Dev Anand was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema. Anand is considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Through a career that spanned over six decades, he worked in more than 100 films. Anand is a recipient of four Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. The Government of India honored him with Padma Bhushan, Indian third highest civilian honour in 2001 and with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002.
Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the action drama Ghayal (1990), starring Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Amrish Puri. The film emerged as a major critical and commercial success, making Santoshi a household name in Hindi cinema. The film won also him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment as well as his first Filmfare Award for Best Director.
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards. They were initially referred to as the "Clare Awards" or "The Clares" after Clare Mendonça, the editor of The Times of India and modelled after the Academy Awards.
Yash Raj Chopra was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of several awards, including 6 National Film Awards and 8 Filmfare Awards. He is considered among the best Hindi filmmakers, particularly known and admired for his romantic films with strong female leads. For his contributions to film, the Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001, and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. In 2006, British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented him with a lifetime membership, making him the first Indian to receive the honour.
Mehmood Ali, popularly known simply as Mehmood, was an Indian actor, singer, director and producer, best known for playing comic roles in Hindi films.
Kailasam Balachander was an Indian filmmaker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of unconventional themes and hard-hitting contemporary subject matter. Balachander's films are well known for their portrayal of women as bold personalities and central characters. Popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Sigaram, his films are usually centred on unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He started his film career in 1964 as a screenwriter and graduated to a director with Neerkumizhi (1965).
Ajay Singh Deol, better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and incumbent Member of Parliament of Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament from Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab. As an actor, he has worked in more than 90 Hindi films in a career spanning over four decades and is particularly known for his angry action hero persona. Deol has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards.
Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, credited as Tabu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. Regarded as one of the most accomplished actresses in Hindi cinema, she has often played troubled women, from fictional to literary, in both mainstream and independent cinema. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards, and two Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian honour.
Bimal Roy was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Devdas, Madhumati, Sujata, Parakh and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema. Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, he made Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). His work is particularly known for his mise en scène which he employed to portray realism. He won a number of awards throughout his career, including eleven Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival. Madhumati won 9 Filmfare Awards in 1958, a record held for 37 years.
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Pran Krishan Sikand Ahluwalia, better known by his mononym, Pran, was an Indian actor, known as one of the greatest villain ever in the history of Indian cinema and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s. He has been one of the most highly successful & respected veteran actors in the history of Indian cinema. He was also one of the highest-paid actors of his time.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades, and is named the pioneer of the 'middle cinema' of India. Renowned for his social films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos, Mukherjee "carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema".
Waheeda Rehman is an Indian actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's most accomplished actresses, she has worked in more than 90 feature films, in a career spanning over five decades. Her accolades include a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. She was honoured with India's civilian awards; the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 2011. In 2021 she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema, but was awarded in 2023.
Smita Patil was an Indian film and theatre actress. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of Indian cinema, she appeared in over 80 films, mostly in Hindi and Marathi, in a career that spanned over a decade. Patil was the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards Marathi and received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
C.I.D. is a 1956 Indian crime thriller film directed by Raj Khosla and produced by Guru Dutt. It stars Dev Anand, Shakila, Johnny Walker, K. N. Singh and Waheeda Rehman. The film has Dev Anand playing a police inspector investigating a murder case. The music was given by O. P. Nayyar and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and Jan Nisar Akhtar. It was Waheeda Rehman's screen debut, and future directors Pramod Chakravorty and Bhappi Sonie worked as assistant directors on this film. It is considered to be one of the "Best Thrillers to have ever come out of Hindi Cinema".
Murugadoss Arunachalam, commonly known as A. R. Murugadoss, is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing action films mainly on social issues. In addition, he has worked in Telugu films and Hindi films. Murugadoss won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for his 2014 Tamil action drama Kaththi.
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. He is primarily considered an auteur of neo-noir action thrillers.
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.
Raakhee Gulzar, professionally known as Raakhee, is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi and Bengali films. In her four decades of acting, she has worked in more than 100 films. Raakhee has won several awards including two National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. In 2003, she received Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.
Brahmachari (transl. Celibate) is a 1968 Indian film. Written by Sachin Bhowmick, it is a G. P. and Ramesh Sippy production directed by Bhappi Sonie. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree, Pran, Mumtaz, Jagdeep, Sachin and Asit Sen. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan. The film became a box office Super Hit and won several awards, including Filmfare Best Movie Award.