Ashok Kumar, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He was considered the first big star of Hindi 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 also received the Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, known professionally as Tabu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished actresses in Hindi cinema, and 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.
Suchitra Sen (Bengali pronunciation:[ʃuːtʃiːraːʃeːn] ; born Roma Dasgupta, 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.
Biswajit Chatterjee, known mononymously as Biswajit, is a veteran Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema.
Mrigayaa is a 1976 Indian Hindi-language period action drama film directed by Mrinal Sen and produced by K. Rajeshwara Rao. Based on Shikaar, an Odia short story by Bhagbati Charan Panigrahi, it stars Mithun Chakraborty and Mamata Shankar, both making their cinematic debuts through the film.
Basu Bhattacharya was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film Teesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1967. The most popular and critically acclaimed film which he directed remains Avishkaar, starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, which received five stars in Bollywood Guide Collections and for which Khanna received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1975.
Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Hindi and English independent films. For her performance in the film Dekh Indian Circus, she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention . In 2019 she directed her first feature film Roam Rome Mein which screened at Toronto International Film Festival. Chatterjee's performance in the German film Shadows of Time earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.
Kalki Koechlin is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awards. Although a French citizen, she has been raised and lived most of her life in India.
Saswata Chatterjee is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majumdar's Kaalpurush. He gained popularity by portraying the character of Topshe in a Feluda-based television series directed by Sandip Ray. His acting in many Bengali films has been praised by the critics, including his portrayal of a Ritwik Ghatak-inspired character in the 2013 film Meghe Dhaka Tara. He enjoyed success at the national level in Sujoy Ghosh's 2012 blockbuster Hindi film, Kahaani, where he played Bob Biswas, an assassin.
Nila Madhab Panda is an Indian film producer and director. Panda has directed and produced over 70 films, documentaries, and shorts based on social issues, such as climate change, child labor, education, water issues, sanitation and other developmental issues in India. Many of his films are based on his own experiences. He has won several awards and received critical acclaim for his films which have been described as "entertaining yet socially relevant."
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art; contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos, and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world. The festival is conducted jointly by the National Film Development Corporation of India and the state Government of Goa.
The 59th National Film Awards, presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, honoured the best of Indian cinema for 2011 and took place on 3 May 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Awards were presented in 38 categories in the Feature Films section, 20 categories in the Non-Feature Films section and two categories for the Best Writing on Cinema section; 41 jury members chose the winners from 392 entries. The ceremony was hosted by actors Vinay Pathak and Saumya Tandon. Awards were presented by the Vice-President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari. The ceremony was broadcast live on three television channels, eleven All India Radio stations, and webcast live.
Utpal Borpujari is a double National Film Award winner; one, as a film critic, and the other, as a filmmaker. In 2003, he won the Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic at the 50th National Film Awards of India. In 2018, he won the National Film Award, and 5 Assam State Film Awards for his debut feature film Ishu
The 48th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 28 November 2017 in Goa. "Celebrating the Future of Cinema" was set as the festival's theme and registrations were opened in early October 2017.
Village Rockstars is a 2017 Indian Assamese language coming-of-age drama film written, edited, co-produced and directed by Rima Das, who is a self-taught filmmaker. The story follows a 10-year-old girl who befriends a group of boys and dreams of becoming a rock star.
Virendra Saini is a double National Film Award winner; the first as a cinematographer, and the second as a director. He has done the cinematography for quite a few acclaimed filmmakers, including Saeed Mirza
Baaram is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language film written, directed and edited by Priya Krishnaswamy. Produced by Priya Krishnaswamy and Ardra Swaroop under their banner, Reckless Roses, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil in 2019, the only Tamil film to win at the 66th National Film Awards. It also won the Special Jury Award at the Pondicherry International Film Festival, 2019, and the Best Feature Film award at the South Asian Film Festival, Montreal, 2021. Baaram was presented by Grass Root Film Company and Vetri Maaran, and released in Indian theatres on 21 February 2020. In March 2020, it began streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The 51st International Film Festival of India was held from 16 to 24 January 2021 in Goa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival went hybrid, there was physical and virtual screening of 50 films out of 224 films across various categories. Bangladesh was country of focus in the festival with four films of the country included in 'country of focus' section.
Maithili Rao is an Indian freelance film critic, writer, journalist and former English lecturer based in Mumbai. She has worked for several publications, including The Hindu, Frontline, Film Comment, the Sunday Observer, Gentleman, The Independent, and Screen.
Last Film Show, also known as Chhello Show, is a 2021 Indian Gujarati-language coming-of-age drama film directed by Pan Nalin. It stars Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta. The film premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival on 10 June 2021 and was theatrically released in India on 14 October 2022.
