Angels of Indian Cinema

Shilpa Shetty

2014-09-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born June 8, 1975) is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar (1993), she has appeared in nearly 40 Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, her first leading role being in the 1994 film Aag. Her performances in Dhadkan (2000) and Rishtey (2002) were appreciated, while her portrayal of an AIDS patient in Phir Milenge (2004) won her many accolades. Her younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood film actress.

After taking part in the British Celebrity Big Brother 5 reality TV series in 2007, Shetty was crowned the winner with 63% of the final vote, after an international racism controversy involving her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd. This was followed by a re-establishment of her status in the film industry in 2007 when she appeared in two successive movies, Life in a... Metro and Apne, with her performance in the former drawing positive reviews.

Early life

Shetty was born in a traditional family in Mangalore that hails from the Bunt community. She is the elder daughter of Surendra and Sunanda Shetty, manufacturers of tamper-proof caps for the pharmaceutical industry, In Mumbai, she attended St. Anthony Girls' High School in Chembur, and later attended Podar College in Matunga. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she was also into sports and was the captain of the volleyball team in schools. She has a black belt in karate and is currently a dancesport expert and enthusiast. Shetty's younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood actress. They worked together once in the film Fareb (2005).

Acting career

1993-1994: Early hits

Shetty started her career by modelling for Limca in 1991 at age 16 and made her film debut in 1993 with Baazigar, portraying a woman murdered by her psychopathic boyfriend. Shetty took the supporting role of Seema, co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Kajol; the film was a major success and earned her a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Her first leading role was in the film Aag in 1994, which was averagely received at the box office. She had a hit that same year with the film Main Khiladi Tu Anari opposite Akshay Kumar. This was followed by many films which were average to poor performers at the box office. Shetty starred in another big film that year, Aao Pyaar Karen.

1995-1999: Box office failures

In 1995, Shetty starred in Hathkadi, where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but they failed at the box office. She made her Tamil film debut with the 1996 released Mr. Romeo alongside actors Prabhu Deva and Madhoo. The film was a sleeper musical hit at the box office. 1997 was one of her busiest years: she appeared in six different films, beginning with the Telugu language film Veedevadandi Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress.

2000-2007: Critical acclaim and box office success

In 2000, Shetty received much acclaim for her role in Dhadkan which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office. She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and nominations for Best Comedian as well.

2004 was a good year for Shetty with the release of Garv in which she portrayed a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer starring opposite Salman Khan. According to Shetty, she chose to do the film because she liked the subject. The film was a cop drama. She received much acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge, where she made a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV from unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. The film, based on 1993's Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood. The film earned Shetty a Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work (see below). Film critic Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Phir Milenge belongs to Shilpa Shetty completely. She delivers, what can be rightly called, the performance of her career. The viewer feels and empathises with the character mainly because of her effective portrayal. She conveys the pain and the emotional upheaval through her expressive eyes, making it amongst the most memorable performances the year has seen so far." This marked a break from the previous trend of superficial song-and-dance items in favour of roles which have a greater depth of character, exemplified by her film Dus (2005), an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office, Shetty stated that she had taken the role to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member.

In 2005, Shetty starred opposite Upendra in the Kannada film Auto Shankar. The film was a major box office success and it earned her the name "The Gabbar Singh of the South" due to her villainous role in the film. The same year, she starred with her sister in the film Fareb. Shilpa had one release in 2006, the much delayed Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar. The film was a box office flop, but she got good reviews for her role as a not entirely likeable wife. In 2006, she was a judge alongside Farah Khan & Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show based on the original UK show Strictly Come Dancing.

Shetty was once featured in Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai.

2007 proved to be Shetty's most successful year at the box office so far. Her first release, Life in a... Metro, won a significant reception and became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square. The film performed well at the box office and was declared a semi-hit within three weeks. Additionally, the film was critically acclaimed and Shetty's performance was appreciated, with Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN writing, "It's a terrific performance and unquestionably Shilpa's best to date." Her second release, alongside three Deols (Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby), the drama Apne, was also a box office success.

Other projects

Celebrity Big Brother

Shetty was a contestant on and the subsequent winner of the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. She was the first Indian celebrity included in the Celebrity version. Reportedly paid Rs.31.5 m (£367,500 GBP) for her participation, she said to presenter Davina McCall, "I just want every Indian to be extremely proud that I'm in here". As for her participation, she stated: "I have zero expectations. The only thing I really hope to keep is my self-respect and my dignity." Her sister Shamita told The Times of India that this "is the boldest decision Shilpa has taken hitherto."

During her time, Shetty instructed fellow housemates Carole Malone and Ken Russell in meditation, and flirted with Dirk Benedict but tempers started to fray by Day 7 as a clique formed in the house disapproving of Shilpa's presence. Following a worldwide controversy that publicised her as a target of racist bullying within the house, Shetty won the contest after gaining 63% of the public vote and described the experience as "incredible and overwhelming". She further thanked the public for "a fantastic opportunity to make my country proud".

Post-Celebrity Big Brother

In February 2007, Shetty attended a reception at the House of Commons by invitation of Keith Vaz MP to meet with then Prime Minister Tony Blair. She was also invited to meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Marlborough House in London in March 2007. During an interview on This Morning, Shetty confirmed that she had been asked to act in the British EastEnders soap opera, and turned it down as it would mean all her other arrangements would have to go on hold.

She was the subject of a Sky One documentary entitled The Real Shilpa Shetty, which was produced by British television production company Twofour. The large number of commercial offers that Shilpa received after winning Celebrity Big Brother themselves became reason for controversy with an increasing number of accusations about her riding the 'racism' wave to commercial gain. She was on the cover of the first issue of OK! Magazine to be sold in India.

In early September 2007 she modelled at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, which also displayed some famous Bollywood actresses including Lara Dutta and Celina Jaitly. In October 2007, Shilpa starred in a musical titled Miss Bollywood. On her agenda next is a cookery book titled Soul Curry and the role of Sita in Uru Patel's international venture Hanuman.

Bigg Boss

In August 2008, Shetty began hosting the second season of Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother. Controversially, Jade Goody was one of the initial housemates. Goody left the series early after receiving news that she had cervical cancer, of which she later died on 22 March 2009.

Indian Premier League

In February 2009 Shilpa and her husband Raj Kundra became part owners of the Indian Premier League franchise cricket team Rajasthan Royals by paying approximately US $15.4 million for an 11.7% stake.

Soney Ka Dil

In March 2014 Shilpa and her husband Raj Kundra came up with a new show called Soney Ka Dil. The show format is based on featuring ordinary people who have contributed their extraordinary help to others in need. The show is produced and hosted by Shilpa herself. "Bharat Bhagya Vidhata" serves as the title song, composed by Palash Muchhal and sung by Altamash.

HIV-AIDS

In February 2006 Shetty lent support to a BBC World Service Trust television show designed to tackle the problem of HIV-AIDS in India. The project, which also involved other celebrities Vivek Oberoi, Dia Mirza, and Raveena Tandon in separate episodes, featured Shetty as she shadowed a young achiever whose work involved raising awareness about the condition. According to reports, she participated in order to show solidarity with HIV-AIDS sufferers.

The issue is particularly close to Shetty's heart as she had portrayed an HIV-positive sufferer in her 2004 movie Phir Milenge. Speaking about the movie and HIV in general, Shetty said: "Why not a film on HIV positive patients? It is a social stigma in our society. We made this film to highlight this problem ... This film will bring about a social awareness about AIDS in our country. It is high time we talked about this in our society".

PETA

PETA campaign advertisement

In March 2006 various sources reported Shetty's joining PETA as part of an advertising campaign against the use of wild animals in circuses. According to a PETA India press release, Shetty is a long-time PETA supporter and has assisted the campaign by posing for photographs in a figure-hugging tiger costume. She explained that her crouching in a cage was uncomfortable during the photoshoot, but that her discomfort was insignificant compared to the pain suffered by the creatures. "These once dignified animals only leave their cages, which are barely larger than the size of their bodies, for a few minutes each day to be forced into the ring to perform tricks which make no sense and are upsetting to them. The best way to help animals suffering in circuses is to boycott the circus".

Shetty revealed in a later interview that she felt strongly about this cause and that she was appalled to hear of the cruel treatment suffered by such animals. "I thought I should stop that. If I can make a little difference to their lives, why not go for it?"

Nach Baliye 5

Shetty on the set of Nach Baliye 5 as judge

Shetty was one of the three judges for popular Indian dance TV show Nach Baliye 5. The show started in late December 2012. She also served as a judge for Nach Baliye 6.

Film production

With her husband Raj Kundra, Shetty has produced a film Dishkiyaaoon. The film stars Sunny Deol and Harman Baweja. The film is scheduled to release on March 28, 2014.

She also appeared as a Guest on Comedy Nights with Kapil show where she had a lot of fun with Kapil Sharma and his team. She wonderfully communicated with the audience and had fun with Kapil Sharma.

Personal life

Shilpa Shetty with husband Raj Kundra

Shetty married Raj Kundra on 22 November 2009 and announced on her web site that "I am officially Shilpa Shetty Kundra now!!". Shilpa gave birth to her first child in 2012.

Obscenity charges

In April 2006, a Madurai court issued non-bailable warrants against Shetty and Reemma Sen for "posing in an obscene manner" in photographs published by a Tamil newspaper. The report stated that the two actresses had failed to comply with earlier summons for the same reason, hence the issuance of the warrants. The petitioner submitted that the paper had published "very sexy blow-ups and medium blow-ups" in its December 2005 and January 2006 issues, and alleged that these violated the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1956, and the Indian Penal Code Section 292 (Sale of Obscene Books). The petitioner further demanded that the images be confiscated under the terms of the Press and Registration of Book Act 1867.

Shetty responded that she had not received any court summons and also discounted the charges. She further claimed that the pictures were freeze-frame shots from a recent movie that only exposed her navel. "As far as my photographs go, what is obscene about it? If navel-showing is obscenity, then our traditional Indian outfit - the traditional sari - should be banned in the first place."

In January 2007 outgoing Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal confirmed that Shetty had written to him requesting that he enunciate guidelines against frivolous lawsuits against artists, but that he had refused her plea on the grounds that she should have filed a formal petition instead of writing a letter.

Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy

Main article: Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy Shetty in 2007

During her time on Celebrity Big Brother, Shetty was the target of racism and bullying by other housemates, chiefly by Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd. After mocking the east London dialect of Jade Goody's mother, who mispronounced her name as 'Shiwpa', Shetty was mocked for her Indian accent and was branded "The Indian" and a "dog". Disparaging conversations took place among the other housemates about Indian eating habits, and Shetty's cooking was criticised for giving O'Meara diarrhoea. After Shetty attempted to dispose of left-over chicken soup down the toilet and caused a blockage, Jack Tweed suggested that she should pick the bones out with her teeth and allegedly referred to her as a "fucking Paki", although show producers denied this and stated that the word used was "cunt". During a fierce argument, Goody told Shetty that she needed to "spend a day in the slums", although the media falsely reported this as "go back to the slums". Claiming that she did not know Shilpa's surname, Jade referred to her as "Shilpa Fuckawallah", "Shilpa Durupa", and "Shilpa Poppadom", later claiming that they were non-racist references to Indian food. Lloyd had opined that Shetty's English-speaking skills were lacking and verbally indicated her desire that Shetty would "fuck off home". Shetty had been reduced to tears on several occasions, confiding to fellow housemate Ian Watkins: "I feel like I'm losing my dignity."

Shetty speculated that she might be a victim of racism, but later retracted it by claiming: "People say things in anger." A record 40,000 complaints were received jointly by OFCOM and Channel 4 about the treatment of Shetty, 30 of which were formally investigated by Hertfordshire police. Carphone Warehouse suspended its sponsorship of the show and Louise Burfitt-Dons, the founder of the Act Against Bullying charity, branded Jade Goody's behaviour as "unforgivable". The controversy reached the British Parliament as an early day motion in the House of Commons was tabled. The row then escalated into an international diplomatic incident after a formal complaint from Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma lodged with then British PM Tony Blair that threatened to sour relations and damage trade between the two countries. In the city of Patna in Bihar, India, angry protestors marched in the streets and burned effigies in protest of the show, terming it 'Bigot Brother'.

During a parliamentary Prime Minister's Question Time session Blair responded that "We should oppose racism in all its forms." Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was in India on a goodwill visit, condemned the controversy as "offensive" and the opposite of what Britain stood for: "I want Britain to be seen as a country of fairness and tolerance. Anything that detracts from that I condemn." In an official statement, Channel 4 denied that overt racial abuse or behaviour had been directed at Shetty, but acknowledged that a "cultural and class clash" was responsible for the disputes. After a thorough investigation, OFCOM made an unprecedented move and issued a ruling that Channel 4 were guilty of broadcasting potentially racist material, and required them to make multiple apologies on air during the next Big Brother season.

Richard Gere kissing incident

On 15 April 2007, Richard Gere hugged and forcefully kissed Shetty on the cheek during an AIDS-awareness event. The pair were appearing at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India and promote AIDS awareness. In response, a number of protesters, including alleged members of the extremist Hindu group Shiv Sena, beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks. The protests occurred in a variety of cities, including Varanasi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Indore, Delhi and Mumbai. Others set fire to glamour shots of Shetty. Some groups demanded an apology from her and threatened to ban her movies in the state. Shiv Sena leaders denied involvement in the protests, but Shiv Sena member of parliament Sanjay Raut observed that the protests are "just a manifestation of the anger of the general public" and that there was "nothing wrong with expressing contempt at such an act".

Shetty responded to these protests by saying, "I understand this (kissing) is his (Gere's) culture, not ours. But this was not a big thing or so obscene for people to overreact in such a manner. I struggle to understand these people's sentiments, but mainly I do not want a foreigner to take bad memories from here."

On 26 April 2007, an Indian court in Rajasthan issued a warrant for Shetty and Gere's arrest.

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India subsequently dismissed the suit and suspended the arrest warrants. Gere has since expressed regret for causing any offence and Shetty has said, "so much has been blown out of proportion."

Galleries of Shilpa Shetty

Shweta Menon

2014-09-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

Shweta Menon is an Indian model, actress and television anchor. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Tamil productions. Actor Anoop Menon is her cousin.

Starting her career as an actress in Malayalam feature films in the early 1990s, she ventured into modeling and becoming noted, after participating and winning at several beauty pageants, which led to her debut in Bollywood. Following appearances in over 30 Hindi films, in which she generally conveyed a glamorous image, her acting career took a turn by the mid-2000s, with her returning to Malayalam cinema and accepting substantial roles. She received critical praise and several accolades including Kerala State Govt Award for Best Actress for her performance in Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009) and Salt N' Pepper (2011).

Early life

Menon hails from Valanchery in Malappuram district in Kerala, but was born at Chandigarh to Malayali parents Naranankutty and Sarada Menon and currently lives in Mumbai. Her father served in the Indian Air Force while her mother remained a housewife. She studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, East Hill, Kozhikode.

Career

Films

She started her career as an actress in the Malayalam film Anaswaram (1991), directed by Jomon, playing the female lead opposite Mammootty, after which she focused on modeling. She competed in the Miss India contest in 1994 and finished third runner up behind Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai and Fransesca Hart. She became the first Gladrags female super model in 1994 (Kelly Dorjee was the male super model) and then, Miss Asia Pacific semi-finalist in 1994 in Manila Cebu Island, Philippines. She is 5 feet, 6.5 inches tall. She subsequently made her debut in Bollywood and appeared in over 30 films; some of her Bollywood films include Asoka (2001), Maqbool (2003) and Corporate (2006).

Menon returned to Malayalam in 2006 with Thantra and then went on to do famous Malayalam films such as Keerthi Chakra (2006) and the award-winning Paradesi. Her performance as Sarojini, a middle-class woman who fights against extreme odds, in Madhya Venal earned her a special mention by jury chairman Bahman Ghobadi, a famous Iranian director at the International Film Festival of Kerala. In 2010, she won the Kerala State Government's Best Actress for her portrayal of Cheeru, a village woman in the film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha directed by Ranjith. She won the Mathrubhumi-Amrita TV Special Jury Award and the Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same film. In 2011, Shweta Menon starred in the remake of Rathinirvedam, essaying the titular character, originally played by Jayabharathi.

In 2010, Shweta approached a local court and the Women's Commission in Kerala after the distributor of her movie tied up with Musli Power, a sex stimulant drug, to jointly promote the movie. "Met with Womens Commission regarding the Kayam ad and they offered me full backing. Thank you all and I hope justice will be done," she tweeted. While media profusely supported her with wide coverage, many saw it as a bold attempt by an actor against what she perceived as gross injustice to her.

Television

Besides working in films, she has anchored several TV, stage and film awards shows. Menon rose to popularity after presenting the musical programme, Star Wars on Kairali TV in 2008. She won the Asian Television Award for Best Anchor for the same program. In Hindi, she hosted the group band based show, Razzmatazz on Zee TV with actor Arshad Warsi. The next television show she did was Dancing Queen in 2008 on Colors. In 2010, she anchored the Malayalam reality show, Honeymoon Travels on Surya TV. The show became an instant hit for Shwetha's accented Malayalam and her attempts to read from the original script without a formal learning in the language. Recently, she appeared as a contestant with her father in game show, Deal or No Deal on Surya TV. She was the anchor of the family-based reality show Veruthe Alla Bharya on Mazhavil Manorama. She has participated in popular game show Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran on Asianet. She has acted in many advertisements.

Personal life

On 18 June 2011, she married Sreevalsan Menon, a native of Thrissur, who works in Mumbai. The ceremony took place at the Neythalappurath Sastha Ayappa temple, Valanchery, Kerala. She had her first child, a daughter, Sabaina Menon on September 27, 2012, at 5.27 pm at Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. The delivery was recorded on camera as part of the film Kalimannu.

Controversies

on January 5, 2004. The show was organized by NIFD at a resort, where Menon walked the ramp allegedly with the tricolour wrapped around her body. her recent film Kayam for promoting their Ayurvedic aphrodisiac Musli Power Extra. The Ernakulam central police arrested Kunnath Pharmaceuticals' managing director K.C. Abraham. Kalimannu. The act was condemned for commercializing the most private affair of a woman by the Kerala Film Exhibitors. Kurup from the Indian national congress in a Groping incident. In a U-turn, Shweta dropped her complaint against Kurup, saying the 71-year-old leader tendered a "personal apology" to her hours after she lodged the FIR against him.

Accolades

Kerala State Film Award

Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha

Filmfare Awards South

Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha

South Indian International Movie Awards

Rathinirvedam Mathram

Other Awards

Kerala by Jury Chairman, Bahman Ghobadi about performance in Madhyavenal Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Madhyavenal and Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha - Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Actress - Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Actress & Second Best Actress in Malayalam Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha Dasan Std. VI B Ozhimuri Kalimannu

Galleries of Shweta Menon

Shriya

2014-09-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has acted in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English and Kannada.

Saran was born in Dehradun and spent most of her childhood in Haridwar. In 2001, her dance master gave her the opportunity to appear in Renoo Nathan's debut music video "Thirakti Kyun Hawa", which brought Saran to become known by many Indian filmmakers.

Although Saran aspired to become a well known dancer and believed she could enter the field of cinema as such, she was rather offered a leading role. Thus, Saran made her film debut in 2001 with the Telugu film Ishtam, and had her first commercial success with Santhosham (2002). She subsequently appeared in several more Telugu films, while making in-roads in the Hindi and Tamil film industries. In 2007, Saran starred in Sivaji, the highest-grossing Tamil film at that time. She also gained critical acclaim for her role in the 2007 Bollywood film Awarapan. In 2008, Saran played the lead role in her first English film, the American-Indian co-production The Other End of the Line. Her following projects included popular films such as Kanthaswamy (2009) in Tamil, and Pokkiri Raja (2010) in Malayalam, her roles in which have established her as one of the leading actresses in the South Indian film industries. In 2012, she was cast in the British-Canadian film Midnight's Children under the direction of Deepa Mehta, based on Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel of the same name, for which she got international critical acclaim. She achieved further commercial success by starring in films such as Pavitra (2013) and Chandra (2013). In 2014, Shriya Saran starred in the critically acclaimed Telugu film Manam, which she received accolades for her performance.

In addition to her work in films, Saran has been the brand ambassador for several brands across India, endorsing beauty and health products. Among other philanthropic activities, she has volunteered for a number of charity organizations, and in 2011 she opened a spa employing exclusively visually challenged people. She also was the brand ambassador Celebrity Cricket League for its two first seasons.

Early life and background

Shriya Saran was born on 11 September 1982 in the Dehradun region of Uttarakhand in Northern India to Pushpendra Saran and Neeraja Saran. Her father worked for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and her mother was a chemistry teacher in Delhi Public School, Ranipur in Haridwar and Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, New Delhi. Saran completed her schooling from both schools where her mother had taught. She has an older brother named Abhiroop who lives in Mumbai. Her family lived in the small town of BHEL colony in Haridwar when she was growing up. She later studied at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature. Saran is an accomplished dancer. She was first trained as a child by her mother in Kathak and Rajasthani folk dance, and later trained in Kathak style by Shovana Narayan. She was involved with many dance teams in college and with her teacher. They would incorporate social issues into their dance routines.

Career

Early career (2001-03)

While in her sophomore year at the LSR College in Delhi, Saran got her first opportunity to appear in front of the camera for a video shoot. Following her dance teacher's recommendation, she was invited to appear in the music video of Renoo Nathan's "Thirakti Kyun Hawa". Shot in Banaras, the video was seen by Ramoji Films who offered her the lead role of Neha in their film Ishtam. Saran accepted the part, and even before it was released she was signed to four more films, including Nuvve Nuvve, in which she played a millionaire's daughter who falls for a middle class man. In 2002, she starred in Santosham, co-starring Nagarjuna, Prabhu Deva and Gracy Singh, which was her first commercial success. The film took the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film and Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu). Saran played a girl who lets someone she loves go with another, but wins him back later in life. For her performance, she earned a nomination for the CineMAA Award for Best Actor- Female, giving her a good foothold in the Telugu industry in the early part of her career.

In 2003, Saran acted a supporting role in her first Hindi film, Tujhe Meri Kasam, starring debutants Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in leading roles. She also performed the lead female role in several Telugu films including Tagore, which was screened at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, and was a commercial success. She followed it with her Tamil film debut in Enakku 20 Unakku 18, alongside Tarun and Trisha Krishnan, which was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu, in which she played a football coach. Though she acted in films in three languages that year, overall eight of the first ten films of her career were in Telugu.

Ups and downs (2004-07)

In 2004, Saran acted in two Hindi and two Telugu films, including Nenunnanu, where she played a student in classical singing. She had ten 2005 releases, nine of which were Telugu films, the most notable for her being Chatrapathi. There she appeared opposite Prabhas, and earned her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Telugu Actress Award. A reviewer for Moviebuzz said that as an action film, Saran's character of the lead's love interest was not well developed; that she was there primarily for the songs. Meanwhile, she tried to make her comeback in Tamil with Mazhai, a remake of the Telugu film Varsham. Neither the movie nor her performance were received well. Also in 2005, she appeared as one of only three characters in the film Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu, which was about a married couple's first night together, and made a guest appearance in a children's film called Bommalata, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. Saran's only lead role in 2006, excluding three special appearances, was in the Tamil film Thiruvilayadal Arambam.

In 2007, she was chosen to play the lead female role opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji: The Boss, which was the most expensive Indian film at that time. R. G. Vijayasarathy wrote in his review for Rediff that aside from her beauty, Saran "proves that she can act too". Her performance earned her a South Scope Style Award for Best Tamil Actress, her first award win, and a nomination at the Vijay Awards. The role also made her a star in the south Indian film industry. During this phase of her career, she made several special appearances in item numbers, including in the films Devadasu, Munna, and Tulasi.

Also in 2007, Saran made her comeback in Hindi cinema with Awarapan, which was a joint production between India and Pakistan, and in which she played a Muslim girl and had to learn Urdu. This was her fourth Hindi film, but the others had failed to make any impact. Sanjay Ram, writing for Business of Cinema, gave the film 2.5 of 5 stars, and said that Saran provided a brief but compelling performance. Saran later said that the film strengthened her conviction that all religions are equal. Later that year she appeared in one more Tamil film, Azhagiya Tamil Magan opposite Vijay. Though critics exalted her looks, her performance received mixed reviews, with one reviewer, Nandhu Sundharam of Rediff, going so far as to say that her "acting is as bad as her looks are good". That same year Saran made a special appearance in a scene in the Kannada film Arasu. In all she appeared in six films in 2007, in four different languages.

Hollywood debut (2008-12)

In 2008, Saran acted in the Hindi film Mission Istaanbul with Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Shabbir Ahluwalia. She played the character of Anjali Sagar which was inspired by the character of Romila Dutta played by Preity Zinta in the film Lakshya; a journalist who desires to have a child with her husband, which leads to their separation, since he is reluctant. Bollywood Hungama critics said that her character was wasted, as again she gets very little screen time. However, she did pick up the Stardust Exciting New Face Award.

Saran then made her Hollywood debut in Ashok Amritraj's The Other End of the Line. She played the role of Priya Sethi who works as a telephone operator in an Indian call centre, while acting alongside Jesse Metcalfe, Anupham Kher and Tara Sharma. Shriya's performance was praised by critics, particularly her on-screen chemistry with Jesse Metcalfe. John Anderson, writing for Variety magazine, said it was "a winning Stateside debut for beautiful Indian actress Shriya Saran."

Her most important 2009 release was the commercially successful Tamil film Kanthaswamy, alongside Vikram. She earned a nomination at the Vijay Awards. Vikram himself said in an interview that her role was on par with his, and she easily stole the show on most occasions. Of her character in the film, Saran said that it was the best she has done so far. Also that year she appeared as the female lead in Thoranai. A reviewer said that her glamour and the songs were the only high points of the film. For Thoranai and Kanthaswamy together, she received her third award win, the Amrita Mathrubhumi Award for Best Actress. She then appeared in another English film, Cooking with Stella, which is a comedy, but also takes a look at the serious nature of relationships between servants and employers. It was selected to the Toronto International Film Festival, which Saran attended.

In 2010, Saran made her Malayalam debut with Pokkiri Raja, in which she appeared opposite Mammootty and Prithviraj. The film was declared a super hit in the first week, breaking the record in Malayalam cinema for opening week gross income, though it was not received well critically, and it was said of Saran that all she had to do was look pretty. She then enacted her first lead role in a Telugu film after five years, in the commercially successful action-comedy film Don Seenu opposite Ravi Teja, where she plays the sister of a mobster. In the opinion of some critics, she stole the show with her dances and romantic scenes. The year 2010 was her second busiest after 2005, having appeared in eight films in all, this time in four languages.

In 2011, Saran appeared in Rowthiram, where she worked with Tamil actor Jeeva for the first time. The film received fairly low reviews. Although some reviews said that Saran was not given much opportunity to show her acting skills, mainly just adding a romantic touch to a mostly violent film, she was referred to by another as the pivot around which the film revolves. Her performance earned her Best Actress Award at the International Tamil Film Awards. Her only other film in 2011 was a special appearance in a song for Tamil film Rajapattai.

Saran's first release of 2012 was her second Malayalam project, Casanovva, co-starring Mohanlal and directed by Rosshan Andrrews. The movie was delayed many times, and it was rumored that Saran would leave the project, but in October 2010, the producer of the film announced that shooting would commence in Dubai with Saran among the cast. It was released on 26 January. Her next release was in Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai, from director Rumy Jafry, which began shooting in September 2011, and released on 3 February. She then was seen in the critically average comedic Telegu film Nuvva Nena with actors Allari Naresh and Sharwanand, followed by Sekhar Kammula's much delayed Life is Beautiful.

Saran has starred in Deepa Mehta's long delayed English project Midnight's Children, which is based on Salman Rushdie's highly acclaimed novel of the same name. It was filmed under the working title of Winds of Change. It was screened at several film festivals in late 2012, and finally made its general release in India on February 1, 2013.

Recent work (2013-present)

In early 2013, Saran appeared in an item number in the film Zila Ghaziabad. This was her first item number in a Hindi film. On 7 June Saran's Pavitra was released, in which she played as a prostitute. At a press conference in Hyderabad, she said that the film is very special for her, and that she was touched by the sensitivity that director/writer Janardhana Maharshi gave to the topic. According to a review from The Times of India, the most cinematic part of the film is a sensual number "Sukumara Ra Ra..." in which the camera shows in the curves of the main character. He summed up the review saying, "Besides Shriya Saran's curves there is nothing in this movie that's worth watching per se." Her bi-lingual film Chandra directed by Roopa Iyer was simultaneously made in Kannada and Tamil languages. She plays the role of a princess in the film opposite Kannada actor Prem Kumar. The film released in Kannada on 27 June 2013, and in Tamil on 14 February 2014. It became a moderate success at the Kannada Box office.

Saran's first film of 2014, releasing May 23,was the Telugu family comedy Manam, which was a success in India and America. She will next appear in the Hindi film Valmiki Ki Bandook, which is currently under production work, by director Karan Bhutani.

Other work

Shriya Saran cheering at the Celebrity Cricket League, 2011 in India

In 2003, Saran hosted the 50th Filmfare South Award with actor R. Madhavan. She was a part of Tamil director Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, an event which sought to raise funds for "The Banyan", a voluntary organisation which rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness in Chennai. She was one of the guests alongside actor Surya Sivakumar at the season 3 finale of TV dance show Maanada Mayilada.

Saran was the first actress, and the third celebrity after Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan to deliver a lecture to students at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on 12 February 2010. She said that, "The Indian media and entertainment industry is the fastest growing sector at present, so considering this IIM Ahmedabad had started a new program CFI - Contemporary Film Industry - A Business Perspective. I was there to give a lecture to 2nd year students of CFI and did a lot of research for the lecture for nearly five days." She held a lecture on marketing and branding of a film. In 2011, she gave a lecture to students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Madras on the history of films, and films as a medium of cultural exchange.

Endorsements

Saran started her modelling career by acting in a Pond's Creams advertisement. She then did a Coca-Cola advertisement alongside Tamil actor Vijay which was directed by prominent director Rajiv Menon. She also starred in a Fair & Lovely creams advertisement during her early career. Shriya Saran is also appointed brand ambassador for Pantene Shampoo. In 2007, she become the brand ambassador of Saravana Stores. She is now the brand ambassador of the Lux and Head & Shoulders. Saran was also signed as brand ambassador along with actor Saif Ali Khan for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea. Saran says no to soft drinks advertisements because she feels that soft drinks may harm children's health. In 2011, Saran was appointed as the promotional model for McVitie's by United Biscuits along with actress Bipasha Basu. In 2013, Saran was appointed as brand ambassador for Colgate Active Salt Healthy White toothpaste, along with Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor. In 2014, she was signed as brand ambassador for Karnataka Milk Federation(KMF).

CCL (Celebrity Cricket League)

On the sports front, Saran is brand ambassador of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), a concept that mixes two passions in India, film and cricket. In April 2010, she danced with Shahrukh Khan at the fourth season opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL), another cricket league.

In 2007, Saran launched the first issue of Galatta Cinema and has been featured on its cover many times. In 2008, she was featured in, and appeared on the cover of the June issue of Maxim India. Editor Anup Kutty said, "We had been thinking of getting someone who bridges this strange divide we have between the North, South and the West ... Shreya fit the bill perfectly." She has appeared on various other magazine covers over the years, including Jade and South Scope. In 2012, she again did a photoshoot for Maxim India.

Personal life

Shriya Saran bridal week 2010

Saran is very reluctant to talk about her private life, and usually denies that reported linkups are romantic in nature. She is Hindu, but has been known to celebrate Muslim holidays as well.

Saran is well known for her charity work. She describes herself as someone used to "sharing time and resources with the underprivileged since childhood." She says that "celebrities can show the way by sensitising people to social issues, campaigning for causes or being part of fund-raisers." Her family has always encouraged her to think of the needy.

Saran is a brand ambassador for the Naandi Foundation, and for the Save A Child's Heart Foundation (SACH), which works for the benefit of poor children and people affected by natural calamities. She helps finance a Prevention of Aids foundation. In 2009, Saran joined with other eminent personalities to promote 'The Joy of Giving Week', to encourage people from all walks of life to engage in acts of giving. She regularly participates in carnivals and campaigns that associate with children benefits. She is associated with animal welfare and the Blue Cross of India. She is also associated with an NGO called World Vision that finds parents for deprived kids, and works for Apollo's RDF to raise funds for underprivileged children.

Saran is a long time patron for the blind. In 2011, she opened a spa which exclusively employs the visually challenged. It is called Shree Spa, and is located in Mumbai. Saran has said "When I studied in DPS Mathura Road in Delhi, there was a school for blind exactly opposite to our school. I used to go there every week and spend time seeing how these students played cricket and did other things normally. That is what inspired me to do something for these people".

In January 2008, Saran was the subject of a controversy, when a Hindu organisation in Chennai lodged a police complaint against Saran, objecting to the outfit worn by her during the 175th day celebration of her film, Sivaji: The Boss. In a complaint, the Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) alleged that Shriya's outfit had "offended Hindu culture". Shriya publicly apologised to Tamilians and Hindus, saying it was a mistake, and that she had "great respect for the tradition and culture of Tamil Nadu [...] I was shooting for a Hindi film in Thanjavur. I came to the function directly from the shooting, [...] I was unaware of the repercussions because of the attire I wore during the function."

On working in different regional film industries in India she has stated, "I don't consider Kollywood or Bollywood as separate entities. For me, there's only a single category, the Indian film industry, which is extremely rich owing to its diverse genres and languages." She is fluent in Hindi, English, and can understand Tamil and Telugu well. On 19 January 2013, she quit twitter due to derogatory comments from her followers.

Galleries of Shriya

Sonakshi Sinha

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Sonakshi Sinha (born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi cinema. She made her debut in the Hindi film industry with 2010's Dabangg opposite Salman Khan, which went onto become the highest grossing Bollywood film of the year. Sinha received positive reviews for her performance, as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Post her debut, she went on to play the leading lady in some of Bollywood's biggest hits, including Rowdy Rathore (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Dabangg 2 (2012) and Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014). Sinha received critical praise for her performance in Lootera (2013), for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Early life

Sinha was born on 2 June 1987, to actors Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha. She is the youngest of three children with twin brothers, Luv Sinha and Kush Sinha. Her family belongs to Malik tribes. Sonakshi completed her schooling from Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai and graduated in Fashion Designing from Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Acting career

Sinha started her career as a costume designer, designing the costumes for films like Mera Dil Leke Dekho in 2005, and walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week 2008 and then again in Lakme Fashion Week 2009.

She made her acting debut in the 2010 film Dabangg, in which she starred opposite Salman Khan. The film went on to become the highest grossing film of 2010, and ultimately emerged as an all-time blockbuster. Sinha had to lose 30 kg in preparation for the role as a village girl. Her performance was well received, with noted critic Taran Adarsh noting that "Sonakshi Sinha looks fresh, acts confidently and pairs off very well with Salman. Most importantly, she delivers the right expressions and is not overpowered by the galaxy of stars in the cast."

She featured as the cover girl of Indian edition of Maxim magazine for the month December 2010. Although Sinha had no film release in 2011, she won quite a few awards for her debut. This included the Filmfare Award as well as the IIFA Awards among many others.

Sinha had four releases in 2012, her first being Prabhu Deva's Rowdy Rathore, opposite Akshay Kumar. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, although had a strong opening at the box office, collecting approx. INR 150.6 million (US$2.5 million) on the first day and eventually becoming a blockbuster. However, critic Rajeev Masand criticized her ornamental role and wrote that Sinha " seems to exist in this film only to have her midriff repeatedly pinched by Akshay Kumar". Her next film, Shirish Kunder's Joker, also opposite Akshay Kumar proved to be a trade disaster at the box office, and received overwhelmingly negative reviews.

Her third film, Ashwni Dhir's Son of Sardar alongside Ajay Devgan was poorly received by the critics but proved to be an economic success. Critic Saibal CHatterjee from NDTV noted that Sinha merely,"endeavours to be pretty and dainty amid all the madness". Arbaaz Khan's Dabangg 2, the sequel to her immensely successful debut garnered little praise from critics, though proved to be a major financial success. Sinha also dubbed for the voice of Tooth in the Hindi version of Rise of the Guardians. As a result of the strong collections her films were gathering at the box office, she was recognised by ETC Business Awards, as the Highest Grossing actress of 2012. Sinha at the 20th Screen Awards, 2014

Sinha's first film of 2013 was Vikramaditya Motwane's period romance-drama Lootera opposite Ranveer Singh. Despite the film receiving a lukewarm response at the box office, both the film and Sinha gathered praise, with Sinha's portrayal of Pakhi, a Bengali girl who is dying of tuberculosis, receiving universal acclaim from critics. Sarita Tanwar notes that "the star of the film is undoubtedly Sonakshi Sinha [who gives] a mature and refined performance. She lives the character body and soul." Raja Sen agrees, saying that "Sonakshi Sinha plays Pakhi beautifully, creating a character who is immaculately wide-eyed and possesses casual, yet unmistakable, grace. It is a performance that starts off dreamily soft and turns harder, and she does well-etched dialogue justice like few actresses can. There's a discernible vulnerability to Pakhi throughout the film, and Sinha brings out this fragility perfectly without ever overplaying it." Critics were also appreciative of Sinha and Singh's chemistry, with Taran Adarsh claiming that "Every frame of LOOTERA exudes sensuality, partly because the chemistry between the on-screen lovers - Ranveer and Sonakshi - is scorching. The fervor and passion the two actors emanate on screen, while living those characters, leaves you awe-struck."

Sinha appeared in Milan Luthria's crime romance film Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, in which she was paired with Akshay Kumar again, as well as Imran Khan. The movie was a commercial disappointment and critic Mohar Basu labelled her a "a chatterbox replete with idioticity which the director frames as naiveness." She then appeared in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Bullett Raja alongside Saif Ali Khan, a box-office flop. Her final release of the year was Prabhu Deva's R... Rajkumar opposite Shahid Kapoor. A moderate commercial success, the film and her performance received negative reviews. Taran Adarsh labelled her "repetitive" and noted that she needed to "reinvent herself".

In 2014, after providing her voice for the voice of Jewel in the Hindi-dubbed Rio 2, Sinha was seen in A.R. Murugadoss's action thriller Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, a remake of the director's Tamil film Thuppakki. Starring opposite Akshay Kumar, Sinha appeared as a boxer. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and emerged as a box office hit. Jyoti Sharma Bawa said of Sinha's portrayal: "Sonakshi has nothing to do much in the film and overacts in places. For an actor who has already proved her mettle in the acting department, this definitely is a downer."

As of July 2014, Sinha is filming for three projects--Prabhu Deva's Action Jackson with Ajay Devgn and Yami Gautam, Boney Kapoor's remake of Okkadu entitled Tevar alongside Arjun Kapoor and KS Ravikumar's Tamil film Lingaa with Rajnikanth. Sinha has also shot for a music video with Yo Yo Honey Singh. In July, Sinha jointly bought a team in the World Kabaddi League.

Personal life

Sinha is a professed animal lover, and she had posed for a PETA campaign advocating the adoption and sterilization of dogs and cats.

Galleries of Sonakshi Sinha

Sushmita Sen

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Sushmita Sen (born 19 November 1975) is an Indian film actress, model and beauty pageant title holder. She was crowned Miss Universe 1994 by outgoing title holder Dayanara Torres of Puerto Rico at the 43rd edition of the Miss Universe Pageant held in Manila, Philippines, on 20 May 1994. She was the first Indian to win the crown.

After completing her reign, Sen went on to pursue Bollywood. She started her career with the Hindi film, Dastak. She rose to stardom with the Tamil musical Ratchagan opposite Nagarjuna; later, she attained commercial and critical recognition for her roles in Sirf Tum (1999) and the comedy Biwi No.1 (1999). The latter earned her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. She has also acted in commercially successful films such as Aankhen (2002), Main Hoon Na (2004) - her biggest commercial success so far - and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005). She received critical acclaim for her female-oriented roles in films such as Filhaal... (2002), Samay: When Time Strikes (2003), Chingaari (2005), Zindaggi Rocks (2006), Aag (2007) and others.

Early life

Sen with her daughters Renee and Alishah at Raveena Tandon's show Isi Ka Naam Zindagi.

Sen was born into a Bengali family in Hyderabad. Her parents are Shuber Sen, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander, and Subhra Sen, a jewelry designer and owner of a Dubai-based store. She has two siblings, a sister named Neelam and a brother named Rajeev.

She has attended Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute in New Delhi and St. Ann's High School in Secunderabad, but did not pursue higher education.

Personal life

Often known as the most stylish and glamorous lady of India, Sushmita Sen made history by adopting a baby girl named Renée in 2000. She, as a single woman of only 25 years of age, was not viewed as socially acceptable to obtain the guardianship of the baby. However, the High Court of Bombay quashed the appeal and she obtained gain of cause. On 13 Jan, 2010 she adopted a three-month-old girl and named her Alisah.

Miss Universe

In 1994, as a teenager, Sen won the title of Femina Miss India. Sen then represented India at the 1994 Miss Universe Pageant, held in Manila, Philippines and won there.

At Miss Universe, Sen ranked third overall in the preliminaries, right behind preliminary winner Miss Colombia Carolina Gómez, and Miss Greece Rea Totounzi, who ranked second but won the preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competitions. Sen went on to place second, fifth and third in the swimsuit, India to the Miss Universe pageant from 2010 onwards through her project I Am She - Miss Universe India.

Film career

1990s

Sushmita at the judging of Pantaloons Femina Miss India contest 2009.

After her reign as Miss Universe, Sushmita became an actress. Her first film, Dastak was in 1996, in which she played the victim of a stalker played by Sharad Kapoor. Mukul Dev starred as the lead actor. She then starred in the 1997 Tamil, action film Ratchagan. Two years later her appearance as Rupali in David Dhawan's movie Biwi No.1 won her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award in 1999. Biwi No.1 was the second highest grossing movie of 1999. The same year, she was also nominated for her role in Sirf Tum in the same category, making her an obvious choice for winner. Following her famous dance item song in Fiza known as 'Mehboob Mere', she tried to make a niche for her career in the Indian film cinema.

2000s

She received critical acclaim and box office success for film Aankhen. So far, her biggest hit has been the 2004 movie Main Hoon Na, in which she starred as Shahrukh Khan's love interest. The film grossed a total of Rs 330,000,000 and was the second best selling movie of that year. Later, Sushmita played a lawyer in Main Aisa Hi Hoon opposite Ajay Devgan. In 2005, she also starred in a remake of Cactus Flower, called Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?: Sen played the lead opposite Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif.

2010s

Sushmita plays the role of a successful supermodel called Shimmer in Dulha Mil Gaya, the film was a major commercial failure that year.

Sushmita has signed three big projects, one of which reportedly has her portraying the slain Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto in a film co-produced by Zaid Aziz and Henna Rai of the Karachi production company Vox Vision, and Leicester-based Sum Films. Tentatively titled Benazir Bhutto: The Movie, the film will be shot in locations in Pakistan, the US, Britain and Dubai, where Bhutto spent years as a student and later as a political leader in exile. When Sushmita was asked about this big opportunity, she excitedly said, "Yes, I am keen to play the role." The second is Farah Khan's untitled venture opposite Salman Khan, with the third one being veteran actress Rekhha's biopic titled "Sitare" under the banner of Red Chillies Entertainment.

Galleries of Sushmita Sen

Sonam Kapoor

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Sonam Kapoor (pronounced [so:n@m k@|pu:r]; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. The daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, she is cited in the media as one of the most fashionable Indian celebrities.

Kapoor began a career in film by assisting director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on his 2005 drama film Black. She made her acting debut in 2007 with Bhansali's romance film Saawariya opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Though unsuccessful at the box office, Kapoor's performance earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She subsequently featured in the offbeat drama Delhi-6 (2009) and had her first commercial success with the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010). After a series of unsuccessful films, Kapoor garnered praise and several Best Actress nominations (including Filmfare) for portraying a leading role in the romantic drama Raanjhanaa (2013). She also featured briefly in the highly successful biographical sports film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013).

Alongside her acting career, Kapoor supports numerous charities and causes, and is a celebrity endorser for brands and products.

Early life

Kapoor was born in the suburb of Chembur, Mumbai on 9 June 1985. She is the daughter of actor Anil Kapoor and ex-model Sunita Kapoor and the granddaughter of filmmaker Surinder Kapoor. The family moved to a house in the suburb of Juhu, where her parents still reside, when she was one month old. Kapoor is the eldest of three children; the others are sister Rhea Kapoor and brother Harshvardhan. She is the niece of producer Boney Kapoor, actor Sanjay Kapoor and producer Sandeep Marwah. Producer Mona Shourie Kapoor and actress Sridevi are her aunts. She is also the first cousin of actor, Arjun Kapoor, Mohit Marwah and cousin of actor Ranveer Singh on her mother's side.

She attended the Arya Vidya Mandir school in Juhu and then enrolled in the United World College of South East Asia, a boarding school in Singapore, to do her International Baccalaureate. She studied theatre and arts in Singapore for 2 years. She also studied Political Science and Economics from University of East London. She speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Marathi and is a well trained classical dancer.

She was diagnosed as a borderline diabetic during her teenage years.

Career

2004-08: Early work and film debut

Kapoor alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan & Rani Mukherjee at the audio release of Saawariya.

Before starting her career off as an actress, Sonam and Ranbir Kapoor worked as assistant directors under Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2004, and assisted him during the making of his film, Black which was released in early 2005.

As she was obese as a child, before making her acting debut, on Bhansali's request, Kapoor lost approx. 35 kg in order to appear fitter. She made her acting debut alongside newcomer Ranbir Kapoor in Bhansali's Saawariya, which released on November 9, 2007. Though the film failed to do well at the box office, her performance received mainly poisitive to mixed reviews by critics. Martin D'Souza, of GlamSham, said she "matches Ranbir, step for step" and called her a "gorgeous looker", and said she "carries off her role with aplomb". D'Souza also praised Kapoor's emotions and confidence, and said she was "born to act". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama was a bit more critical however, saying, "Sonam Kapoor is an average actor. However, her role doesn't give her the opportunity to display histrionics. She looks gorgeous at places, but plain ordinary at times."

Though Kapoor had no release in 2008, she was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for her performance in Saawariya. However she eventually lost out to actress Deepika Padukone, who won the award for Om Shanti Om, which, coincidentally was released alongside Saawariya.

2009-12: Breakthrough and professional setbacks

In 2009, Kapoor appeared in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6, opposite Abhishek Bachchan. The film flopped at the box office and received mixed critical reviews, but her performance received immense critical praise, and the film eventually acted as a turning point in her career. Critic Rajeev Masand commented, "Sonam Kapoor is the revelation in Delhi 6. She's a firecracker, instinctive and uninhibited in what isn't even a conventional female lead". Sonia Chopra, film criric from Rediff commented, "Sonam Kapoor is an earnest and effortless performer so she does make you like the character somewhat, despite the typical Delhi-girl recipe". Kapoor promoting I Hate Luv Storys on 92.7 BIG FM

In 2010, she appeared in Punit Malhotra's I Hate Luv Storys opposite Imran Khan. The film went on to become her first box office success, collecting over INR 400 million (US$6.6 million) at the domestic box office. Kapoor also garnered positive reviews for her performance as film critic Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama commented saying, "Sonam is a revelation. From salwars [Saawariya, Delhi 6] to skirts in I Hate Luv Storys, Sonam finally gets a role that does justice to her as an actress. The ease and class with which she carries off the glam look is fantastic. She's like a whiff of fresh air and you actually wonder, is she the same girl from Saawariya and Delhi 6? In fact, I Hate Luv Storys will only multiply Imran and Sonam's fan base manifold." Komal Nahta also praised her performance, saying, "Sonam Kapoor does an excellent job. She gets into the skin of the character and shines in both, light as well as dramatic, scenes. She also looks very desirable".

She next appeared in the romantic comedy, Aisha, opposite Abhay Deol, which was a decent success at the box office, as it was declared an "average" grosser. Kapoor also received mainly positive to mixed reviews for her performance. Film critic Sonia Chopra of Sify.com gave a favourable review stating, "Sonam Kapoor gives an ace performance as the somewhat nasty-sometimes angelic Aisha. With this role rendered so perfectly, Sonam has proven herself to be an actor to watch out for, capable of belting out an entire range of emotions". NDTV Movies also gave a positive review as they wrote, "But the film belongs to Sonam Kapoor, make no mistake of that. She makes the best of a rather rare opportunity for an Indian leading lady to be part of a Bollywood film that salutes Victorian mores and Delhi's elitist affectations in one clean cool sweep". However, Rajeev Masand of IBN Live only gave a mixed review, as he said, "...doesn't help that Sonam Kapoor offers a cardboard cutout personality to the lead. She plays the airhead convincingly and pulls off the flighty princess part, but flounders when it comes to drumming up tears, anger or hurt", after criticising the writing of the character. Kapoor promoting Mausam on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Sonam's first release in 2011, Thank You was a critical failure, although was a moderate success at the box office, as its collections surpassed the INR 450 million (US$7.5 million) mark. Kapoor's performance however, was panned by most critics, with Nikhat Kazmi of Times Of India saying she looks "terribly out of sync".

Her second film of the year was the romance film Mausam, in which she and co-star Shahid Kapoor had four different looks representing each of the four seasons. The film received mixed reviews and was a failure at the box office. However, Kapoor's performance was appreciated by most prominent critics. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV commented, "Sonam Kapoor may still have some way to go as an actress, but she conveys the essential vulnerability of a girl forever under duress, bringing out just the right mix of feminine fragility and native resolve." Taran Adarsh noted, "For Sonam, MAUSAM will prove to be a turning point in her career. Astonishing -- that would be the right word to describe her work this time around. The confidence with which she handles the distinct characterization speaks volumes".

The same year, she made an appearance at the 64th Cannes Film Festival representing L'Oréal, the brand she endorses in India.

Her first release of 2012 is Players, a remake of The Italian Job, alongside Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Neil Nitin Mukesh. The film received mixed to negative reviews and didn't do well at the box office. Her performance received mainly mixed reviews from top critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama stated that, "It's an image transformation for Sonam in Players. She has never done a full-on glamorous role before and Players should change the perception. However, the rawness, as an actor, shows in a variety of scenes." Later that year, Kapoor made her second appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.

2013-present: Success and recent work

Kapoor made her third appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013, representing not only L'Oréal, but also some Indian brands (dress by Huemn and jewellery by Suhani Pittie).

Her first release of 2013, Raanjhanaa, opened to a positive critical reception and proved to be a commercial success, grossing approx. INR 1.2 billion (US$20 million) at the Indian box office. Kapoor's portrayal of Zoya Haider, a headstrong but emotional middle class girl, earned her a positive critical reception, with Komal Nahta saying that "Sonam Kapoor looks very pretty and plays Zoya beautifully. The character of Zoya has tremendous range and Sonam does full justice to it. Her transition is amazing." Rajeev Masand adds that "[Kapoor] does some of her best work here, going smoothly from innocent to manipulative to cynical, without ever losing Zoya's inherent vulnerability." For her performance in the film, Kapoor has been nominated for "Best Actress" at several award ceremonies, including the prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Kapoor alongside co-star Dhanush at the launch of Raanjhanaa.

Her next appearance was for the biographical sports film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag opposite Farhan Akhtar and Meesha Shafi, where she played the small role of Akhtar's initial love interest. The film opened to tremendous critical acclaim and was termed as a major box office success, receiving "blockbuster" status. Moreover, her performance also met with positive reviews. Mohar Basu of entertainment site Koi Moi wrote, "Sonam Kapoor has a lovely tinge in her little role in her limited screen time, she will flatter you enough that you actually feel bad that Milkha and Biro eventually part ways!". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama also mentioned, "Sonam puts her best foot forward as well. Although the character is brief, she shines in those pertinent moments nonetheless". Gayatri Shankar of Zee News stated, "Sonam, though has very little screen time, does her bit quite well". Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is also Kapoor's biggest commercial success to date.^citation needed]

Kapoor's first release of 2014 was Yash Raj Film's romantic comedy Bewakoofiyaan, opposite Ayushmann Khurrana and Rishi Kapoor. Kapoor received generally positive reviews for her performance. Critic Subhash K. Jha wrote, "Sonam as the girl torn between an autocratic dad and unreasonable lover is so in-character you wonder whether the role and its fetish for designer labels were written specially for her". A review published in Hindustan Times stated, "Sonam Kapoor gets into the skin of her character very well. Her performances are more in control now, compared to her previous films such as Aisha and Players".

Upcoming projects

As of July 2014, Kapoor has several projects in development. She has completed work on Rhea Kapoor's Khoobsurat, a remake of the 1980 film of the same name, opposite Pakistani actor Fawad Afzal Khan. Kapoor is currently shooting for Arbaaz Khan's Dolly Ki Doli, where she will feature alongside Pulkit Samrat, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma, as a runaway bride. In preperation for her role, Kapoor has attended acting workshops for the film, along with the rest of the cast. Kapoor has also began shooting for Sooraj R. Barjatya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, opposite Salman Khan, and has confirmed her presence in the film adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's novel, Battle For Bittora, which is currenty in pre-production stages and is expected to begin filming in late 2014.

Other work

Philanthropy

Kapoor at the 2014 L'Oréal Paris Femina Women Awards

In 2009, Kapoor participated in the International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as "IIFA" charity fashion show.

In 2012, Kapoor asked for fans to donate to the Ogaan Cancer Foundation for her birthday. They also collaborated to create an awareness for breast cancer.

Endorsements

Kapoor says she only endorses in the brands she believes in. Kapoor has endorsed brands such as Electrolux, Spice Mobile, Cera, Lux, Colgate Visible White, Signature and Mont Blanc. She has also endorsed for an international skin care brand and a brand with her father, Anil Kapoor. Kapoor has also shot for a diamond jewellery print ad and commercial, which is a sub-brand of Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. Kapoor is also currently the face of an international cosmetic and beauty brand L'Oreal. In early 2014, Kapoor appeared began endorsing Oppo Mobile, and soon after appeared in approx. a three minute commercial opposite Hrithik Roshan to promote the brand. According to reports, Kapoor's fee for endorsements is INR 30 million (US$500,000), thus making her one of the highest paid celebrities for endorsements in India. She has also garnered international recognition as a spokesperson for the French beauty brand, L'Oréal.

In the media

Public image

Due to her being from a film background, Kapoor has always been in the media spotlight since a young age. Her debut alongside Ranbir Kapoor was also heavily hyped due to the stated reason. Kapoor is known for having a "outspoken" and "bold" personality, as perceived from various media interactions, how she presents herself in public and her choice of films. Since the release of Aisha (2010), Kapoor has been widely recognised as a "fashionista", due to her unique sense of style. Therefore, she regularly features on fashion magazine covers based in India, such as Stardust and Filmfare. Kapoor was also widely appreciated by Simi Garewal for being a fashionista and for her performances in her films. Kapoor has also featured on the covers of many Indian editions to international magazines such as Vogue, FHM, Maxim, GQ, NOTCH, Grazia, Verve, Elle, Femina, and Harper's Bazaar. Kapoor also tops in best-dressed lists, and constantly attracts media attention for what she wears at events and film promotions.

Galleries of Sonam Kapoor

Veena Malik

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Pakistani actress, TV host and model who appears in Lollywood and Bollywood films.

Malik made her film debut in 2000 with Sajjad Gul's Tere Pyar Mein. In 2002, she starred in Akbar Khan's Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa and Sassi Punno and later played roles in female-centric films such as Koi Tujh Sa Kahan (2005), Mohabbatan Sachiyan (2007), Kyun Tum Se Itna Pyar Hai (2005), Kabhi Pyar Na Karna (2008) and Ishq Be Parwah (2008). In 2012, she was seen in Bollywood with a comedy film Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai. The following year, she appeared in the dramedy Zindagi 50-50, Supermodel and the Kannada film Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga which was a box office hit. She also appeared in 2014 horror film Mumbai 125 KM 3D.

In addition to acting in films, Malik is active in humanitarian work, has a number of endorsement deals and is regarded as one of the most promising contemporary actresses in Pakistan.

Early life

Malik was born in a Muslim family in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan to Mohammad Ali Malik, and his wife, Zeenat Malik. She holds a BA in Sociology, Psychology and Persian.

Career

Television

In 2002, she was called by Prime TV to host a show called Prime Gupshup for them ushering a new direction for her comedic skills and she improvised on the hour-long show occasionally mimicking actors.

She hosted the Geo TV show Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain, in which she was hailed for her comedic parodies. In 2007, she graced the red carpet event of the Lux Style Awards and was awarded as being the Most stylish celebrity on the carpet.

In October 2010, Malik appeared in the Indian television reality show Bigg Boss Season 4. She was evicted two weeks before the finals, and was one of the final six contestants out of the original fourteen who had participated. Veena Malik performing to the tunes of Naheed Akhtar at the Lux Style Awards 2007.

Malik was also part of the finale of the show. After her Bigg Boss stay, she was mentioned in the media as the voice of liberal Muslims, including leading dailies, Daily Times, Express Tribune, and The Australian. Sabbah Hajim, from the Haji Amina Charity Trust in Jammu and Kashmir, writing in the magazine Tehelka, when comparing her with liberal rector of Darul Uloom Deoband said, "these two newly public figures might teach Muslims to stop feeling eternally outraged."

In February 2011, Veena Malik became part of the Cricket World Cup reality show in Delhi, India, called "Big Toss." Big Toss was a reality game show with contestants and Malik as the captain of one team, against Rakhi Sawant and her team.

In March 2011, Malik engaged in a passionate debate with a mufti, who claimed she had engaged in immoral behaviour as a contestant on Bigg Boss, even though he admitted to not having watched the show. Malik countered pointing out the double standards of Pakistani media against women among other rebuttals.

An another show Veena Malik - `Veena Ka Vivah' was planned where Malik search for her soul-mate but the plans were ruined when the channel, Imagine TV, on which the show was being shown announced that it was shutting down. Veena Malik collected almost over 71,000 entries from all over the world for the show.

FHM Images

Controversy resulted in Pakistan over a nude image of Malik on the cover of FHM magazine India edition in which she had "ISI" written on her upper arm - the initials of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency. Malik says she was topless but did not pose completely nude, and has sued the magazine over the images.

Modelling

Veena Malik debuted at Pakistan Fashion Week Dubai 2014 her modelling career along with her husband Asad Bashir Khan

Films

Before starting her career off as an actress, Malik worked as a comedian for several television shows and series. She made her acting debut alongside Shaan and Zara Sheikh in Askari's Tere Pyar Mein (2000), which was a box office hit. She played a supporting role in the film and was barely acknowledged. Later on, she appeared in a supporting role in Javed Sheikh's Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa (2002). Veena Malik in Lahore, Pakistan in 2011.

In 2003, Malik appeared in Indo-Pak cross venture Punjabi film Pind Di Kudi which failed commercially, however, it was the first Indo-Pak venture film with a budget of approximately 70 million rupees. She also appeared in Askari's Sassi Punno (2003) alongside Sana and Moammar Rana, however the film failed to do well at Lahore's cinemas and further screenings stopped in cinemas after a week of its release. She then appeared in Rafique's Jageer. In 2005, she appeared in a short Punjabi film Bau Badmash (2005) which also failed to garner any recognition. Her breakthrough role was in Reema Khan's Koi Tujh Sa Kahan which was a commercial success in Pakistan.

In 2008, Malik appeared in Rafique's Punjabi film, Mohabbatan Sachiyan, alongside ex-fiancee Babrik Shah and newcomers Maria Khan and Adnan Khan. The film went on to become a commercial success. The same year, she appeared in Raza's Kabhi Pyaar Na Karna in a supporting role, but the film was a flop. Her last film of 2008 was Altaf's Ishq Beparwah, which also failed to impress the audience.

In 2010, she worked in Rafique's Main Jeena Tere Naal, and Beyg's debut comedy film Miss Duniya. Then her career in Bollywood started. She acted in several films.

In 2012, she debuted in Bollywood with an item song in Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai entitled Chhanno which was a big hit. Then in the same month she did another item song Fann Ban Gayi in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. Then she made her acting debut with a comedy Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai. However the film didn't do well at the box office but Malik's performance was widely acclaimed. In 2013, her first film was the Rajiv S. Ruia's social drama Zindagi 50 50 in which she played a prostitute. Her bold avatar in film was a big break in her career. The film did average score at the box office. She appeared in the music video Ac chala garmi badi hai sung by Sukhdeep Grewal. Then she made a special appearance in Punjabi film, Jatts In Golmaal in an item song Shabboo. She then made her Kannada film debut and appeared in Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Hot in which she portrayed the life of Southern actress Silk Smitha for which she gained 5 Kgs. The film went to be a very huge hit in South and her performance was once again appreciated. Then her last film of 2013 was Super Model. She was in a avatar never seen before and shed 7 Kilos for it and it was the glamorous role of her career. Film also won The Most Stylish Film Award on International standards. She played a supermodel, a small town girl manages to get big in fashion industry.

As of 2014, she has three projects in post-production stage. She will be seen as a ghost in Hemant Madhukar's horror flick Mumbai 125 KM 3D. She has done a Telugu film Nagna Satyam which is her debut in Telugu Film Industry. Her last film is a Punjabi Film Eh Dil Da Mamla which will release in winter 2014.

Philanthropy

Malik with Riyaz Gangji and Reshma Gangji in a Photoshoot.

Malik has worked as a representative at the World Health Organization for two years.^when?] She also sponsors a child at the SOS Children's Village, an NGO based in Pakistan working with orphaned children.

In the Media

Veena Malik also broke the record for the Guinness World Records for getting maximum kisses on her birthday in a span of one minute beating Salman Khan who held the record achieved on the reality show Guinness World Records - Ab India Todega.

In 2012 she was ranked at No. 26 on FHM India's "100 sexiest women list" which included Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Shilpa Shetty and Sonam Kapoor.

Galleries of Veena Malik

Vidya Balan

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Vidya Balan (born 1 January 1978) is an Indian actress. She has established a successful career in Bollywood and is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and five Screen Awards, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. She is known for portraying strong female protagonists and has been acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine.

Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age, and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcom Hum Paanch. She pursued a master's degree in sociology from the University of Mumbai and simultaneously made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film. She subsequently featured in various television commercials and music videos, and in 2003 made her feature film debut as the protagonist of the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko. In 2005 Vidya garnered praise for her first Hindi film, the drama Parineeta, and followed it with a leading role in the highly successful 2006 comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

This initial success was followed by roles in the romantic comedies Heyy Babyy (2007) and Kismat Konnection (2008) which met with negative reviews. The year 2009 marked the beginning of the most successful period in Vidya's career as she portrayed five consecutive roles to wide critical acclaim in the 2009 drama Paa, the 2010 black comedy Ishqiya, the 2011 semi-biographical thriller No One Killed Jessica, the 2011 biopic The Dirty Picture, and the 2012 thriller Kahaani. These roles established her as a leading actress of Hindi cinema and earned her the tag of a "female hero".

In addition to acting in films, Vidya promotes humanitarian causes and supports the empowerment of women. She initially drew criticism for her fluctuating weight and "questionable" dress sense, but was later credited in the media for "not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot". She is married to the film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur.

Early life and background

Vidya Balan was born on 1 January 1978 in Poothamkurussy, Puthur, a town in the Palakkad District of Kerala, to P. R. Balan, currently the Executive Vice-President of Digicable, and Saraswathy Balan, a homemaker. According to Vidya, they speak a mix of Tamil and Malayalam at home; she is also well versed in Hindi, Marathi, English and Bengali. Her elder sister, Priya Balan, works in the field of advertising. The actress Priyamani is her second cousin.

Vidya grew up in the suburban neighbourhood of Chembur, Mumbai and was schooled at St. Anthony Girls' High School. From a young age she aspired to a career in film and was inspired by the work of actors Shabana Azmi and Madhuri Dixit. At the age of sixteen, she starred in the first season of Ekta Kapoor's sitcom Hum Paanch as Radhika, a bespectacled teenager. Following the success of the show, Vidya refused director Anurag Basu's offer to star in a television soap opera, as she wanted to concentrate on a film career. Her parents were supportive of the decision but encouraged her to complete her education first, so she attended St. Xavier's College to pursue a bachelor's degree in sociology and later earned a master's degree from the University of Mumbai.

Career

Struggle and film debut (2000-04)

While pursuing her master's degree, Vidya was cast as the female lead in the Malayalam film Chakram, opposite Mohanlal and was subsequently signed on for twelve other Malayalam language films. However, due to production difficulties, Chakram was shelved. The postponement of a film starring Mohanlal was an unheard of occurrence in Malayalam cinema and film producers blamed her for bringing "bad luck" to the project; labelled her as a "jinx" and replaced her in all the films that she had been contracted for. She then shifted focus to Tamil cinema. In 2001, she was cast as the female lead in N. Linguswamy's Run (2002). However, after completing the first shooting schedule of the film, she was unceremoniously dropped and replaced by Meera Jasmine. She was signed up under false pretences for a sex comedy, a genre she was then uncomfortable with, and thus decided to leave the project. Thereafter, she signed on for a third Tamil film, Manasellam (2003), but was replaced by Trisha Krishnan as the director was dissatisfied with her work. Kalari Vikraman, another Malayalam film that she completed work for in 2003, failed to get a theatrical release.

After failing to start a film career, Vidya appeared in approximately sixty television commercials and in music videos for Euphoria and Shubha Mudgal; a majority of these were directed by Pradeep Sarkar. In 2003, she was signed on by Goutam Halder for his independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko; her first film release. Her portrayal of Anandi, a young woman reminiscing about her past, won her an Anandalok Purashkar for Best Actress.

Breakthrough (2005-08)

In 2005 Vidya made her Hindi film debut with Pradeep Sarkar's musical drama Parineeta. Before being cast for the film, she had to undergo extensive auditions for a period of six months. The film, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name, narrated the love story of an idealist Lalita (Vidya) and an egoist Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), the son of a capitalist businessman. Her performance in the film was praised by critics; Derek Elley from Variety wrote, " An acting revelation is Tamil newcomer Balan, whose devoted but dignified Lalita is the picture's heart and soul." Parineeta fetched her a Best Female Debut award and a nomination for Best Actress at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony. The following year, Vidya appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in Rajkumar Hirani's comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. She portrayed the role of Jhanvi, a radio jockey and the love interest of the protagonist Munna Bhai. To prepare for her role, she met with a couple of radio jockeys and watched them at work. Her performance was critically well received, and the film emerged as a blockbuster with earnings of INR 1.19 billion (US$20 million).

In 2007 Vidya featured in a supporting role in Mani Ratnam's semi-biographical drama Guru as a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis. The film, which starred Mithun Chakraborty, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and R. Madhavan in leading roles, performed well at the box office. However, film critics Khalid Mohamed and Raja Sen noted that her "talent was wasted" in a "minuscule role". Her next release was Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love, a romantic comedy featuring an ensemble cast, in which she was paired opposite John Abraham. The film, which narrated six individual love stories, saw Vidya play the role of a television reporter, Tehzeeb Hussain, suffering from a memory loss condition. The film, which was a critical and commercial failure, generated positive reviews for Vidya. Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com wrote, "Vidya's transformation from a self-assured working woman to a helpless, vulnerable person is superb." Vidya Balan is looking directly at the camera. Vidya at a promotional event for Bhool Bhulaiyaa in 2007

Vidya then took a supporting role in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's suspense thriller Eklavya: The Royal Guard, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sharmila Tagore, Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt. The film, which flopped commercially, met with positive critical reviews and was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 80th Academy Awards. She was later cast as Isha Sahni, a single mother, in Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy, alongside co-stars Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Fardeen Khan. The comedy film was a box-office success, but garnered negative reviews from critics, as did Vidya's performance; CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand criticised her wardrobe and make-up, and considered her the "sore thumb" of the film.

Vidya's fifth and final film of 2007 was Priyadarshan's psychological thriller Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a remake of the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993). Vidya featured as Avani Chaturvedi (a character played by Shobana in the Malayalam original), a woman suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Co-starring Shiney Ahuja, Akshay Kumar, and Ameesha Patel, Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a commercial success with a worldwide revenue of over INR 830 million (US$14 million). Reviewers, while being generally negative of the film, were appreciative of Vidya's performance. Writing for Hindustan Times, Khalid Mohamed described her as "bankably likeable" and Bollywood Hungama's Taran Adarsh labelled her as "splendid". The role earned Vidya a second Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.

In 2008's social film Halla Bol, Vidya played a supporting role alongside Ajay Devgn and Pankaj Kapur. The film was based on the life of activist Safdar Hashmi, who was killed by political rivals while performing on a street play (by the name of Halla Bol) in 1989. The film was a critical failure. Later that year, she co-starred with Shahid Kapoor in Aziz Mirza's romantic comedy Kismat Konnection. A commercial failure, the film and her performance generated a negative response; critic Sonia Chopra commented, "[Balan] is made to look downright drab. The haircut is unflattering, the make-up too plain, the clothes usually in off-white or brown. Plus the character is repetitive and reminds us of the one she played in Lage Raho Munnabhai."

Widespread success (2009-12)

In 2009 Vidya played the role of an unwed gynaecologist struggling with her 12-year-old son's progeria syndrome, in the R. Balki-directed dramedy Paa. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of Vidya's son and Abhishek Bachchan played the titular character. A critical and commercial success, the film has been described as a major turning point in her career. Sukanya Verma compared her acting style to that of Dimple Kapadia and noted, "Balan is poignant yet restrained and projects an impressive figure of grace and integrity"; Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India further argued that Vidya was successful in lending a "rare dignity to the image of the Bollywood mom." Her portrayal garnered her several awards, including a Filmfare Award for Best Actress and a Screen Award for Best Actress.

Vidya followed the success of Paa with the Vishal Bhardwaj-produced Ishqiya (2010), a black comedy directed by debutant Abhishek Chaubey; co-starring Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, and Salman Shahid. Vidya's role was that of Krishna Verma, a sexually manipulative woman. Vidya described her character as "an epitome of grey" and a departure from the conventional portrayal of women in cinema. In preparation for her part, she undertook professional training to speak in the local Uttar Pradesh-dialect. The feature as well as her performance received critical acclaim; Anupama Chopra of NDTV stated, "Vidya Balan's smoldering looks scorch the screen even as her eyes hint at tragedy. She proves that she is miles ahead of the cookie cutter Barbie dolls that clutter Bollywood and that sensuality has very little to do with showing skin." Her work in the film earned Vidya a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, a second consecutive Best Actress award at Screen and a nomination for Best Actress at Filmfare. Tusshar Kapoor, Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi pose for the camera together. Vidya with co-stars Tusshar Kapoor (left) and Emraan Hashmi at the audio release of The Dirty Picture in 2011. Her performance in the film was acclaimed and earned her a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress

Raj Kumar Gupta's semi-biographical thriller No One Killed Jessica with Rani Mukerji was Vidya's first release of 2011. The film, based on the Jessica Lal murder case, saw her portray the real-life character of Sabrina Lal, Jessica's reticent sister. While preparing for the role, Vidya did not meet Lal on the insistence of Gupta as "the Sabrina [...] today is different from the Sabrina a decade ago, [when] the story begins". No One Killed Jessica met with contrasting reviews from critics, but Vidya's performance was particularly praised. The Hindu remarked on Vidya's ability to be "in sublime control over her emotions" and Savera Someshwar of Rediff.com added that "her hesitant body language, her faith, her helplessness, her rage, her sorrow and her gratitude all come across beautifully". The film had earnings of INR 490 million (US$8.1 million) and was noted for being a commercial success despite the absence of a male lead. Vidya earned another Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category for the film. In March 2011, a retrospective of Vidya's films was held in Australia, as part of the film festival Bollywood & Beyond. That same year, Vidya featured in a guest appearance in Santosh Sivan's Malayalam language fantasy film Urumi.

Vidya's next appearance was in Ekta Kapoor's production The Dirty Picture, a biopic based on the life and death of the controversial Indian actress Silk Smitha. Vidya was cast as Silk, who was--in Vidya's words--"known for her brazenness and in-your-face sexuality." She described the role as the "boldest" she had ever played, one that "required a lot of mental preparation," and to look the part, she gained 12 kilograms (26 lb). The film opened to major critical acclaim, and Vidya received unanimous praise for her portrayal which several reviewers regarded as her best performance to date. Khalid Mohamed observed, "She's extraordinary: gutsy, consistently in character and unafraid of exposing her darker side. Here's the kind of complex performance which you haven't evidenced in years and years." Her director Milan Luthria described her as the contemporary claimant of the "sex-symbol" title, and compared her "voluptuousness" to the likes of yesteryear actresses Sridevi and Vyjayanthimala. The film was eventually declared a blockbuster, earning INR 1.14 billion (US$19 million) worldwide. Vidya won a second Filmfare Award, a third consecutive Screen Award, and a National Film Award for Best Actress.

For her next feature film, Vidya starred as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband in Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani (2012). The thriller, set in the city of Kolkata during the Durga Puja festivities, met with wide critical acclaim. To lend authenticity to her part, Vidya met several pregnant women and learnt about their lifestyle. She generated public and media attention by wearing a fake baby bump during the film's promotional activities. Vidya received further appreciation for her performance in Kahaani. Subhash K. Jha praised Vidya's portrayal of "grace under pressure" as "measured and skilled"; Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph added that she "gets into the physicality of a pregnant woman with unfailing mastery". Kahaani emerged as a major commercial success both at the domestic and international box office, with revenues of over INR 1.04 billion (US$17 million). Vidya won a fourth consecutive Best Actress Award at Screen and a third Best Actress Award at Filmfare. Vidya Balan is smiling away from the camera Vidya at a promotional event for Shaadi Ke Side Effects in 2014

2013 onwards

After completing the duties of a jury member at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Vidya starred opposite Emraan Hashmi as a loud and boisterous Punjabi woman in Ghanchakkar, a comic-thriller from director Raj Kumar Gupta. Critics were unenthusiastic about the film and it earned little at the box office. Vidya then provided the voice of Draupadi for Mahabharat, a 3D animation film based on the Indian epic of the same name. The romantic comedy Shaadi Ke Side Effects was Vidya's first film release of 2014. Directed by Saket Chaudhary and co-starring Farhan Akhtar, the film tells the story of a married couple who face a series of comic events after the birth of their first child. Vidya's role was Trisha Mallik, a "regular working woman in an urban, two income household", a "relatable" character for which she did not undergo much preparation. Critics found the film to be a "bit overstretched", but praised both Akhtar and Vidya's performances. Rachit Gupta of Filmfare thought that Vidya's character offered her a "limited character stretch", but added that she "excels and floors both comedy and drama with ease."

Also in 2014, Vidya featured as the host of No More Kamzor, a special television program on women empowerment. Her second film release that year was the comedy-drama Bobby Jasoos in which she played the eponymous role of a Hyderabadi woman who aspires to be a detective. Vidya was drawn to the idea of playing a female detective, and identified with the character's struggle to "do something unusual" in life. The role required her to sport twelve elaborate disguises, and she also trained with a language coach to adopt a Hyderabadi accent. Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid Day reviewed that she "bites into this role with passion and lives it like her own", adding, "you wonder if any actress could have been able to manage this outwardly simple but complex role with such competence".

As of July 2014, Vidya has signed on opposite Emraan Hashmi and Rajkummar Rao for Hamari Adhuri Kahani, a romance from director Mohit Suri.

Personal life and off-screen work

Vidya Balan and Siddharth Roy Kapur are smiling at the camera. Vidya and Siddharth Roy Kapur at their wedding ceremony in December 2012

The mass media has often speculated about a romantic relationship between Vidya and her co-actors, but she has strongly denied these reports. In 2009, Vidya was involved in a controversy when she mentioned a previous relationship in which "caustic remarks" were made at her due to her weight. She said, "If someone who matters to you takes you down, it can break you. That someone whose approval mattered to me started to constantly find faults with me. At that point of time, it was important to walk away from that relationship." Though she refused to name the person, tabloid reports suggested that she was referring to Shahid Kapoor (her co-star in Kismat Konnection). Kapoor, however, denied the allegations. During an interview in May 2012, Vidya announced that she was dating Siddharth Roy Kapur, the CEO of UTV Motion Pictures. On 14 December 2012, the couple were married in a private ceremony in Bandra, Mumbai.

Vidya is trained in carnatic music and briefly studied the dance forms of Bharatnatyam and Kathak. Regarding her religious affiliations, Vidya said, "I am a person with a lot of faith and I have conversations [with God] all the time but I am not so religious in the conventional, organised sense". She practices vegetarianism and was listed as "India's hottest vegetarian" in polls conducted by PETA in 2011 and 2012. Her weight fluctuations over the years have been the subject of substantial media coverage in India.

Besides acting in film, Vidya promotes humanitarian causes and supports charitable institutions. In March 2011, she endorsed World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour campaign in India. She campaigned for the cause of nutrition in India for CINI (Child in Need Institute), a non-profit organisation based in Kolkata. In September 2012, Vidya visited a village in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, where she participated in a campaign to promote children's education and the empowerment of women. For her attempts to empower women, Vidya was awarded The Prabha Khaitan Puraskar 2012 by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce; she was the youngest recipient of the award. Vidya has also been appointed by the Government of India as their brand ambassador in the drive to improve the country's sanitary condition. In August 2013, she served as the grand marshal of the India Day parade held in New York City. In September that year, she launched a technology-based learning platform for underprivileged children in the Thanapur village of Uttar Pradesh.

Media image and artistry

Vidya Balan holds a ball in her hand at a soccer field. Vidya at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2012

Following the success of Parineeta and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Vidya's film roles were subject to wide critical analysis. Vir Sanghvi noted that the films Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection were "strange films [...] in which she tried to pretend to be what she is not -- a Bollywood bimbette." Vidya described that particular phase in her career as a "struggle to be someone else". Due to the criticism that her film choices evoked, Vidya decided to choose roles that she "believed in" rather than choose by convention. Members of the media have subsequently labelled her as "bold" and "daring" in her choices.

Her starring roles in Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection also led to considerable attention in the media for her "questionable wardrobe". Several publications listed her as the "worst dressed actress" and her costume designers attributed her failure to carry off western clothes due to her weight and body structure. She was later praised in the media for wearing saris at public events; designer Niharika Khan explained, "Vidya's beauty lies in her curves. She's comfortable in her voluptuousness, and therefore in a sari." Vidya has since been identified as defying "an anglicised idea of sexuality" and embody the idea of "raw Indian sexuality".

After portraying strong female protagonists in Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya was credited in the media for pioneering a movement that breaks the stereotypical portrayal of heroines in Bollywood. The major commercial success of the latter two earned her the title of a "female hero" and Kalpana Nair of First Post noted that with these two films Vidya spearheaded a change in the roles that were offered to actresses over thirty. Film critic Mayank Shekhar predicted, "Just a few smart male actors can completely change the face of a commercial, star-driven film industry. Looking at [...] Vidya Balan [...] it appears, that change could well originate from the leading lady instead." India Today featured her in their listing of the "25 Power Women" and noted that "she has toppled the all dominating hero, reducing him to a supporting role in a male dominated film industry".

Vidya occupied the top slot in Rediff.com's annual listing of "Bollywood's Best Actress" for two consecutive years (2010-11). She also featured in the list for the years 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2012. In 2010, she featured in Filmfare's listing of the "Women we love". In 2012, the magazine Verve listed her as one of India's "Young Power Women" and wrote, "In a reel world peopled by size zero-toned bodies and pretty-as-a-picture heroines, Vidya comes across as completely real and natural - a woman who has followed her own instincts and dared to live her destiny by being her own person and not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot." In 2014, Vidya was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

Galleries of Vidya Balan

Sneha Ullal

2014-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sneha Ullal (born 1987) is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Tollywood and Bollywood films. She is best known for her role in the Telugu film Ullasamga Utsahamga and Simha.

Personal life and education

Sneha Ullal was born and brought up in Hyderabad, India to a Tulu-speaking father from Mangalore and a Sindhi mother. She studied at Indian School, Muscat and Indian School, Salalah in Oman. Later she moved to Mumbai with her mother and attended Durelo Convent High School and studied at Vartak College.

Career

Ullal made her movie debut in the 2005 Hindi movie Lucky: No Time for Love opposite Salman Khan. After the movie, she was noted for her striking similarities in appearance with Aishwarya Rai. She later said that although the comparison didn't help her as an actor, it gave her a lot of recognition. Ullal then appeared with Khan's brother Sohail Khan in Aryan, which did not do well at the box office.

Fearing that she was too young and needed to be more mature to work in movies, she took a break from Bollywood. She made her debut in Telugu movies with Ullasamga Utsahamga, which turned out to be a huge hit. Nenu Meeku Telusa...? was her second Telugu release. It was followed by an appearance in the song Nuvvu ready in the Telugu movie King opposite Nagarjuna.

In 2007, she was to appear in Pirate's Blood by prolific horror filmmaker and character actor Steg Dorr. In interviews, Dorr would say "we canceled them because of a hurricane. We could not get it going on and the financing fell through." The role later went to Oman actress Maimoon Al-Balushi.^citation needed]

Later, she signed Kaashh... Mere Hote to show that she is still interested in Hindi films. Her next few films didn't do well at the box office, but her 2010 release Simha opposite Balakrishna turned out to be a blockbuster.

Galleries of Sneha Ullal

Soha Ali Khan

2014-09-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

Soha Ali Khan (born Soha Ali Khan Pataudi on 4 October 1978) is a Bollywood actress best known for her role of Sonia in Rang De Basanti (2006) for which she won IIFA Awards for Best Supporting Actress and GIFA Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is daughter of Mansoor Ali Khan and Sharmila Tagore, a Bengali Indian film actress and a member of Bengal's Tagore family. She is the sister of Saif Ali Khan.

Early life

Khan's father was the Nawab of Pataudi. Both her father, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and paternal grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, are former captains of the Indian cricket team. Her mother, Sharmila Tagore and her older brother Saif Ali Khan are Bollywood actors while her older sister Saba Ali Khan is a jewellery designer. She is the youngest child for her parents. She attended The British School, New Delhi and studied modern history at Balliol College, Oxford and earned a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Career

Before embarking upon her film career, Soha worked for Ford Foundation and Citibank. She is involved in a range of activities outside the acting world, including serving on the Advisory Board for a new project of the public entrepreneur group, Res Publica. She has also recently modeled for the spring-summer collection of Globus, an Indian chain of boutiques.

Soha made her acting debut with the Bollywood film Dil Maange More (2004), where she shared credits with Shahid Kapoor, Ayesha Takia and Tulip Joshi. She has since received critical acclaim for her performances in the Bengali film Antar Mahal (2005) and Rang De Basanti (2006). Khoya Khoya Chand earned her critical acclaim though it was not successful at the box office. In 2009, she appeared in 99, which was a critical and commercial success and her performance was acclaimed. Her next release was Tum Mile opposite Emraan Hashmi. Although a box office failure, Soha received positive reviews for her performance. Her upcoming release include Mumbai Cutting. Soha also hosted a show called Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo on Star Plus. Soha appeared in a bikini for the first time in her career, in her film Mr Joe B. Carvalho.

She is a life member of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy of Film & Television.

She has also awarded Hyderabad Women of the Decade Achievers Awards, ASSOCHAM Ladies League for Being a Nobel Ambassador for Women's Empowerment.

Personal life

Khan with her Fiancée Kunal Khemu.

Soha is in a committed relationship with actor Kunal Khemu, and both of them live together. The couple got engaged in July 2014.

Galleries of Soha Ali Khan

Sonal Chauhan

2014-09-22T23:52:00.002-07:00

Sonal Singh Chauhan (born 16 May 1985) is an Indian fashion model, actress and singer. She has won several beauty contests and made her acting debut in the movie Jannat directed by Kunal Deshmukh.

Early life

Chauhan was born in Badlapur Maharashtra ,She is Chauhan Rajput. Her family hailed from Royal Family at Kurawali in Mainpuri District.She still have her old 'Haveli', Her father is a police inspector, and she has one elder brother and two sisters, one younger and one elder. She studied at Delhi Public School in Noida and then Philosophy honors at Gargi College in New Delhi.

Modelling career

She was crowned as the Miss World Tourism 2005 at Miri, Sarawak state of Malaysia. She is the first Indian to have claimed Miss World Tourism title. She appeared in the ads of brands like Ponds and Nokia. She also appeared on the cover page of FHM and The Man magazine. She walked the ramp as show stopper for jewellery brand YS18 at the India International Jewelry Week 2011.

Acting career

She first appeared on screen in Himesh Reshammiya's album Aap Kaa Surroor. Kunal Deshmukh, director of Jannat, saw her at a restaurant in Mumbai. He asked for her contact number, and in a week she was on the floors shooting. In the movie she was paired opposite Emraan Hashmi. She has also signed a three film deal with the Bhatts, of which two are pending. She has walked the ramp for many fashion shows and has modeled in print campaigns for brands like LG, Reliance CDMA, Hero Honda Passion, Nokia, Hindustan Times, Delhi Times, and many more.

Soon after Jannat was released, V N Aditya called her after seeing her portfolio through her agent. Impressed by her, he signed her for Telugu movie Rainbow opposite Rahul. She is also acting in a Kannada movie Cheluveye Ninne Nodalu with Shivrajkumar,which is shot in 7 wonders of the world. In May-June 2012 she and Neil Nitin Mukesh were in Fiji for the shooting of their horror thriller 3G. She also sang a duet with KK for one of the film's song "Kaise Bataoon". Also she acted in a Telugu film sharing screen with Tollywood actor Nandamuri Balakrishna and directed by Boyapati Srinu.

Galleries of Sonal Chauhan

Sonia Agarwal

2014-09-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

Sonia Agarwal (born 28 March 1982) is an Indian actress. Having predominantly acted in Tamil films, she is probably best known for her performances in blockbuster films such as Kaadhal Kondein (2003), 7G Rainbow Colony (2004) and Pudhupettai (2006) directed by her former husband Selvaraghavan.

Personal life

Sonia married Selvaraghavan, a director in Tamil cinema, in December 2006. The couple were divorced in 2010.

Career

During her school days, Sonia got an offer to act in a serial on Zee TV. She then made her film debut with the 2002 Telugu film Nee Premakai, in which she did a small role, after which she acted in a Kannada film Chandu opposite Sudeep.

Subsequently, she stepped into the Tamil film industry, appearing in the drama film Kaadhal Kondein, directed by Selvaraghavan. Featuring his brother Dhanush, the film became a huge success and she was widely appreciated for her performance as Divya in the film, which brought her to limelight and fetched her several awards, including the ITFA Best New Actress Award. Afterwards, she acted alongside actors Silambarasan and Vijay in the films Kovil and Madhurey, respectively. In 2004, the controversial Tamil drama film 7G Rainbow Colony, directed by Selvaraghavan again, got released, which went on to become a blockbuster at the box office. After appearing in the films Oru Kalluriyin Kathai and Oru Naal Oru Kanavu in 2005, both of which failed to perform at the box office, she got roles in the films Thiruttu Payale and Pudhupettai. The former, directed by Susi Ganesan, became a highly successful film, whilst the latter, another Selvaraghavan film, received universal critical acclaim.

She stopped acting after her marriage. After getting divorced, she made a re-entry, essaying a supporting role in the multi-starrer Vaanam, following which she signed up for four projects--three in Tamil and one in Malayalam--in quick succession. Her Karu Pazhaniappan-directed film Sadhurangam, opposite Srikanth once again, got released in 2011 and Oru Nadigayin Vakku Moolam, a heroine-oriented feature in early 2012. Her forthcoming films include Poi Sollathedi and Achchamenn.

Galleries of Sonia Agarwal

Sri Divya

2014-09-22T23:42:00.004-07:00

Sri Divya is an Indian film and television actress, who acts in Tamil and Telugu films.

Early life

Sri Divya was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. She has one sister, Sri Ramya, who also acts in Telugu and Tamil films. Sri Divya has studied in the Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Career

Sri Divya started her career at the age of three and has acted as a child artist in nearly ten Telugu films. She has also acted in Telugu television serials.

She made her debut as a heroine in the 2010 Telugu romance film Manasara, directed by Ravi Babu, but the film was a failure. Then she featured in the film Bus Stop (2012) directed by Maruthi, co-starring Prince, which was successful at the box office. It was followed by Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu in which she played a lonely wife who falls in love with a writer. About her performance, The Hindu wrote, "she looks very charming; the cotton saris bring out the grace in her". Idlebrain.com wrote, "Sri Divya epitomizes the character of an idealistic and independent woman. She did well and deserves applause". Postnoon wrote, "Sri Divya is a wonderful actress and she suits the role of Lakshmi".

Her Tamil debut was Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam opposite Siva Karthikeyan, which was directed by Ponram. Sri Divya received very positive reviews from critics for her performance. Baradwaj Rangan wrote, "the actress is good. She knows the language, knows how to work a reaction shot, and she looks like she belongs in this milieu. It will be interesting to see what Tamil cinema makes of her". The Times of India wrote, "But the real surprise is debutant Sri Divya, who, is expressive, and can lip-sync very well, which isn't the case with most of our heroines today". The New Indian Express wrote, "As Latha, debutant Sridivya emotes well, infusing the character with innocence, charm and naughtiness".

Her upcoming films are Kaatu Malli, which was her first Tamil film, and Nagarpuram. She has also been signed up for the films Pencil, Suseenthiran's next titled Veera Dheera Sooran and Eetti.

Galleries of Sri Divya

Surveen Chawla

2014-09-22T23:35:00.002-07:00

Surveen Chawla is an Indian actress, best known for hosting the television show Comedy Circus Ke SuperStars.

Career

Surveen made her debut as Charu in the serial Kahin To Hoga.

Surveen was seen in the reality dance show Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena, where she paired up with Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth. She hosted Comedy Circus ke Superstars on Sony. In 2011, she appeared in her first Punjabi film opposite Jimmy Shergill named Dharti which released in April 2011. The film won six prizes at the 2nd PTC Punjabi Film Awards. Surveen was given the Best Female Debutante Award. Thereafter she has acted in four more Punjabi films Taur Mittran Di, Saadi Love Story, Singh vs Kaur and Lucky Di Unlucky Story. She did an item number in Sajid Khan directed Himmatwala.

Surveen will be seen in a lead role in film Hate Story 2 with Jay Bhanushali,which is a sequel to 2012 hit film Hate Story. Apart from being an actress, Surveen has appeared in television commercials, magazine covers and print advertisements.

Galleries of Surveen Chawla

Swasika

2014-09-22T23:33:00.002-07:00

Swasika is an Indian film actress, who mainly works in Tamil and Malayalam films. She has made her debut in the 2009 Tamil film, Vaigai. In most of Tamil films, she has essayed the role of a "village belle".

Career

Her first film was Sundarapandi's Vaigai, a love story, her character was based on a real life individual. She then did Goripalayam by Rasu Madhuravan, in which she played the second lead. She was still a student, when she acted in the film. Her third film Maithanam got positive reviews from both the critics and the audience. She played a village girl, who "values culture and tradition" in the film. In her next venture, Kandadhum Kaanadhadum by director Seelan, she played a "city-bred college girl". She made her Malayalam debut with Cinema Company and was the lead actress in Sajeevan Anthikkad's Prabhuvinte Makkal.

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Swathi Varma

2014-09-22T23:31:00.002-07:00

Swati Verma is an Indian film actress primarily working with Bhojpuri film industry. She has also acted in Tamil and Telugu films. She has established a career in Bhojpuri language films and is cited in the media as one of the most popular celebrities. Verma parachuted into stardom soon after her maiden Bhojpuri film Sasurari Zindabad hit the marquee.

Early life

Swati hail from Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh but her birthplace is Mumbai. Her parents are doctors, and worked in KEM hospital, Mumbai, in the 1970s. Later, her parents shifted to Bilaspur and Verma went to Russia. She did her diploma in Russian and also studied interior designing in Russia. She speaks English, Hindi, Bhojpuri and Tamil and is a well trained Kathak dancer. She also have a black belt in Karate.

Career

Verma felt daunted as the very prospect of acting, She commented saying, "Hailing from a place like Bilaspur that is nowhere even distantly associated to glitz and glamour, acting did seem a bit far-fetched." Before starting her career off as an actress, Swati joined Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting school in Mumbai. She made her acting debut in episodic serial Ek din ki vardi (Sahara). Later, she appeared in Suraag (SAB TV) and Aryaman (Doordarshan network).

Tanushree Dutta

2014-09-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Tanushree Dutta born 19 March 1984) is an Indian model and actress who primarily appears in Bollywood movies. Dutta is the recipient of Femina Miss India Universe title in 2004. During the same year at the Miss Universe beauty pageant, she was amongst the top ten Finalists.

Early life

Dutta was born and raised in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand to a conservative Bengali Hindu Kayastha family. She attended D.B.M.S. English School in her hometown, Jamshedpur and attended Junior College in Pune. She soon dropped out of college after completing her first year of B.COM to pursue a modelling career. Her sister, Ishita Dutta, is also an actress.

Career

In 2004, Dutta won the Femina Miss India Pageant held in Mumbai; as a result, she represented India amongst 133 other countries at the Miss Universe 2004 contest which took place in Quito, Ecuador, where she placed amongst the Top 10 Finalists. In 2005, the Government of Jharkhand honored her by issuing postcards and stamps featuring her.

Shortly after winning the Miss India title, Dutta was offered numerous prestigious modelling assignments from recognized Indian designers and national brands. This victory also allowed for her successful entry in the Bollywood Industry, as she started receiving offers to play lead roles thereafter. She made her Bollywood debut in 2005, appearing in Chocolate and Aashiq Banaya Apne. Though Chocolate received mild reviews, the box office success of Aashiq Banaya Apne, accompanied by its hit music proved to be a perfect launch for Tanushree in Bollywood. She also did a music video, "Saiyan Dil Mein Aana Re" by Harry Anand.

After the release of Ramaa: The Saviour in November 2010, Dutta "went on a self imposed sabbatical for two and a half years". Tanushree returned in spring of 2013 with stunning appearances at several high profile media and red carpet events. In 2013, she confirmed that she will be shortly returning to mainstream cinema.

Personal life

Starting her career at nineteen years of age, Tanushree Dutta had been working hard when she decided to take a sabbatical leave, which lasted until the end of 2012. As a part of her journey, she rediscovered herself as she travelled, pursued her personal interests such as yoga, adventurous sports, and even decided to shave her head in the name of spirituality during her trip to Ladakh. She states, "To take break from pressure, the ruthless people, heartbreaks and heartburns, I've taken this decision. And, this will hide my identity too during public travel". Though her decision to shave her head was 'to hide her public identity', this act of hers was widely publicized.

Tanushree has a younger sister Ishita Dutta, who is currently acting as the main lead in the serial Ek Ghar Banaunga, an Indian soap opera airing on Star Plus.

Galleries of Tanushree Dutta

Tanu Roy

2014-09-22T23:18:00.001-07:00

Tanu Roy is an Indian film actress and model. A Bengali by birth, she has predominantly appeared in Telugu films apart from some Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Kannada films. She is mostly known for her item numbers in films like Mass and Hero.

Career

Tanu Rony was born and brought up in Kolkata. She is a commerce graduate. She made her acting debut in 2001 with Puri Jagannadh's Itlu Sravani Subramanyam, after which she played small roles in Anandam and Manasantha Nuvve. She appeared in Avunu Nijame and Kodi Ramakrishna's Keelugurram. Later, she starred in low budget B movies and did many item numbers in films including Satyam, Mass, No, Viyyalavari Kayyalu and Pellikani Prasad.

She was seen in two Bengali films Basho Na in which she portrayed the role of a young widow and Moner Majho Tumhi, a remake of Mansantha Nuvve, and in the Kannada films Love Story, which is a remake of the Telugu film Maro Charitra and was earlier titled Prema Charitra. The first Kannada film she shot for Preethi Maadabaaradu was shelved in the middle. In Tamil, she starred in the films Indru and Girivalam, a remake of the Hindi film Humraaz.

Tanu made her debut in Malayalam in the 2012 film Ee Adutha Kaalathu as Tanushree Ghosh and won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Madhuri, the mother of a 10-year-old boy. In Orissa, she played a social activist, who works for the welfare of tribal people in a village.

Her upcoming film is Amar Babu's Ala Jarigindi Oka Roju, which is the Telugu remake of the 2006 British crime comedy flick, Big Nothing. She has also shot for a cameo in Hashim Marrikar's Preview.

She also participated in the Telugu television shows Naacho Rrey and Humma Humma.

Galleries of Tanu Roy

Tanvi Vyas

2014-09-22T23:14:00.002-07:00

Tanvi Vyas is an Indian actress who made her acting debut in the "Kollywood" film Eppadi Manasukkul Vanthai in 2012. Prior to that, she was a graphic designer and later was crowned Femina Miss India Earth 2008 in Mumbai.

Biography

Born in Vadodara, the cultural capital of Gujarat, she belongs to a Hindu Brahmin family. She was born to Dr.J. K. Vyas and Vijaya Vyas. She is the only daughter of the doctor family. She did her schooling in the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Vadodara. She completed her Fine Arts, Graphic Design degree from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 2009. While in college, she won Westside style showdown, a college based competition and participated in IIT Powai's cultural fest Mood Indigo.

Being a small town girl, with no background of any formal training, she went on to compete the country's most competitive beauty pageant, Femina Miss India, and was crowned Femina Miss India Earth 2008. She then went on to represent India at the Miss Earth 2008 pageant held at Manila, Philippines.

Modelling career

After winning the Miss India title in 2008, she went on to work as a show stopper with designers Ritu Kumar (Dubai fashion week, couture week), Neeta Lulla [Gitanjali Lifestyle Bridal couture], Digvijay Singh [Lakme India Fashion week], Krishna Mehta [Gitanjali Lifestyle],Lacone Hemant (Colombo). She also made a few commercials both in the north and south of India for Air Wick, JP Cement, Colgate, Banjara Fairness, ClearTrip.com, Sri Laxmi jewelery, Kent Water Purifiers, Canvera Photo albums.

She has appeared in print commercials for Safi, Air India, Hero Cycles, Pantaloons, Donear with Vivek Oberoi, RMKV Silk Sarees.

Film career

Tanvi made her acting debut in Kollywood with the film Eppadi Manasukkul Vanthai ("How You Came Into My Heart"), a Tamil Indian film directed by P. V. Prasath.

Later she got the role of Swapna in 'Nenem...Chinna Pillana? under the prestigious banner of Padma Bhushan D. Ramanaidu

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Tejaswi

2014-09-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (8 September 1938 - 5 April 2007) was a prominent Kannada writer, novelist, photographer, ornithologist, publisher, painter and environmentalist who made a great impression in the "Navya" period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the bandaya ("protest literature") with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu.

At early stages of his writing career, Tejaswi wrote poems but later concentrated on short stories, novels and essays. Poornachandra Tejaswi has a distinguished style of writing which has heralded a new era in Kannada literature.

Early life

Tejaswi was born on 8 September 1938 in Kuppali in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Although he was the son of "Rashtrakavi" Kuvempu, he came out of his father's shadow and established his own image at an early age. Tejaswi received Rajyotsava Award for his first short story "Linga Banda", a look at the rainy Western Ghats from the eye of a boy. After completion of his education from Maharaja College of Mysore, one among the top colleges in India, due to his interests in nature and farming, he moved to Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur District after buying a coffee estate. Apart from literature he was actively involved in painting, photography and philosophy.

He was a keen learner of nature and his favourite pastime was to roam around in the forests of western ghats.

He has 2 daughters Susmitha and Eshanye who are software professionals. His wife Rajeshwari stays in Niruttara,Mudigere.

Literary works

Tejaswi has written in almost all forms of literature including poems, short stories, novels, travel literature, plays and science fiction. Nature and incidents related to nature enjoy major roles in most of his works. One of the most popular writers in Kannada, Tejaswi's works have continued to remain popular, going into multiple prints and often topping reader's charts. Karvalo is one such novel where the author participates in an adventure of discovering a flying lizard in the dense forests of Western Ghats.

Tejaswi has translated a number of English books to Kannada enriching the depth of Kannada literature. His famous translations include the series on Kenneth Anderson's hunting expeditions and Henri Charrière's Papillon.

Tejaswi wrote his first novel, Kaadu Mattu Kraurya, when he was a 24-year-old in 1962. The novel is expected to be in print for the first time towards the end of 2012. He had initially planned to name this work Nalini but later decided to go by its present title. Tejaswi was inspired to write the novel after visiting his wife Rajeshwari's maternal home in the forested Malnad region of Karnataka. The novel, whose manuscript was prepared by Rajeshwari, is the story of Linga, a migrant bonded labourer from north Karnataka who moves to a remote Malnad village where he struggles to cope with his new life and surroundings.

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Udita Goswami

2014-09-22T22:56:00.001-07:00

Udita Goswami (born 9 February 1984) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi cinema.

Early life

Udita was born in Dehradun, Uttarakhand to a Garhwali father from Garhwal, Uttarakhand, Nepali origin mother hails from Shillong, Meghalaya and her grandmother is also Nepalese who is a sister of former Nepalese Prime Minister Tulsi Giri. She spent most of childhood in Kathmandu, Nepal later she moved and she completed her education in Dehradun where she studied at Cambrian Hall and D.A.V. Public schools until class 8.

Career

Goswami began her career as a model working for brands such as Pepsi, Titan Watches and Aksar opposite Dino Morea.

She was featured with Upen Patel in Ahmed Khan's music video of the remix of Kya Khoob Lagti Ho.

Personal life

Udita Goswami on the day of her wedding

She was in a relationship with Mohit Suri for 9 years before marrying him on January 29, 2013.

Galleries of Udita Goswami

Varsha Ashwathi

2014-09-22T22:55:00.001-07:00

Varsha Ashwathi is an Indian film actress, who appears in Tamil films. Varsha won the 'Miss Beautiful' title in the 2006 Miss Chennai contest. In the year 2009, Varsha made her acting debut in Tamil film Peranmai which co-starred Jeyam Ravi.

Early life

Varsha Ashwathi was born on 22 April in West Bengal. At age 4 she moved with her family to Tuticorin, in Tamil Nadu. Her father Rakesh Awasthi is a marine engineer. She has two siblings, Rohan, a marine engineer and Sai Karan who is doing 10th. She passed her schooling from Holy Cross Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and college in Chennai. Varsha is trained in Kathak.

Early career

Varsha's film career began with award winning director S. P. Jananathan's film Peranmai, in which she played the character of Tulsi an NCC girl, though she had no acting experience. In 2012, Varsha played an IPS Officer 'Agnes' in Neerparavai, where she acted with Nandita Das. Varsha later performed in Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA. She is currently busy shooting for Tamil films Pani Vizhum Malarvanam, Endrendrum Punnagai and Kangaroo. Varsha is all set to debut in the Malayalam film industry with Don't Worry Be Happy. In the film directed by Shaison Ouseph, she plays a TV anchor of a reality show involving seven married couples.

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Vedhika

2014-09-22T22:52:00.001-07:00

Vedhika is an Indian film actress who appears in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.

Career

Vedika's mother tongue is Kannada. After finishing her education in the United Kingdom, Vedhika enlisted in Kishore Namith Kapoor School to learn acting and dancing skills for a career in films. During her time she was involved in modelling assignments and did a notable advert for biscuits alongside prominent actor Suriya. She was subsequently approached by Arjun to essay the lead role in his production Madrasi and Vedhika accepted the role. The film was based around Arjun's action image. She went on to feature in Raghava Lawrence's comedy horror Muni, and the film went to become an average grosser commercially. Her maiden Telugu venture was in Vijayadasami, a remake of the Tamil film Sivakasi,.

She starred next in Kaalai with Silambarasan Simbu and the film became notable for the dance number, "Kutti Pisase" with Vedhika's dancing being critically appreciated. She went on to appear in another film Sakkarakatti. The long-delayed film featured Shanthnoo Bhagyaraj making his debut in the lead role and A. R. Rahman providing the soundtrack, however Vedhika's role was described as one of the sole positives from the project. Later that year, she starred in a Kannada film, Sangama opposite Ganesh, and the film fetched her good reviews for her performance. In 2009, she appeared as the radio jockey Anjali in A. Venkatesh's Malai Malai with the film consequently going on to become a success commercially. The film had good scope for Vedhika and reviews cited her role as " eye candy" whilst claiming she was "apt" for the role. She made a comeback to Telugu films in the same year, with a role in the critically acclaimed Baanam. Her role won her plaudits, whilst her on screen presence with Nara Rohit was praised with a critic citing she gives "good company as the naïve girl" and it is "refreshing to see them together". After the release of Baanam, Vedhika went on a sabbatical and did not sign any other films until, despite making an appearance in a notable advert with Karthi for mobile company Airtel. She signed and next featured in the Telugu film Daggaraga Dooranga opposite Sumanth, which opened to average reviews in August 2011.

The actress was signed up by director Bala for Paradesi (2013), an adaptation of the 1969 tragic novel Red Tea, set in the 1930s. The actress signed the film in December 2011 and did not accept to appear in any other project till the release, sporting a significantly de-glamourised appearance and portraying a village character for the first time. The film, which also starred Adharvaa and Dhansika opened to unanimously positive reviews in March 2013 and performed well at the box office. Critics raved about her performance as Angamma, with the critic from The Times of India noting that "after doing roles that only required her to look pretty, Vedhika gets a chance to show off her acting skills" with Indiaglitz.com citing that she "produced a memorable performance". The critic from Rediff.com noted that "Vedhika plays the role of a young village belle to perfection", while Sify.com labelled that she delivered a "spellbinding performance". Later in 2013, she had another release, Sringaravelan, which was her first Malayalam film and it became one of the biggest Blockbuster film of the year .

Her upcoming film will be Vasanthabalan's historical fiction film Kaaviya Thalaivan. In 2014, she signed the Malayalam film Cousins starring opposite Kunchako Boban to be directed by Vysakh

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Vimala Raman

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Vimala Raman is an Indian film actress, model and a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She made her acting debut in the 2006 Tamil film Poi and went on to appear primarily in South Indian cinema.

Career

She made her acting debut in 2006 with Poi, a Tamil film directed by Kailasam Balachander. Her first Malayalam film was Time with Suresh Gopi. She paired with Ajmal Ameer in Pranayakalam in 2007. In the same year, she also appeared with Mammooty in Nasrani and with Dileep in Romeoo. She appeared in College Kumaran with Mohanlal and in Calcutta News with Dileep in 2008. Vimala Raman attended the Natanalaya Dance Academy based in Sydney, Australia. She studied dance under the tutelage of Jayalakshmi Kandiah. In 2010, she bagged a dream role opposite South Super Star Dr.Vishnuvardhan, an Indian star of 220 movies in five different languages. In this Kannada film Aptharakshaka directed by P. Vasu, her role was very much appreciated by the critics and gave her a very good recognition. The film went on to become a mega hit that run for 35 continuous weeks in the theaters.

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Yami Gautam

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Yami Gautam (born November 28, 1988) is an Indian actress who works in different language films, including Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. Her initial appearances were on Indian television commercials and soap operas such as Chand Ke Paar Chalo and Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam.

In 2010, she made her cinematic debut with Kannada film Ullasa Utsaha, co-starring Ganesh. In 2012, Gautam made her Bollywood debut in Shoojit Sircar's romantic comedy Vicky Donor, which touched on the topic of sperm donation. Upon release, the film was a critical and commercial success, and Gautam gained positive reviews for her performance.

Personal life

Yami Gautam was born in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh and was brought up in Chandigarh. She was born to Mukesh Gautam, who is working as vice president with PTC Network, a leading Punjabi Channel. Yami has a sister, Surilie Gautam who made her big screen debut with Punjabi film Power Cut, starring, Jaspal Bhatti's son Jasraj Bhatti. She did her regular schooling and later joined college for pursuing a graduate degree in law honors. She had aspired to join Indian Administrative Services (IAS) as a young girl, but at the age of 20, Yami decided to start her acting career. As she was pursuing Studies in Law Honors (first-year PU Student of the Law), but she left full-time studies for acting. Recently, she is doing her part-time Graduation from Mumbai. Yami is fond of reading, interior decoration and listening to music.

Career

Gautam was 20 when she moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in movies. She made her television debut with Chand Ke Paar Chalo, which was followed by Raajkumar Aaryyan. Following this, she played her most notable role in Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam, which aired on Colors. Furthermore, she participated in the reality shows Meethi Choori No.1 and Kitchen Champion Season 1.

Gautam made her film debut in Kannada film Ullasa Utsaha. Whilst the film failed at the box office, Gautam received positive reviews for her performance.

Gautam later made her Bollywood debut with Vicky Donor, in which she starred opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. She played the role of Bengali girl Ashima Roy, a girl who falls in love with a Punjabi boy with a past. Despite its small budget, the movie became a major commercial success and received critical appreciation. Gautam received appreciation for her performance. Taran Adarsh writes "Yami Gautam makes an imposing debut. She adds enormous value to the movie by her act, screen presence and striking looks. She's truly admirable towards the latter part of the film." Madhureeta Mukherjee adds that Gautam "is a sheer delight to watch, emoting effortlessly."

In 2012, she was featured on the cover page of Prevention and Wedding Affair which discussed her life, personality and also her interest in Hot yoga. Furthermore, she featured on the cover of Femina November 2012 issue.

She made her Telugu debut with the 2011 film Nuvvila, directed by Ravi Babu. She signed her second film in Kollywood with Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum opposite Jai. Her second Hindi film 'Total Siyapa', opposite Ali Zafar produced by Reliance and Neeraj Pandey got released in 2014. Gautam is currently filming for Prabhu Deva's Action Jackson opposite Ajay Devgan and Sriram Raghvan's Badlapur opposite Varun Dhavan. Apart from those, she is busy in shooting a Tamil film Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum, a Telugu film Courier Boy Kalyan.

Also her latest brand endorsements include Fair and Lovely, Cornetto, Samsung Mobile, Chevrolet, and many other brands

Television

Year Show Role Channel 2008 Chand Ke Paar Chalo Sana NDTV Imagine 2008 Raajkumar Aaryyan Rajkumari Bhairvi NDTV Imagine 2009 Yeh Pyar Na Hoga Kam Leher Mathur Vajpayee Colors 2010 Meethi Choori No.1 Contestant NDTV Imagine 2010 Kitchen Champion Season 1 Contestant Colors

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