Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spheres. Among her best known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, the Golden Lion–winning Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay!, which received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
Nilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" Lahiri is a British-American author known for her short stories, novels, and essays in English and, more recently, in Italian.
Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration.
Tabassum Fatima Hashmi, known professionally as Tabu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi films. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's most accomplished actresses, 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.
Irrfan Khan was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spanned over 30 years and earned him numerous accolades, including a National Film Award, an Asian Film Award, and six Filmfare Awards. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. In 2021, he was posthumously awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
Maqbool is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Piyush Mishra, Murali Sharma and Masumeh Makhija in an adaptation of the play Macbeth by Shakespeare.
Sooni Taraporevala is an Indian screenwriter, photographer, and filmmaker who is the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay!, all directed by Mira Nair. She also adapted Rohinton Mistry's novel Such A Long Journey and wrote the films Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, her directorial debut Little Zizou, and Yeh Ballet, a Netflix original film that she wrote and directed.
American Desi is a 2001 Indian-American comedy film. It is notable for featuring many prominent South Asian American actors and features an a cappella version by Penn Masala of Nazia Hassan's classic "Aap Jaisa Koi", originally from the Indian film Qurbani. The term Desi in the title refers to the people and cultures of the Indian subcontinent.
The Namesake (2003) is the debut novel by British-American author Jhumpa Lahiri. It was originally published in The New Yorker and was later expanded to a full-length novel. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection Interpreter of Maladies. The novel moves between events in Kolkata, Boston, and New York City, and examines the nuances involved with being caught between two conflicting cultures with distinct religious, social, and ideological differences.
Zuleikha Robinson is a British actress. She first came to attention as Yves Adele Harlow, a mysterious thief on the 2001 series The Lone Gunmen. She has appeared in the films Hidalgo (2004), The Merchant of Venice (2004) and The Namesake (2006). Robinson was a regular cast member on the series Lost (2009–10), the political thriller Homeland (2012) and the drama The Following (2015). In 2019, she joined the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for their 21st season, in the recurring role of Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Hadid.
Pikoo is a 1980 Indian Bengali-language short film directed by Satyajit Ray for French television channel France 3. The film is based on a short story named Pikoor Diary, written by Ray. The film showcases a day in the life of a six-year-old child, Pikoo, in the backdrop of his mother's extramarital affair.
Vineeth Radhakrishnan is an Indian actor, Bharatanatyam dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also appeared in a few Hindi and Kannada films. He has won several awards including 3 Kerala State Film Awards, Kalaimamani honour from Government of Tamil Nadu and Filmfare Award South nominations.
Paulami Sengupta was an Indian poet and the executive editor of Bengali magazines under ABP House in India; including Desh, Sananda, a magazine for grown ups, Anandamela, Unish Kuri and Anandalok.
Mumbai Meri Jaan is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Nishikant Kamat and produced by Ronnie Screwvala. It stars R. Madhavan, Irrfan Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal and Kay Kay Menon. It deals with the aftermath of the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, where 209 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured. It won multiple Filmfare Awards.
Alipore Assembly constituency was a Legislative Assembly constituency of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Katha Sagar is an Indian television series that aired on DD National in 1986. The series featured a collection of stories by writers from around the world, including Katherine Mansfield, Guy de Maupassant, Leo Tolstoy, O. Henry, and Anton Chekhov. Each episode was directed by one of eight well known Indian directors, including Shyam Benegal, Kundan Shah, Ved Rahi and Satyen Bose. Most of the stories in the series were one-episode long.
Piku is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri and Sneha Rajani. Released in India on 8 May 2015, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan in titular roles, while Moushumi Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and Raghubir Yadav appear in pivotal roles. The script was written by Juhi Chaturvedi while Anupam Roy composed the music and wrote the lyrics. Principal photography began in August 2014 and was wrapped up in December.
Indian actress Tabu appears primarily in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films. Her first credited role came as a teenager in Dev Anand's Hum Naujawan (1985), and her first major role was in the Telugu film Coolie No. 1 (1991). In 1994, Tabu received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for the Hindi action drama Vijaypath, which marked her first of many collaborations with co-star Ajay Devgn. The year 1996 was key for Tabu. Her performance as a young woman affected by the Punjab insurgency in Gulzar's Maachis proved to be a breakthrough, winning her the National Film Award for Best Actress. Also that year, Tabu won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for the romance Ninne Pelladata, and featured alongside Govinda in the comedy film Saajan Chale Sasural.
Irrfan Khan was an Indian actor who worked in Indian and British-American films. His on-screen debut was a minor role in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! in 1988. He followed this with appearances in a variety of television shows in the late 1980s to 1990s including playing ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni in Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Makhdoom Mohiuddin in Kahkashan (1991), Vladimir Lenin in Lal Ghas Per Neele Ghodey (1992), a dual role in Chandrakanta (1994), and Valmiki in Jai Hanuman (1997). Khan found his television work unfulfilling and considered quitting acting.
