, who once raped her brutally. It stars Debashree Roy in the central character. The film was edited by Saurav Sharangi and the background score was composed by Chiradeep Dasgupta.
Manto is a 2018 Indian biographical drama film based on the life of the prominent Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto, written and directed by Nandita Das. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the title character of Indo-Pakistani, author and writer Saadat Hasan Manto. Tahir Raj Bhasin plays the 1940s Bollywood superstar Shyam Chadda. Shyam was Manto's friend, confidant, and inspiration for a number of stories. Rasika Dugal plays the role of Manto's wife, Safia. Manto is based on the 1940s post-Independence period of India. Manto earned seven nominations at 64th Filmfare Awards including Best Film Critics, Best Actor Critics for Siddiqui.
Mitu Bhowmick Lange is an Indian-Australian filmmaker, film producer and founder-director of Mind Blowing Films, a film distribution company that focusses on distribution of local content to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. She is the founder and director of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, a Victorian government funded annual film festival that started in 2010 and the Victorian Government came on board in 2012. She has also provided line production services for the Hindi films Salaam Namaste (2005), Koi Aap Sa (2005), Chak De India (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Main Aurr Mrs Khanna (2009) and Love Aaj Kal (2009). Lange was awarded Jill Robb Screen Leadership Award for 2017 from Film Victoria. Mitu Bhowmik was appointed as a board of member at WIFT Australia in Feb 2022. Mitu is also a board member at Film Vic Australia and the part of the committee for Natalie Miller Fellowship (NMF).
Shoma A. Chatterji is an Indian film scholar, author and freelance journalist. She has been the recipient of a number of awards including the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 1991 and the National Awards for Best Writing on Cinema for her study of the works of Aparna Sen in the publication, Parama and Other Outsiders: The Cinema of Aparna Sen (2002). Notably, she is the only woman to have won both the national awards. She is the author of several biographies including those on Pramathesh Barua, Ritwik Ghatak and Suchitra Sen.
