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.
Monsoon Wedding is a 2001 comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair, written by Sabrina Dhawan, and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi. Dhawan wrote the first draft of the screenplay in a week while in Columbia University's MFA film program. Although set entirely in New Delhi, it was internationally co-produced between companies in India, the United States, Italy, France and Germany.
Smita Patil was an Indian film and theatre actress. Patil is regarded among the finest and greatest stage and film actresses in the history of Indian cinema. She appeared in over 80 films in several languages, but mostly in Hindi and Marathi, in a career that spanned just over a decade. Patil is a recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards Marathi and received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in Shaan (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group 'Yatrik' in the 1960s, he moved to films with Sai Paranjpye's Jadu Ka Shankh in 1974. He worked in several parallel cinema films before working in the mainstream Hindi film industry. He appeared in Mahesh Bhatt's classic Arth (1982), Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986), Waaris (1988), and in all three parts of Deepa Mehta's Elements trilogy: Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005). After nearly two decades he was seen on the theatre stage at the Padatik Theatre in Kolkata in the production of Atmakatha, directed by Vinay Sharma.
Junoon is a 1979 Indian Hindi language film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film is based on Ruskin Bond's fictional novella, A Flight of Pigeons, set around the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film's soundtrack was composed by Vanraj Bhatia, and cinematography by Govind Nihalani.
Chakra is a 1981 Hindi movie directed by Rabindra Dharmaraj. The film stars Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Nishant is a 1975 Hindi drama film directed by Shyam Benegal, based on an original screenplay by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar, with dialogues by Satyadev Dubey.
Lillete Dubey is an Indian actress and theatre director. She has worked in Indian and international theatre, television and films in Hindi and English languages. Dubey began her career with Barry John in Delhi and was the founding member of his group - Theatre Action Group in 1973. In 1991 she set up her own theatre company - The Primetime Theatre Company.
Mandi is a 1983 Hindi-language film directed by Shyam Benegal. Based on a classic Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, the film narrates the story of a brothel, situated in the heart of a city, an area that some politicians want for its prime locality. The film is a satirical comedy on politics and prostitution, and stars Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah among others.
Manjadikuru is a 2008 Malayalam film written and directed by Anjali Menon. A shorter video version of the film was premiered at the 2008 International Film Festival of Kerala, and won the FIPRESCI Award for best Malayalam film and Hassankutty award for Best Debutant Indian director. In 2009, it received awards at the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) at New York, winning five Grand Jury Awards - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer and Best Emerging Talent.
Ira Dubey is an Indian actress who has appeared on TV, in theatre and in Bollywood films.
Lushin Dubey is an Indian stage actor and director. She has directed, acted and scripted many drama productions for over 20 years. Lushin is also known for her solo plays like Untitled and Pinki Virani's Bitter Chocolate with theatre director Arvind Gaur. She has acted in films like Partition (2007), Murder Unveiled (2005) — for which she won 2006 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series — and Perfect Husband.
Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane or Godhuli is a 1977 Indian drama film co-directed by Girish Karnad and B. V. Karanth, starring Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Manu, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah. It is based on the Kannada novel Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane, written by S. L. Byrappa as an allegory for nation-building and the clash of modernity with tradition in rural India. It portrays the story of a modern agriculturist who returns from US after studying agriculture and brings his American wife to the village. The film won the Filmfare for ‘Best Film’ (Kannada) and Manu won ‘Best Actor’ (Kannada) at the 25th Filmfare Awards South (1978). The film was made in Hindi and Kannada versions: Godhuli.
Kriti Kharbanda is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu language films. After beginning her career as a model, she made her acting debut with the Telugu film Boni (2009) and her Kannada film debut with Chirru (2010).
Anjali Patil is an Indian actress who works in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil film productions. She has received several awards including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Marathi Award. She received the IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) Silver Peacock Award at the 43rd International Film Festival of India her role in the Sri Lankan film With You, Without You
Main Zinda Hoon is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Sudhir Mishra, starring Rajendra Gupta, Pankaj Kapur, Deepti Naval and Alok Nath.
Naa Bangaaru Talli is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language social problem film written and directed by Rajesh Touchriver. Based on a real-life story, the film stars Siddique, Anjali Patil, Lakshmi Menon, Neena Kurup, and Rathna Shekar. The film is co-produced by M. S. Rajesh and Sunitha Krishnan, an internationally known anti-trafficking crusader. It explores the consequences of sex trafficking, testing the vulnerability of trust in human relations. The film is simultaneously produced in Malayalam as Ente (transl. Mine).
Prashant Nair is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer best known for his 2015 feature film Umrika, starring Suraj Sharma and Tony Revolori, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award. His latest feature, Tryst With Destiny, premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Best Screenplay in an International Narrative award.
Abhinandan Sekhri is the co-founder and CEO of Newslaundry, a media critique, news and current affairs website.
Soni is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Ivan Ayr. Produced by Kimsi Singh and Kartikeya Narayan Singh, the film stars Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Saloni Batra in the lead roles. It was written by Ayr and Kislay and chronicles the life of police officer Soni (Ohlyan) and her superintendent in Delhi Police Kalpana (Batra), who deal with crimes against women in the city.
