Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to five Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.
Javed Akhtar is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civilian honours.
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participated in many memorable Mushaira gatherings of the twentieth century. His wife was theatre and film actress Shaukat Kaifi.
Farhan Akhtar is an Indian actor, filmmaker, writer, dialogue writer, singer and songwriter who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, Akhtar, after establishing a production company named Excel Entertainment along with Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999, made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age comedy-drama Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and received widespread critical acclaim for portraying realistic modern Indian youth in the film, which won the National Award for Best Hindi Film and the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics). Following this, he directed the cult war film Lakshya (2004) and made his Hollywood debut through the soundtrack of Bride and Prejudice (2004), for which he and sister Zoya Akhtar served as lyricists. Next came the commercially successful Don (2006), his third directorial venture, post which he directed a short film titled Positive (2007) to spread awareness on HIV-AIDS.
Don: The Chase Begins Again, better known simply as Don, is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Farhan Akhtar. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Akhtar's production company Excel Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as the titular anti-hero and Priyanka Chopra as Roma. While Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar, Boman Irani, Pavan Malhotra, Rajesh Khattar and Om Puri appears in supporting roles. Kareena Kapoor makes a special appearance. Don is a remake of the 1978 film of the same title, and follows the titular criminal's look-alike who has been sent on a clandestine mission to impersonate Don after he is wounded in a chase, and to gather intelligence on the drug mafia.
Zoya Akhtar is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. Born to Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking from NYU and assisted directors Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becoming an independent writer and director. She is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. Akhtar, along with Reema Kagti, founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio in October 2015.
Luck by Chance is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Zoya Akhtar in her directorial debut. Produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, it stars Farhan Akhtar and Konkana Sen Sharma in lead roles, with Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Alyy Khan and Sheeba Chaddha in pivotal supporting roles. Hrithik Roshan makes an extended cameo appearance. Guest stars and industry folk starring as themselves included Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Rajkumar Hirani, Boman Irani and Anurag Kashyap in cameos. The film shows the journey of an aspiring actor who arrives in Mumbai to become a movie star. How he finds himself riding his fortune to becoming one, while struggling to sustain his relationships, forms the story.
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Reema Kagti. It is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment and marked the debut of Reema Kagti as a director. The film is made up of six different stories.
Apoorva Lakhia is an Indian film director.
Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai in 1999, they mainly produce Hindi films.
Honey Irani is an Indian actress and screenwriter, who works in Hindi cinema. She started her career as a child actor with roles in films such as Mahesh Kaul’s Pyar ki Pyas. She was probably four to five years old when the shooting of the movies Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan and Bombay Ka Chor started.
Tehzeeb (transl. 'Etiquette') is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Khalid Mohammed. It premiered on 21 November 2003. The film stars Shabana Azmi, Urmila Matondkar, Diya Mirza, Arjun Rampal and Rishi Kapoor in a special appearance. Urmila and Shabana were praised for their roles. It was inspired by Ingmar Bergman's Swedish drama Autumn Sonata (1978), and was dedicated to Bergman.
Sorry Bhai is an Indian Hindi romance drama film starring Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri, Sharman Joshi and Chitrangada Singh. It was directed by Onir and released on 28 November 2008.
Prarambha is a 2007 Indian short film directed by Santosh Sivan and funded by Bill Gates foundation. The film stars Prabhu Deva, Skandha and B. Saroja Devi in the lead roles.
Arjun Mathur is a British-Indian actor working predominantly in Hindi films, web series and television serials. He was seen internationally in the British drama series Indian Summers and plays the lead character in the Amazon Original series Made in Heaven, the latter of which earned him an International Emmy award nomination for Best Actor.
Reema Kagti is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi film industry. She made her debut as a director in the critically acclaimed Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), which was followed by the neo-noir, Talaash (2012) and the historical sports drama Gold (2018). Reema along with Zoya Akhtar founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio, in October 2015.
Love Breakups Zindagi is a Hindi romantic film, directed by Sahil Sangha and produced by Zayed Khan under the banner of Sahara Motion Pictures and Born Free Entertainment. It stars Zayed Khan and Dia Mirza in the lead roles. The music is composed by the duo Salim–Sulaiman and the lyrics are penned by Javed Akhtar. The movie released on 7 October 2011.
Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD/M.A.R.D) is a 2013 social campaign launched by India film director and actor Farhan Akhtar. The word "MARD" has been used in the short form of the campaign name. The campaign aims to raise social awareness against rape and discrimination of women.
Nitya Mehra is an Indian film director and screenwriter based in Mumbai. Between 2002 and 2011, she assisted Farhan Akhtar in Lakshya (2004), and Don (2006), Ang Lee in the Oscar winning film Life of Pi (2012), Mira Nair in The Namesake (2006) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) before becoming an independent director. She is best known for directing the romantic drama Baar Baar Dekho (2016) and the Netflix series Made in Heaven (2019-present).
Made In Heaven is a 2019 Indian romantic drama web series that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 8 March 2019. Produced by Excel Entertainment, the series chronicles the lives of Tara and Karan, two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. The series is Amazon Video’s fourth original fictional Indian series and stars Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Shashank Arora, Kalki Koechlin and Shivani Raghuvanshi.
