This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Standard Hindi
मानक हिन्दी Mānak Hindī
The word "Hindi" in Devanagari script
Spoken in	India Significant communities in Mauritius, South Africa, United States, Canada, Nepal
Native speakers	Standard Hindi: 180 million[1]  (1991) Total: 490 million, including Urdu)[2]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Central zone Western Hindi Khariboli Hindustani Standard Hindi
Writing system	Devanagari
Official status
Official language in	India
Regulated by	Central Hindi Directorate (India)[3]
Language codes
ISO 639-1	hi
ISO 639-2	hin
ISO 639-3	hin
Linguist List	hin-hin
Linguasphere	59-AAF-qf
This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. More...

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi (Devanagari: मानक हिन्दी; meaning "Standard Hindi"), High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardised and sanskritised register of the Hindi-Urdu language based on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the official languages of the Republic of India.

Colloquial Standard Hindi is mutually intelligible with another register of Hindustani language called Urdu. Mutual intelligibility decreases in literary and specialized contexts which rely on educated vocabulary. Due to religious nationalism and communal tensions, speakers of both Hindi and Urdu frequently assert that they are distinct languages, despite the fact that native speakers generally cannot tell the colloquial languages apart. The combined population of Hindi-Urdu speakers is the fourth largest in the world.^[4] However, the number of native speakers of Standard Hindi is unclear. According to the 2001 Indian census,^[5] 258 million people in India reported their native language to be "Hindi". However, this includes large numbers of speakers of Hindi dialects besides Standard Hindi; as of 2009, the best figure Ethnologue could find for Khariboli dialect was a 1991 citation of 180 million.^[1]

Official status[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

The Constitution of India, adopted in 1950, declares Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Federal Government of India.^[6] It should be noted that English continues to be used as an Official language of India along with Hindi. Hindi is also enumerated as one of the twenty-two languages of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which entitles it to representation on the Official Language Commission.^[7] The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be the two languages of communication for the Central Government. Most of government documentation is prepared in three languages: English, Hindi, and the official state language.

It was envisioned that Hindi would become the sole working language of the central government by 1965 (per directives in Article 344 (2) and Article 351),^[8] with state governments being free to function in languages of their own choice. However, widespread resistance movements to the imposition of Hindi on non-native speakers, of especially the people living in south India (such as the Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu) led to the passage of the Official Languages Act (1963), which provided for the continued use of English, indefinitely, for all official purposes. Therefore, English is still used in official documents, in courts, etc. However, the constitutional directive to the central government to champion the spread of Hindi was retained and has strongly influenced the policies of the Union government.

At the state level, Hindi is the official language of the following states in India: Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Each of these states may also designate a "co-official language"; in Uttar Pradesh for instance, depending on the political formation in power, sometimes this language is Urdu. Similarly, Hindi is accorded the status of co-official language in several states.

History[link]

Eastern and Western Hindi (red). Hindi-Urdu is one of the Western Hindi languages.

The dialect upon which Standard Hindi is based is khariboli, the vernacular of Delhi and the surrounding western Uttar Pradesh and southern Uttarakhand region. This dialect acquired linguistic prestige in the Mughal Empire (17th century) and became known as Urdu, "the language of the court." As noted and referenced in History of Hindustani, prior to the 17th century, it was not referred to not as Urdu but Hindustani. After independence, the Government of India set about standardising Hindi as a separate language from Urdu, instituting the following conventions:^{[original research?]}

• standardization of grammar: In 1954, the Government of India set up a committee to prepare a grammar of Hindi; The committee's report was released in 1958 as "A Basic Grammar of Modern Hindi"
• standardization of the orthography, using the Devanagari script, by the Central Hindi Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Culture to bring about uniformity in writing, to improve the shape of some Devanagari characters, and introducing diacritics to express sounds from other languages.

Sanskrit vocabulary[link]

Formal Standard Hindi draws much of its academic vocabulary from Sanskrit, and has looked to Sanskrit for borrowing from at least the 15th century BC. Standard Hindi loans words are classified into five principal categories:

• Tatsam (तत्सम / same as that) words: These are words which are spelled the same in Hindi as in Sanskrit (except for the absence of final case inflections).^[9] They include words inherited from Sanskrit via Prakrit which have survived without modification (e.g. Hindustani nām/Sanskrit nāma, "name"; Hindustani Suraj/Sanskrit Surya, "sun"),^[10] as well as forms borrowed directly from Sanskrit in more modern times (e.g. prārthanā, "prayer").^[11] Pronunciation, however, conforms to Hindi norms and may differ from that of classical Sanskrit. Among nouns, the tatsam word could be the Sanskrit uninflected word-stem, or it could be the nominative singular form in the Sanskrit nominal declension.
• Ardhatatsam (अर्धतत्सम) words: These are words that were borrowed from Sanskrit in the middle Indo-Aryan or early New Indo-Aryan stages.^{[citation needed]} Such words typically have undergone sound changes subsequent to being borrowed.
• Tadbhav (तद्भव / born of that) words: These are words which are spelled differently from Sanskrit but are derivable from a Sanskrit prototype by phonological rules (e.g. Sanskrit karma, "deed" becomes Pali kamma, and eventually Hindi kām, "work").^[9]
• Deshaj (देशज) words: These are words that were not borrowings but do not derive from attested Indo-Aryan words either. Belonging to this category are onomatopoetic words.
• Videshī (विदेशी) words: these include all words borrowed from sources other than Indo-Aryan. The most frequent sources of borrowing in this category have been Persian, Arabic, Portuguese and English.

The Hindi standard, from which much of the Persian, Arabic and English vocabulary has been purged and replaced by tatsam words, is called Shuddha Hindi (pure Hindi). Proponents of Hindutva ("Hindu-ness") ideology are vociferous supporters of Shuddha Hindi. Although, It contains loan words from Persian and Arabic vocabulary.

Similarly, Urdu treats its own vocabulary, borrowed directly from Persian and Arabic, as a separate category for morphological purposes. Excessive use of tatsam words creates problems for native speakers. They may have Sanskrit consonant clusters which do not exist in native Hindi. The educated middle class of India may be able to pronounce such words, but others have difficulty. Persian and Arabic vocabulary given 'authentic' pronunciations cause similar difficulty.

Literature[link]

Hindi literature is broadly divided into four prominent forms or styles, being Bhakti (devotional – Kabir, Raskhan); Shringar (beauty – Keshav, Bihari); Veer-Gatha (extolling brave warriors); and Adhunik (modern).

Medieval Hindi literature is marked by the influence of Bhakti movement and the composition of long, epic poems. It was not written in the current dialect but in other Hindi languages, particularly in Avadhi and Braj Bhasha, but later also in Khariboli. During the British Raj, Hindustani became the prestige dialect. Hindustani with heavily Sanskritized vocabulary or Sahityik Hindi (Literary Hindi) was popularized by the writings of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Bhartendu Harishchandra and others. The rising numbers of newspapers and magazines made Hindustani popular among the educated people. Chandrakanta, written by Devaki Nandan Khatri, is considered the first authentic work of prose in modern Hindi. The person who brought realism in the Hindi prose literature was Munshi Premchand, who is considered as the most revered figure in the world of Hindi fiction and progressive movement.

The Dwivedi Yug ("Age of Dwivedi") in Hindi literature lasted from 1900 to 1918. It is named after Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, who played a major role in establishing the Modern Hindi language in poetry and broadening the acceptable subjects of Hindi poetry from the traditional ones of religion and romantic love.

In the 20th century, Hindi literature saw a romantic upsurge. This is known as Chhayavaad (shadowism) and the literary figures belonging to this school are known as Chhayavaadi. Jaishankar Prasad, Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala', Mahadevi Varma and Sumitranandan Pant, are the four major Chhayavaadi poets.

Uttar Adhunik is the post-modernist period of Hindi literature, marked by a questioning of early trends that copied the West as well as the excessive ornamentation of the Chhayavaadi movement, and by a return to simple language and natural themes.

Sample text[link]

The following kanjars is a sample text in High Hindi, of the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (by the United Nations):

अनुच्छेद 1 — सभी मनुष्यों को गौरव और अधिकारों के मामले में जन्मजात स्वतन्त्रता और समानता प्राप्त है। उन्हें बुद्धि और अन्तरात्मा की देन प्राप्त है और परस्पर उन्हें भाईचारे के भाव से बर्ताव करना चाहिये।

Transliteration (IAST):

Anucched 1 — Sabhī manuṣyoṃ ko gaurav aur adhikāroṃ ke māmle meṃ janmajāt svatantratā aur Ṣamāntā prāpt hai. Unheṃ buddhi aur antarātmā kī den prāpt hai aur paraspar unheṃ bhāīcāre ke bhāv se bartāv karnā cāhiye.

Transcription (IPA):

ənʊtʃʰːeːd̪ eːk — səbʱiː mənʊʃjõː koː ɡɔːɾəʋ ɔːr əd̪ʱɪkaːɾõ keː maːmleː mẽː dʒənmədʒaːt̪ sʋət̪ənt̪ɾət̪aː pɾaːpt̪ hɛː. ʊnʱẽ bʊd̪ʱːɪ ɔːɾ ənt̪əɾaːt̪maː kiː d̪eːn pɾaːpt̪ hɛː ɔːɾ pəɾəspəɾ ʊnʱẽː bʱaːiːtʃaːɾeː keː bʱaːʋ seː bəɾt̪aːʋ kəɾnə tʃaːhɪeː.

Gloss (word-to-word):

Article 1 — All human-beings to dignity and rights' matter in from-birth freedom and equality acquired is. Them to reason and conscience's endowment acquired is and always them to brotherhood's spirit with behaviour to do should.

Translation (grammatical):

Article 1 — All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Sanskritization[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011)

Under the Indian government's encouragement, the officially sponsored version of the Khari-boli dialect^{[citation needed]} has undergone a sea-change after it was declared the language of central government functioning in 1950. A major change has been the Sanskritization of Hindi (introduction of Sanskrit vocabulary in Khariboli). Three factors motivated this conscious bid to sanskritize Hindi, being:

• The independence movement inculcated a nationalistic pride in India's ancient culture, including its ancient classical language Sanskrit;
• Independence was accompanied by partition along religious lines, with Muslim-majority areas seceding to form Pakistan, and a partial rejection of Persian and Arabic influence in the Hindu-majority areas; Saadat Hasan Manto, the Pakistani Urdu writer opposed to Hindi-Urdu divide.^[12]
• The people of south and east India were averse to the dominance of the language and culture of north India in the affairs of the country. The Hindu populations of these regions did not identify with Hindi itself or with the Mughal (Persian, Turkic) cultural influences that had shaped Hindi, but they were more receptive to Sanskrit. Sanskritization was thus viewed as a means to make Hindi more palatable in practice.

In its non-Sanskritized form, the Khariboli-based dialect is the normal and principal dialect^{[citation needed]} used in the Hindi cinema. It is almost exclusively used in contemporary Hindi television serials, songs, education, and of course, in normal daily speech in almost all the urban regions of north India, wherever Hindi is also the state language^{[citation needed]}. The rural dialect varies from region to region.

See also[link]

	India portal
	Languages portal

• Hindi-Urdu (covers phonology, grammar, and orthography)
• Hindi literature
• History of Hindustani
• Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu
• Hinglish
• Languages of India and Languages with official status in India
• List of languages by number of native speakers in India
• The list of Hindi words and list of words of Hindi origin at Wiktionary, the free dictionary

References[link]

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bhatia, Tej K. Colloquial Hindi: The Complete Course for Beginners. London, UK & New York, NY: Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0-415-11087-4 (Book), 0415110882 (Cassettes), 0415110890 (Book & Cassette Course)
• Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005), "Hindi", Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.), Dallas: SIL International, http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=hin .
• Grierson, G. A. Linguistic Survey of India Vol I-XI, Calcutta, 1928, ISBN 81-85395-27-6
• McGregor, R. S. (1977), Outline of Hindi Grammar, 2nd Ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford-Delhi, ISBN 0-19-870008-3 (3rd ed.)
• Masica, Colin (1991), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2, http://books.google.com/books?id=J3RSHWePhXwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=indo-aryan+languages .
• Ohala, Manjari (1999), "Hindi", in International Phonetic Association, Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: a Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 100–103, ISBN 978-0-521-63751-0, http://books.google.com/books?id=33BSkFV_8PEC&pg=PA100&vq=%22manjari+ohala%22&dq=%22handbook+of+the+international+phonetic+association%22 .
• Shapiro, Michael C. (2001), "Hindi", in Garry, Jane; Rubino, Carl, An encyclopedia of the world's major languages, past and present, New England Publishing Associates, pp. 305–309 .
• Shapiro, Michael C. (2003), "Hindi", in Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge, pp. 250–285, ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=jPR2OlbTbdkC&pg=PA250&dq=indo-aryan .
• Snell, Rupert; Weightman, Simon (1989), Teach Yourself Hindi (2003 ed.), McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-142012-9 .
• Taj, Afroz (2002) A door into Hindi. Retrieved November 8, 2005.
• Tiwari, Bholanath ([1966] 2004) हिन्दी भाषा (Hindī Bhasha), Kitab Pustika, Allahabad, ISBN 81-225-0017-X.

Dictionaries[link]

• John Thompson Platts (1884). A dictionary of Urdū, classical Hindī, and English (reprint ed.). LONDON: H. Milford. pp. 1259. http://books.google.com/books?id=iDtbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-07-06. Oxford University
• McGregor, R.S. (1993), Oxford Hindi–English Dictionary (2004 ed.), Oxford University Press, USA .

Further reading[link]

• Bhatia, Tej K A History of the Hindi Grammatical Tradition. Leiden, Netherlands & New York, NY : E.J. Brill, 1987. ISBN 90-04-07924-6

External links[link]

Standard Hindi edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Hindi at the Open Directory Project
• The Union: Official Language
• Official Unicode Chart for Devanagari (PDF)
• USA Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Hindi basic course

v t e Official languages of India Union-level Hindi English State-level Assamese Bengali Bodo Chhattisgarhi Dogri English Garo Gujarati Hindi Kannada Kashmiri Khasi Kokborok Konkani Maithili Malayalam Manipuri Marathi Mizo Nepali Oriya Punjabi Rajasthani Sanskrit Santali Sindhi Telugu Tamil Urdu

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (September 2010)

Ajay Devgan
Born	Vishal Devgan[1] (1969-04-02) 2 April 1969 (age 43) New Delhi, India
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Other names	Ajay Devgan[2]
Occupation	Film actor, Director, Producer
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Kajol (m.1999–present; 2 children)
Website
ajaydevgn.com

Ajay Devgan (Hindi: अजय देवगन), born Vishal Devgan on 2 April 1969,^[1] is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.^[1] He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film.^[3][4] He then starred in films such as Jigar (1992), Dilwale (1994), Suhaag (1994), Naajayaz (1995), Diljale (1996) and Ishq (1997). In 1999, Devgan received his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Mahesh Bhatt's drama Zakhm. Some of his later films of the decade are Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Kachche Dhaage.

In the early 2000s, he starred in Lajja (2001) and Company (2002). In 2003, he won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Bhagat Singh in Rajkumar Santoshi's biopic The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Throughout his career he has given many critically and commercially successful films including Raincoat (2004), Yuva (2004), Omkara (2006), Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006), Golmaal Returns (2008), All the Best: Fun Begins (2009), Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), Golmaal 3 (2010), Raajneeti (2010), and Singham (2011). Having done so, he has established himself as one of the leading actors of Bollywood. In 2008, he debuted as a film director with his starrer U Me Aur Hum which proved to be an moderate success at the box office. He then established the production house, Ajay Devgn Films.

Biography[link]

Devgan was born in Mumbai to Veena and Veeru Devgan.Originally from Amritsar, Punjab ^[5] members of the Devgan family are all related to the Hindi Film industry in Bombay. His father, Veeru Devgan, is a well-known stunt choreographer, and his mother Veena Devgan, a film producer. Devgan's brother, Anil, is a Hindi film director. Ajay Devgan is an alumnus of the Silver Beach High School in Juhu and Mithibai College. On 24 February 1999, he married Hindi film actress Kajol. The couple have two children. Their daughter Nysa was born on the 20th of April 2003 and their son Yug was born on the 13th of September 2010.^[6] In August 2009, Devgan changed his last name to Devgn on the request of his family.^[7][8] He became the first Bollywood personality to acquire a private jet for transport to shooting locations, promotions and personal trips.^[9]

Career[link]

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (July 2011)

1990s[link]

Ajay Devgan made his debute as an actor in Phool Aur Kaante in 1991. The film grossed 11,000,000 Indian rupees () and earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Newcomer. In 1992, he starred in Jigar alongside Karisma Kapoor, which grossed 7,00,00,000.^[10] In 1993, he worked with director Deepak Bahry in the action film Ek Hi Raasta,^[11] and with Deepak Pawar in Platform. In 1994, Devgn worked in Harry Baweja's Dilwale, Suhaag and Vijaypath.^[12] In 1995, he appeared in Mahesh Bhatt's Naajayaz, for which he was nominated as a Best Actor by Filmfare.^[13] In 1996, he continued with Diljale".^[14] and romantic comedies, such as Ishq in 1997.^[15] In 1998, he starred in Major Saab, Pyaar To Hona Hi Thaand Mahesh Bhatt's Zakhm. Zakhm won Devgn several awards for his performance, including the National Film Award for Best Actor and the Star Screen Award for Best Actor^{[citation needed][16]} Devgn's 1999 work included Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam as well as Hindustan Ki Kasam and Kachche Dhaage.^[17]

2000s[link]

In 2000, he worked in Harry Baweja's Deewane. In this film, he essayed a double role, one as a thief and the other as a police officer. The film flopped at the box office.^[18] The same year, Devgn starred in his first home production Raju Chacha opposite wife Kajol. The film also bombed at the box office.^[18]

In 2001, he starred in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke with Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta. This film was an average grosser at the box office.^[19] His next release Lajja, alongside Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor, earned him a nomination for the "Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award". The film did not perform as expected at the box office.^[19] He then worked in Mahesh Manjrekar's Tera Mera Saath Rahen.

In 2002, he featured in Ram Gopal Varma's fictional expose of Mumbai underworld Company. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award and won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. The film fared well at the box office.^{[clarification needed][20]} His next release was Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai.^[20]

The same year, he also starred in Rajkumar Santoshi's biopic The Legend of Bhagat Singh.^[21] in the title role. The film didn't fare well at the box office.^{[clarification needed][20]} However, he won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance. He then starred in Anees Bazmee's Deewangee. The film was partially inspired by William Diehl's English language novel Primal Fear and earned Devgn several awards for his negative role including, "Filmfare Best Villain Award", "Star Screen Award for Best Villain" and "Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role". This film was a success at the box office.^[20]

In 2003, he starred in Ram Gopal Verma's Bhoot opposite Urmila Matondkar. The film was appreciated critically & performed very well at the box office.^[22] He then starred in action thriller Qayamat: City Under Threat opposite debutante Neha Dhupia which was huge commercial success.^[22] He then worked in Milan Luthria's romantic film Chori Chori opposite Rani Mukherji and Sonali Bendre. This film did not succeed at the box office.^[22]

In that same year he featured in Prakash Jha's Gangaajal, for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. He then worked in Rohit Shetty's directional debut Zameen^[23] and J. P. Dutta's war film LOC Kargil.

In 2004 he was cast alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Kumar in Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee. Later that year he appeared in director Indra Kumar's Masti: Sanam Teri Kasamand also starred in the critically acclaimed movies Yuva^[24][25][26] and Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat.^[27]. He was also seen in a cameo appearance in Taarzan: The Wonder Car.

2005 was less successful for him as he starred in a series of flop movies like Insan, Blackmail, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Tango Charlie and Shikhar whilst Kaal and Apaharan succeeded at the Box Office. For his performance in Apaharan Devgn was nominated for the National Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Best Actor Award. His villanous performance in Kaal also earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Best Villain Award^[28]

2006 was a remarkable year in his career as he starred Golmaal and Omkara, which were to both prove enormously significant in his decade long career. Omkara, were Devgn was cast in the title role, was both a critical and commercial success^[29][30][31] and Golmaal proved to be a sleeper hit. The latter film was soon to be followed by two super hit sequels Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3. In the same year he also featured in a short documentary about the Mumbai floods of 2005 named The Awakening.^[32]

2007 was again disappointing for him as he starred only in 2 movies, directorAnubhav Sinha's action thriller Cash and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag which was a remake of the 1975 classic] Sholay. Both films received extremely poor reception both at the box office and from critics,^[33] and is currently placed at number 14 on the bottom 100 movies on Imdb.

In 2008 he worked with Rajkumar Santoshi and was cast with Pankaj Kapoor and Vidya Balan in Halla Bol.^[34] He then starred in director Rohit Shetty's third film Sunday, before directing his first movie with wife Kajol and himself in lead roles. The film, titled U, Me aur Hum, was an average success.^[34] He also had a cameo appearance in his brother Anil Devgan's film Haal–e–dil. He starred with long-time friend Sanjay Dutt and actress Manisha Koirala in Afzal Khan's Mehbooba. He then re-teamed with Rohit Shetty for the sequel of his hit film Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, Golmaal Returns which was a blockbuster hit.^[34]

In 2009 he produced his third film All the Best also directed by Rohit Shetty. The film did good business and was a semi-hit.^[35] Later in the year he starred in Vipul Shah's London Dreams with Salman Khan and Tamil film star Asin. The film was declared a flop.^[35]

2010s[link]

In the beginning of 2010 he worked with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley in Leena Yadav's Teen Patti. He also starred in the comedy Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? alongside Paresh Rawal and Konkona Sen Sharma which was a success. He followed this with Prakash Jha's Raajneeti and Milan Luthria's Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Both movies were among the top grossers of 2010.^[36] He was then seen alongside Akshaye Khanna in Priyadarshan's rough adaptation of Mississippi Burning, Aakrosh. Devgn teamed up with Rohit Shetty for the fifth time withGolmaal 3. The movie was a super hit and the fourth highest grossing movie in Bollywood history. Devgn later lent his voice to the animated film Toonpur Ka Super Hero.

In 2011 he teamed up with Emraan Hashmi for Madhur Bhandarkar's comedy Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji which also starred Omi Vaidya. The film was a moderate success. He was a narrator in Yamla Pagla Deewana and also did a cameo role in the 2011 Salman Khan-starrer Ready. Devgn's next film, Singham, proved to be a milestone for him. The film grossed 100 crores net in India, making it the 7th film to do so, and was a blockbuster worldwide. ^[37]

Awards and honours[link]

Among other awards and nominations, Devgan has won two National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards.

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

Director[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ajay Devgn at the Internet Movie Database
• Ajay Devgn's Official Site

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ajay Devgan

Juhi Chawla
Chawla at the success party of the film, I Am, 2012.
Born	Juhi Chawla (1967-11-13) 13 November 1967 (age 44) Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Occupation	Film actress, Voice actress, producer, television presenter
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Jay Mehta (1997–present)

Juhi Chawla (Punjabi: ਜੂਹੀ ਚਾਵਲਾ born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, voice actress, film producer and television presenter.

After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career. She went on to become one of the top leading actresses of Bollywood and starred in films ranging from the romances Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Darr (1993) to Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), which earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, to Yes Boss (1997) and Ishq (1997).^[1][2] Chawla has been mostly recognised for her comic timing in films as well as her vivacious screen persona.^[3][4]

During the 2000s, after having starred in over 70 mainstream Hindi films, Chawla started acting in art and independent films. She appeared in films in her native tongue of Punjabi, and has been mostly working in parallel cinema.^[4] She gained critical recognition for her performances in films like Jhankaar Beats (2003), 3 Deewarein (2003), My Brother Nikhil (2005), Bas Ek Pal (2006) and I Am (2011).^[5] Since 2000, Chawla branched out into film production and television presenting as well.

Early life and background[link]

Juhi Chawla was born in Ambala, Haryana, India. She is the first child born to Dr. S. Chawla and Mona Chawla.

She completed her schooling from Ludhiana before the family moved over to Mumbai. She graduated from Sydenham College, Mumbai with a specialisation in HR.^[6] She was the winner of Miss India title in 1984; later she won Best Costume Award for the Miss Universe contest in 1984.^[7] She is also a very good dancer. In a Baaje Payal (a film based on a collection of interviews for dancers/actresses) interview, she mentioned having learnt Kathak for three (3) years and regretted giving it up as it could have helped her in her career as an actress. She is also an accomplished classical singer and has been training for the last 6 years.

Career[link]

Film[link]

1980s[link]

Chawla ventured into films with the 1986 Sultanat. She also acted in Kannada classic Premaloka directed by Ravichandran in 1987. Her first major role in Bollywood was in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988, in which she starred with Aamir Khan. The film, a modern-day adaption of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, became both a major critical and commercial success. It won the Filmfare Best Movie Award, and Chawla won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award and received her first nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award.^[8] The film subsequently received classic status.^[9][10]

1990s[link]

In 1990, she starred in such films as Pratibandh, which was a box office success and for which she was nominated the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and Swarg.^[11] In 1992, she was nominated for a Filmfare for Bol Radha Bol which performed well commercially.^[12][13]

In 1993 she starred in the moderately successful project Aaina, and Lootere opposite Sunny Deol and Mahesh Bhatt's hit Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke.^[14] She followed it with a leading role in Yash Chopra's thriller Darr, which went on to become the third top-grossing film of the year in India.^[14] She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke.^[15] Most of Chawla's films of 1994–6 were unsuccessful, though she received a Filmfare nomination for her performance as a battered wife in Daraar.^[16] She had a revival in 1997 with such romantic comedies as Yes Boss, Deewana Mastana and Ishq. Ishq became one of the top-earners of the year, and Chawla received her sixth Filmfare nomination for her portrayal of a model in Yes Boss.^[13][17]

Chawla's pairing with Aamir Khan and their on-screen chemistry was often cited by the media as successful.^[18] She has also teamed up with Shahrukh Khan in several movies, including Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Darr, Duuplicate and Yes Boss.

2000s[link]

Through the 2000s, Chawla started appearing in independent and art films, and her work in the genre included the critically acclaimed films 3 Deewarein, 7½ Phere and My Brother Nikhil, which Taran Adarsh termed as "amongst the finest in her career" and Khalid Mohamed praised as "perfect," stating that "her effortless blend of conflicting emotions is what A-class acting is all about. Ms Chawla is a diamond in this little gem of a movie."^[19][20][21] She won a Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for 3 Deewarein.

She was seen in Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love for which she received good reviews.^[22] She starred with Urmila Matondkar in Bas Ek Pal (2006) and with Manoj Bajpai in Swami. Juhi's latest releases include Ravi Chopra's Bhoothnath with Amitabh Bachchan, in which she made her singing debut with the song "Chalo Jaane Do". Another film called Krazzy 4 with Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi was released in 2008. In 2009, she appeared in a guest appearance in Luck By Chance to play a comic part for which she dyed her hair blonde. The film got extremely positive reviews and has got a good opening at the box office.^[23]

Chawla has appeared in several non-Hindi language films. She has appeared in various Punjabi films: Shaheed Uddham Singh (2000), Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004), Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waris (2006) and "Sukhmani:hope for life" (2010). Her first Malayalam film was Harikrishnans, which also starred actors Mohanlal and Mammootty. In the beginning of her career she acted in Kannada films, which include the successful Premaloka and unsuccessful films like Shanthi Kranthi and Kindara Jogi. She acted with popular Kannada actor Ravichandran in all these three films.

2010s[link]

Her most recent release was Onir's critically acclaimed feature I Am (2011). Unfolded in several chapters, the film starred Chawla alongside Manisha Koirala in an episode named I Am Megha. She played the title role of which film critic Taran Adarsh commented, "It's a delight to watch Juhi and Manisha, after a hiatus. Both deliver striking performances – even getting the language right."^[24] For her performance, Chawla was awarded the Best Actress award at the 13th London Asian Film Festival.^[25]

Television[link]

During the 2000s, Chawla has also been presenter and host of numerous television shows, particularly award ceremonies, including the Filmfare Awards and the Zee Cine Awards. Chawla has been a judge for the entertainment show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa alongside Saroj Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant during the show's third season.^[26]

Producer[link]

Juhi later turned producer and became the co-owner of a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Shahrukh Khan and director Aziz Mirza.^[27] The first two films produced by the production company were Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka. Their third film, Chalte Chalte was the first success for the company.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Juhi Chawla is married to industrialist Jai Mehta. The couple have two children;^[29] a daughter Jhanvi born in 2001,^[30] and a son Arjun born in 2003.^[30] Her mother died in a car accident in Prague during the shooting of the movie Duplicate in 1998. Jai Mehta and Juhi Chawla are the co-owners of the Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders in partnership with Shahrukh Khan under their company Red Chillies Entertainment.

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

As actress[link]

As producer[link]

• 2000 – Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
• 2001 – Asoka
• 2003 – Chalte Chalte

See also[link]

• List of Indian film actresses

References[link]