Pradeep Sarkar
Pradeep Sarkar at special screening of Memories in March
Born	Kolkata, India
Occupation	producer, director and writer

Pradeep Sakar is a writer and director who works in Bollywood. He began his career with Vinod Chopra Productions, the production company of director Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

In 2005, Sarkar made his directorial debut with the film Tujhe Meri Kasam. The film was critically and commercially successful^[1] and it established his career as a director. He received many best director nominations at many award ceremonies. His next film was Parineeta which was also a box office hit.

Sarkar directed his third film under the Yashraj Films banner titled Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. The film was released on 12 October 2007. Sarkar also made Lafangey Parindey with Yashraj Films. It starred Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone and was released in summer 2010.

Filmography[link]

[[2005 in film Neal N Nikki

Awards and nominations[link]

Winner:

• 2005: Filmfare Best Art Direction - Parineeta
• 2005: Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Director - Parineeta
• 2006: National Film Award, Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director - Parineeta

Nominations:

• 2005: Filmfare Best Director Award - Parineeta

External links[link]

• Pradeep Sarkar at the Internet Movie Database
• When Parineeta's director nearly lost it
• India's Best Films: Pradeep Sarkar
• Interview

References[link]

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Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra at International Film Festival of India 2010 in Goa
Born	(1952-09-05) September 5, 1952 (age 59) Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Spouse	Renu Saluja (Divorced) Shabnam Sukhdev (Divorced) Anupama Chopra
Website
http://www.vinodchoprafilms.com

Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Punjabi:ਵਿਧੁ ਵਿਨੋਦ ਚੋਪਰਾ, Hindi:विधु विनोद चोपड़ा) (born on 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, Munna Bhai films (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai) and 3 Idiots are some of his highly popular films. He is the founder of Vinod Chopra Films.

Early life[link]

Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir, Chopra grew up in Srinagar, India. His father was D. N. Chopra and veteran filmmaker Ramanand Sagar was his half-brother. His love of Hindi cinema and support of his family encouraged him to study film direction. Since there was no college for film-related courses in North India, he went to Pune and studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India.

Career[link]

Chopra's first student short, Murder At Monkey Hill, won the National Film Award for Best Short Experimental Film and the Guru Dutt Memorial Award for Best Student Film.^[1]

This was followed by a short documentary highlighting the plight of India's destitute children, called An Encounter with Faces, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Subject category in 1979. It also won the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival in 1980.^[2]

Films[link]

His first feature film, shot in black-and-white, was Sazaa-E-Maut (Death Penalty) – a thriller made on a shoestring budget with then-unknown actor Naseeruddin Shah and editor Renu Saluja, who were his fellow students at FTII, Pune. His critically acclaimed films include Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Mission Kashmir, the Munna Bhai series, Parineeta, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, and 3 Idiots. 3 idiots became India's biggest worldwide box office performer in the history of Indian Cinema, grossing over Rs 450 crores.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Chopra's first marriage, to film editor Renu Saluja, ended in a divorce. Nevertheless, after the divorce, they continued to work together on several films. Shabnam Sukhdev, the daughter of a well-known documentary maker, was his next wife. Later, he married writer and film critic, Anupama Chopra.

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmfare Awards[link]

• 2009: Winner, Filmfare Best Film Award for 3 Idiots
• 2009: Winner, Filmfare Best Screenplay Award for 3 Idiots
• 2006: Winner, Filmfare Best Story Award for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
• 2005: Nominated, Filmfare Best Movie Award for Parineeta
• 2004: Winner, Filmfare Best Screenplay Award for Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
• 2001: Nominated, Filmfare Best Director Award for Mission Kashmir
• 2001: Nominated, Filmfare Best Movie Award for Mission Kashmir
• 1995: Nominated, Filmfare Best Director Award for 1942: A Love Story
• 1990: Winner, Filmfare Best Director Award for Parinda

National Awards[link]

• 1977: Best Short Experimental Film for Murder At Monkey Hill
• 2004: Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Munnabhai M.B.B.S.
• 2006: Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director for Parineeta (as producer)
• 2007: Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Lage Raho Munnabhai
• 2007: Best Screenplay for Lage Raho Munnabhai
• 2010: Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for 3 Idiots

Star Screen Awards[link]

• 2006: Winner, Best Film for Lage Raho Munnabhai
• 2006: Nominated, Best Screenplay for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
• 2009: Winner, Star Screen Award for Best Film, 3 Idiots
• 2009: Winner, Star Screen Award for Best Screenplay, 3 Idiots

IIFA Awards[link]

• 2007: Winner, IIFA Best Screenplay Award for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
• 2001: Nominated, IIFA Best Director Award for Mission Kashmir

Stardust Awards[link]

• 2009: Winner, Readers' Choice Award for 3 Idiots

FICCI Awards[link]

• 2009: Winner, Most Successful Film of the Year for 3 Idiots

Zee Cine Awards[link]

• 2007: Winner, Best Screenplay Award for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
• 2005: Winner, Best Dialogue Award for Parineeta
• 2005: Winner, Best Director Award for Mission Kashmir

Tampere International Short Film Festival[link]

• 1980: Winner, Grand Prix for An Encounter with Faces

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website
• Interview

v t e Bollywood (Hindi cinema) Directors · Actors · Playback singers · Music Directors · Songs · Bibliography Hindi films A–Z—Highest-grossing Films by year: 1930s · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 · 2012

Neil Nitin Mukesh
Born	Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (1982-01-15) 15 January 1982 (age 30) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Other names	Neil Nitin Mukesh
Occupation	Actor, Playback Singer
Years active	1988–1989 2007–present
Height	5'9"

Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur pronunciation: /niːl niʈin mʊkeɪʃ/; born 15 January 1982), professionally known as Neil Nitin Mukesh or Neil Mukesh, is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. He is the son of singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of the legendary singer Mukesh.

Early life[link]

Mukesh was born in Mumbai to Bollywood playback singer Nitin Mukesh and Nishi Mukesh. He was named by Lata Mangeshkar after astronaut Neil Armstrong as his father was a big fan of his. After attending Greenlawns High School in Mumbai, he graduated from HR College with a Bachelor's degree in Communications. He did a 4-month workshop with Kishore Namit Kapoor and also at Anupam Kher's institute during his college vacation. He also assisted Kunal Kohli in his film Mujhse Dosti Karoge while still in college.

Career[link]

As a child artist, Mukesh appeared in Vijay (1988) and Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni (1989). He received several offers as a lead actor before his acting debut as an adult, but as he did not want to debut with a love story, he chose to wait for the right role. It was then that Sriram Raghavan offered him Johnny Gaddaar ^[1][2] Although the movie did not do well at the box-office, his acting was appreciated.

His next films were Aa Dekhen Zara, New York and Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail.^[3] He also appeared in Yash Raj's Lafangey Parindey.

He was praised for his latest film 7 Khoon Maaf. Directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, it starred Priyanka Chopra alongside John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Annu Kapoor. Priyanka played the role of a woman who has seven husbands of which the youngest one is being played by Mukesh.^[4]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmfare Awards[link]

Nominated

• 2008: Filmfare Best Male Debut Award-Johnny Gaddaar
• 2010: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award-New York (film)

Star Screen Awards[link]

Nominated

• 2008: Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Male; Johnny Gaddaar

Stardust Awards[link]

Nominated

• 2008: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Male; Johnny Gaddaar

IIFA Awards[link]

Winner

• 2008 - Fresh Face of the Year^[5]

Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards[link]

• 2008 - Best Villain

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• Nitin Mukesh
• Mukesh

References[link]

External links[link]

• Neil Nitin Mukesh at the Internet Movie Database

Nitin Mukesh is an Indian singer best known for his work as a playback singer in Hindi films^[1] as well as Bhajans. He was born to Mukesh (famous singer). He has toured internationally, including to the United States in 1993,^[2] and a world tour in 2006 with his show Kal Ki Yaadein^[3] as a tribute to his father.^[4]

Nitin's son Neil Mukesh is an actor.^[5]

Songs by film[link]

• "Dil Ne Dil Se" (Aaina)
• "Is Jahaan Ki Nahin Hain" (King Uncle)
• "Chandi Ki cycle" (Bhabhi)
• "paisa bolta hai" (Kala Bazaar)
• "Krishna-Krishna" (Kishan kanhaiya)
• "Tu Mujhe Suna" (Chandni)
• "Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni" (Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni)
• "So Gaya Yeh Jahan" (Tezaab)
• "Woh Kehte Hain Humse" (Dariya Dil)
• "Zindagi Har Kadam" (Meri Jung)
• "Zindagi Ki Na Toote Ladi" (Kranti)
• "Aaja Re" (Noorie)
• "My name is lakhan" (Ram Lakhan)
• Wafa Na Raas Aayee, Tujhe Woh Harjayee" (Bewafa Sanam)
• "Duma Dum Mast Kalandar" [Nasbandi]
• "Mere Khayal se Tum" (Balmaa)
• "Zindagi Ka Naam Dosti (Duet/solo)" - (Khudgarz) (1987)
• "Hey Re daya May Apni Daya" Ghar Ghar ki Kahani (1970)-Mukesh,Asha Bhosle,Nitin Mukesh

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nitin Mukesh at the Internet Movie Database

This article about an Indian singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone promotes 'Cocktail' on DLF IPL's Extraaa Innings.
Born	(1986-01-05) 5 January 1986 (age 26) Copenhagen, Denmark
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	2006–present

Deepika Padukone (born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.^[1]

Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film Aishwarya.^[2] The following year, she made her Hindi film debut in Om Shanti Om, for which she earned the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. It also remains her biggest commercial success so far. She subsequently appeared in films such as Love Aaj Kal (2009) and Housefull (2010). While the former earned her a Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category, the latter emerged as a commercial success.^[3]

In addition to acting, Padukone is also the ambassador of prominent brands such as Tissot, Sony Cybershot, Nescafe and Kingfisher Airlines.^[4]

Early life and background[link]

Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former badminton player of international repute, and her mother is a travel agent. Her father was then training in Denmark in the sport and when she was eleven months old, her family moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, India.^[5] Padukone also has a younger sister, Anisha, born on 2 February 1991.^[6]

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and completed her pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College Bangalore.^[7] While in high school she played badminton at the state level.^[8] However, she was not keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player.^[9] During the time of her film debut she was enrolled with the Indira Gandhi National Open University in Bachelors of Arts (Sociology).^[10][11]

Career[link]

Early Modelling Career, until 2006[link]

While in college, Padukone pursued a career in modeling.^[12] She was spotted in a ramp competition in NLS, Bangalore.^{[citation needed]} Over the years, she has modeled for such Indian brand names as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, and has been "brand ambassador" for the Jewels of India retail jewelry show.^[13] The cosmetics company Maybelline made her its international spokesperson.^[14]

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title "Model of the Year".^[15] Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: "Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments)" and "Fresh Face of the Year".^[16][17] Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and later Levi Strauss and Tissot SA.^[18] In addition, she appeared in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya's song Naam Hai Tera.

Debut & Breakthrough in Films, 2006-09[link]

Padukone made her cinematic debut in Kannada with Aishwarya opposite Upendra in 2006. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's blockbuster Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film was a re-incarnation melodrama, featuring her in a double role.^[19][20] Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!"^[21] About being cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan, she said,

"When Farah was casting for Happy New Year, she saw my commercials on TV and called my agent. I met her when she was rehearsing at a dance hall in Juhu. When that film didn’t happen, she offered me OSO. Farah took care of me right from the first meeting, introducing me to Shah Rukh Khan and ensuring that I was comfortable with him. Six months prior to shooting, we frequently met up for lunches and dinners."^[22]

Padukone was then seen playing a feisty, modern-day Indian woman, Gayatri, in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba.^[23] The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office, but her performance drew flak. Adarsh wrote, "Deepika is a sore point. Her role isn't convincing and that's the reason why this performance doesn't work. The only consolation is, she looks gorgeous."^[24]

Deepika Padukone at the premiere of Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

She played a double role again in her next film, Chandni Chowk To China, which released on 16 January 2009. The film, directed by Nikhil Advani, also featured Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Ranvir Shorey in the lead. It was a critical and commercial disaster, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times Of India commenting, "Deepika looks lost and forlorn for most of the film."^[25]

Padukone's fourth release Love Aaj Kal, released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009.^[26] Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth. Padukone played the role of Meera Pandit, a practical and head-strong career woman opposite Saif Ali Khan. Of her performance, NDTV's Anupama Chopra wrote, "Deepika looks fabulous but she isn’t a strong enough actor to breathe life into the character."^[27] Despite this, she received her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination.^[3] The same year, she teamed up with Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan once again for an item number in the Irrfan Khan-Lara Dutta starrer Billu.^[28] She also made guest appearances in the Telegu film Love 4 Ever and in Sohail Khan's Main Aur Mrs Khanna.^[29][30]

Initial Success, 2010-present[link]

Her first release in 2010 was Excel Entertainment’s Karthik Calling Karthik. The thriller featured Farhan Akhtar as Karthik, a troubled schizophrenic man, and Padukone as his supportive girlfriend, Shonali Mukherjee. This time, Anupama Chopra wrote, "Padukone finally seems to be thawing in front of a camera."^[31] The film, however, was a commercial failure.^[32] She then featured in Sajid Khan's multistarrer Housefull with Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Jiah Khan and Boman Irani . She played the role of Soundarya Bhagyalakshmi Venkateshwari Baassappa Rao, Kumar's girlfriend and later fiancée. The film became a blockbuster in India, with a net gross of INR 95 crores in the first week itself.^[33] As for her performance, Taran Adarsh mentioned that "Deepika is a surprise. She carries her part with amazing confidence...Housefull is the film that would make people notice her talent as well as beauty".^[34]

She then appeared in her second Yash Raj production, Lafangey Parindey which was directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She starred opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh as Pinky Palkar, a blind girl, hell bent on winning a skating competition. Upon release, Sudhish Kamath, of The Hindu wrote, "This really is Deepika Padukone's film though. She exercises considerable restraint, dances, skates, makes you cry and smile."^[35]

Padukone with her Break Ke Baad co-star Imran Khan

Her next release was Kunal Kohli's syrupy romance Break Ke Baad opposite Imran Khan, where she played Aaliya Khan, an impetuous brat. The film was not a commercial success, but won Padukone favorable reviews.^[36] Nikhat Kazmi noted, "Padukone's climactic act seems to be the best performance in her entire career: completely spontaneous, crazy and cute."^[37]

Her final release of 2010; Ashutosh Gowarikar's Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey top-lining Abhishek Bachchan, met with scathing reviews and was declared a flop. The period drama was a retelling of the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid, with Bachchan playing the revolutionary leader Surya Sen and Padukone playing Kalpana Dutta, his lover and confidant.^[38] A review carried by The Hollywood Reporter, however, mentioned her portrayal of Dutta as "impressive".^[39]

She began the year 2011 with an item number in Rohan Sippy's Dum Maaro Dum starring Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu in the lead. Her song was a remixed version of Zeenat Aman's iconic song from Hare Rama Hare Krishna.^[40] The raunchy lyrics and suggestive dancing received mixed reviews. The Deccan Chronicle mentioned her moves as "mechanised gyrations", while Adarsh wrote, "Deepika scorches the screen in the title track. "^[41][42]

Padukone at a promotional event for Aarakshan. Pictured with Prakash Jha

Next, she featured in Prakash Jha's reservation melodrama, Aarakshan starring alongside Amitabh Bachchan, as his daughter, and Saif Ali Khan, as his love-interest.^[43] Pratim D. Gupta noted, "Deepika, though, is again the refreshing thing about a movie. Both her scenes with Bachchan — one where she revolts and the other where she redeems herself — show how she has come of age as an actor."^[44] Padukone next appeared in Rohit Dhawan's Desi Boyz alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Chitrangada Singh. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was an average success at the box office.

In 2012, Padukone is expected to appear in Homi Adajania's Cocktail opposite Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty and will make her Kollywood debut in Soundarya Rajnikanth's Kochadaiyaan opposite Rajnikanth. Following this, Padukone will be seen in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani opposite ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor^[45][46] and Race 2 alongside Saif Ali Khan, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ameesha Patel.

Other work[link]

Philanthropy[link]

As part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, Padukone adopted Ambegaon, a village in Maharashtra, that was facing a major electricity crisis.^[47]

In The Media[link]

In 2009, Padukone started writing weekly columns for HT City, the lifestyle supplement of Hindustan Times. These columns appear online on social network, Desimartini.^[48]

She appeared on the cover of lifestyle magazine Vogue on May 2010 and 2011.^[49] She also walked the red carpet at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.^[50]

On November 2010, she appeared on Koffee With Karan, a popular chat show along with Sonam Kapoor. Her comments on ex-flame Ranbir Kapoor lead to a lot of controversy among Bollywood inner-circles.^[51]

Personal life[link]

In March 2008, Padukone began dating Ranbir Kapoor, her co-star from the film Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).^[52] After her high profile break up with Kapoor in November 2009, Padukone has decided to keep her personal life away from media attention.^[53]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Deepika Padukone

• Deepika Padukone at the Internet Movie Database