Mahendra Kapoor was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono (Gumrah) and Neele Gagan ke tale (Hamraaz). His name however became most closely associated with patriotic songs including Mere Desh Ki Dharti in Manoj Kumar's film Upkaar. He considered Mohammad Rafi as his Guru. In 1972, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He lent his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films and had a lengthy association with director-producer Baldev Raj Chopra.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., also known by the initials K3G, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language family drama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by Yash Johar under his banner Dharma Productions. The film has an ensemble cast, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor, with Rani Mukerji in an extended guest appearance. It tells the story of an Indian multimillionaire family, which faces troubles and misunderstandings over their adopted son's marriage to a girl belonging to a lower socio-economic group than them. The film score was composed by Babloo Chakravarty with the music composed by Jatin–Lalit, Sandesh Shandilya and Aadesh Shrivastava and lyrics written by Sameer and Anil Pandey.
Prithviraj Kapoor was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and established the Prithvi Theatres in 1944 as a travelling theatre company based in Bombay.
Mera Naam Joker is a 1970 Indian romantic drama film, directed, edited and produced by Raj Kapoor under his banner R. K. Films, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor as the eponymous character, with his son Rishi Kapoor making his screen debut playing his younger version, along with Simi Garewal, Kseniya Ryabinkina, Padmini, Manoj Kumar and Dharmendra in supporting roles. The plot focuses on a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his sorrows; three women who shaped his life view his final performance.
Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being director in Sholay (1975), which is regarded as one of the most influential film in Northern India ever made. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2013.
Bluffmaster! is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Mishra, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar. It is an adaptation of the 2000 Argentine film Nine Queens. It follows a conman who gets dumped by his girlfriend and after realising he is suffering from a severe illness, decides to help a new apprentice before dying.
Anand Math is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language historical drama film directed by Hemen Gupta, based on the famous Bengali novel Anandamath, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882. The novel and film are set in the events of the Sannyasi Rebellion, which took place in the late 18th century in Bengal. In a BBC World Service poll conducted in 2003 across 165 countries, the Vande Mataram song written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, composed by Hemant Kumar, sung by Lata Mangeshkar was voted 2nd in the "World's Top Ten" songs of all-time.
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.
Ali Zafar is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and his success led many Pakistani actors to venture into Hindi films. He has received five Lux Style Awards and a Filmfare Award nomination.
Aa Ab Laut Chalen is a 1999 Indian Hindi language romantic drama directed by Rishi Kapoor, making his directorial debut and also remains the only film he had directed in his career. The film's script was written by Sachin Bhowmick and Rumi Jaffery. The film premiered in India and the United States on 22 January 1999. It starred Rajesh Khanna, Akshaye Khanna, and Aishwarya Rai and was the last production of R. K. Films.
Vijeta is a 1982 Indian coming-of-age Hindi film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Govind Nihalani. It stars Shashi Kapoor, his son Kunal Kapoor, Rekha, Amrish Puri and Supriya Pathak with K.K. Raina, Raja Bundela and Shafi Inamdar, who went on to become notable supporting actors in Bollywood movies.
Shafi Inamdar was an Indian actor. He started his film career with the film Vijeta and continued it in Ardh Satya. He acted in a number of television serials including Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. His most notable film roles include the inspector in Aaj Ki Awaz, the villain in Awam and the friend of the hero in films like Nazrana, Anokha Rishta, Amrit. Some of his other films are Kudrat Ka Kanoon, Jurm, Sadaa Suhagan and Love 86, all successful.
Amit Kumar is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, including 150 Hindi and Bengali compositions by R. D. Burman. After Burman's death in 1994, citing a lack of quality music composition, Kumar withdrew from playback singing and concentrated on live orchestra shows. In addition to singing in Hindi, has also performed in Bengali, Bhojpuri, Odia, Assamese, Marathi and Konkani. He is the eldest son of singer-actor Kishore Kumar.
Shikari is a 2000 Indian crime thriller film directed by N. Chandra. It stars Govinda, Tabu, Karishma Kapoor and Kiran Kumar in pivotal roles. It was second collaboration between the trio Govinda-Tabu-Karishma after blockbuster Saajan Chale Sasural in 1996. It was first time that Govinda had chosen an anti-hero role while Karishma Kapoor chose an action-packed role, during when Govinda was briefly typed in comic roles and Karishma for glamorous roles. Govinda also wore a prosthetic makeup for the first time in his career. It was released on the eve of Dusshera. Upon release it was an average grosser at the box office, but later it gained cult following due to Govinda's work being mostly appreciated by critics.
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.
Nazrana is a 1987 Indian drama film, directed by Ravi Tandon in a screenplay written by Vijay Kaul. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil and Sridevi in the lead roles. Shafi Inamdar, Priti Sapru and Dalip Tahil are featured in supporting roles. The film's original score was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The film was released a month following Patil's death and was dedicated in her memory. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, grossing ₹3 crore.
Hum Dono is a 1995 Indian action thriller film starring Rishi Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Pooja Bhatt. It was inspired by the film Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy. But the story really looks to be loosely based on Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The movie was the only directorial movie for actor Shafi Inamdar.
Daata (transl. Giver) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Sultan Ahmed, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Shammi Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure, Suresh Oberoi, Supriya Pathak, Amrish Puri, Ranjeet, Deepak Parashar, Shafi Inamdar, Saeed Jaffrey and Bharat Bhushan. This movie was an 'average movie' in big cities, but in small cities and in north India, it was a big hit.
Jaan Ki Baazi is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ajay Kashyap, starring Sanjay Dutt, Anita Raj, Anuradha Patel, and Gulshan Grover. The film was remade in Telugu as Mr. Hero starring Dr. Rajasekhar.
Dinesh Raheja is an Indian author, columnist, TV scriptwriter, film historian. Raheja has been writing on cinema for over 40 years. In his long and prolific career as a writer, he has worked as the Editor of Movie magazine (1988–1999), Channel Editor of India Today's online film section and Editor of Bollywood News Service. He has been a regular columnist for rediff.com and Sunday Mid-day for over a decade and his articles have been published in The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindustan Times, India Today and Outlook. Raheja is a committed film historian and has authored five books: The Hundred Luminaries of Hindi Cinema (1996), Indian Cinema, The Bollywood Saga (2004), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam: The Original Screenplay (2012), Chaudhvin Ka Chand: The Original Screenplay (2014) and Kaagaz Ke Phool – The Original Screenplay (2015).
