Ashok Kumar, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He was considered the first big star of Indian cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor. He was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He was honoured in 1988 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India. He received the Padma Shri in 1962 and Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Jaya Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party since 2004. Having worked in Hindi films and Bengali films, she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream and arthouse cinema. A recipient of several accolades, she has won Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of India.
Rajesh Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, he is known as the first Superstar of Indian cinema. His accolades include five Filmfare Awards, and in 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.
Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika, was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.
Saira Banu is an Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi films. Regarded amongst the finest actors of Indian cinema, she was among the most popular actresses of the 1960s and early 1970s. Banu received four Filmfare Awards nominations throughout her career.
Shakti Samanta was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as Anand Ashram (1977), Anusandhan /Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981), Anyay Abhichar (1985), Howrah Bridge (1958), Insan Jaag Utha (1959), China Town (1962), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), An Evening in Paris (1967), Aradhana (1969), Kati Patang (1971), and Amar Prem (1972), Amanush (1975).
Govardhan Asrani, known popularly by mononym Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned over five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles, comedic roles and supporting roles. He is best known for his role in Sholay as a jailer and characters he played in 25 films with Rajesh Khanna in lead role between 1972 and 1991.
Aradhana is a 1969 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta, starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. It won the Filmfare Award for Best Film at the 17th Filmfare Awards. Tagore won her only Filmfare Best Actress Award. Originally released in Hindi and dubbed in Bengali, Aradhana's huge success led to two remakes: the Tamil film Sivagamiyin Selvan (1974) and the Telugu film Kannavari Kalalu (1974). This film is counted among the 17 consecutive hit films of Rajesh Khanna between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two hero films Marayada and Andaz to the 15 consecutive solo hits he gave from 1969 to 1971. Aradhana was a blockbuster in India and the Soviet Union. The theme of the movie was based on the 1946 film To Each His Own. Its run time is 169 minutes.
Kamini Kaushal is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is noted for her roles in films such as Neecha Nagar (1946), which won the 1946 Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and Biraj Bahu (1954), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1956.
Amar Prem is a 1972 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta. It is a remake of the Bengali film Nishi Padma (1970), directed by Arabinda Mukherjee, who wrote screenplay for both the films based on the Bengali short story Hinger Kochuri by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. The film portrays the decline of human values and relationships and contrasts it by presenting an illustrious example of a boy's innocent love for a neighbourhood tawaif (courtesan). The movie is about a school boy, who is ill-treated by his step mother, and becomes friends with a courtesan neighbour. The film stars Sharmila Tagore playing a hooker with a heart of gold, with Rajesh Khanna in the role of a lonely businessman and Vinod Mehra as adult Nandu, the young child, who they both come to care for.
Kati Patang is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations opposite her charming neighbour, played by Rajesh Khanna. It was a box office success and Parekh's performance as Madhavi was critically acclaimed and earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The film also stars Nazir Hussain, Bindu, Prem Chopra, Daisy Irani and Sulochana Latkar.
Vinod Mehra was an Indian actor in Hindi films. He started out as a child actor in the mid 1950s before starting his film career as an adult in 1971. He acted in over 100 films from the 1970s through to his death at the age of 45 in 1990. He was also the producer and director of the film Gurudev which was released 3 years after his death.
Tarun Majumdar was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandalok Award. In 1990, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award. He is recognized as one of the greatest influential filmmakers of India. His few movies were restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India, along with his Contemporaries Arabinda Mukhopadhyay, Goutam Ghose. He is Legendary filmmaker for Ganadevata in 1978, Nimantran in 1971,Palatak in 1963.
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.
Anuraag is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language drama film, directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Moushumi Chatterjee, in her debut as a heroine, and Vinod Mehra in lead roles. The Shakti Samanta fixture Rajesh Khanna, having earlier made Aradhana (1969) and Kati Patang (1971) with Samanta, makes a special appearance. The music is by S. D. Burman. Initially, Samanta was unsure if the distributors would buy a film with such a storyline and had shared the idea with Rajesh Khanna, who encouraged Samanta and volunteered to make an extended appearance for the film, and also distributed the film under the banner "Shakti-Raj".
Balika Badhu is a 1967 Bengali film, starring Moushumi Chatterjee as the title character. It was directed by Tarun Majumdar. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Bimal Kar. The film was remade in Hindi in 1976, which was also directed by Majumdar.
Farah Naaz Hashmi, commonly credited as Farah, is a leading Bollywood actress of the mid 1980s and Mid 1990s. She is the elder sister of Tabu.
Asit Sen was an Indian film director, cinematographer, documentary Filmmaker and screenwriter, who worked in both Bengali and Hindi cinema. He was born in Dhaka, now in modern-day Bangladesh, when it was part of East Bengal in British India. He directed 17 feature films in Hindi and Bengali, and was most known for the films Deep Jweley Jai (1959) and Uttar Falguni (1963) in Bengali, Mamta (1966), Khamoshi (1969), Anokhi Raat (1968) and Safar (1970) in Hindi.
Balika Badhu is a 1976 Hindi romantic comedy-drama film produced by Shakti Samanta and directed by Tarun Majumdar. The film is based on the Bengali novel of the same name by Bimal Kar, about a young girl who is married before she is old enough to understand what marriage is all about, against the backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle. Gradually she and her school-going husband grow as a couple and begin to love one another. The film was previously made into a Bengali film, Balika Badhu (1967), which was also directed by Majumdar.
The 21st Filmfare Awards were held in 1974.
