Baby Boy is a 2001 American coming of age urban drama film written, produced, and directed by John Singleton.^{[3] [4]} It has been considered a sequel of sorts to Singleton's earlier, more famous work Boyz n the Hood released ten years earlier. The film follows bicycle mechanic Joseph "Jody" Summers as he lives and learns in his everyday life in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Plot[link]

A young 20 year-old named Jody (Tyrese Gibson) lives with his mother Juanita (Adrienne-Joi Johnson),^[5] in South Central Los Angeles.^[3] He spends most of his time with his unemployed best friend P (Omar Gooding), and does not seem interested in becoming a responsible adult. However, he is forced to mature as a result of an ex-con named Melvin (Ving Rhames), who moves into their home. Another factor is his children - a son with his girlfriend Yvette (Taraji P. Henson) and a daughter with a girl named Peanut, who also lives with her mother.

At the beginning of the movie Yvette has an abortion that Jody forced her to have. Yvette constantly asks Jody if he will ever come live with her and their son, but Jody avoids the subject and comes and goes as he pleases. Jody also continues seeing and having sex with other women, including Peanut. This becomes an issue between him and Yvette as well, especially since Yvette and Peanut do not get along. When she discovers his cheating they get in a heated argument which results to Jody slapping Yvette in the face. After this, Yvette changes the locks on the door. This infuriates Jody and they get into an argument. Their son comes out of his room and runs to the door. Yvette grabs him and cradles him while he yells, "I wanna see my daddy".

Eventually, Yvette's gangster ex-boyfriend Rodney (Snoop Dogg) is released from San Quentin prison, and returns to the neighborhood to move in with Yvette, much to her dismay. Rodney doesn't care for Yvette and Jody's son and wants to impregnate Yvette himself. Rodney attempts to rape Yvette in front of her son. She tells him, "So you're really gonna rape me in front of my son". Rodney pauses for a minute the pushes her son out of the way and walks out of the room. Jody Jr. aka JoJo then says, "I want my daddy." Yvette then cradles her son and replies, "I know baby, me too".

For the next couple of days Yvette lives in fear and disgust of Rodney being there and misses Jody. Rodney, who realizes this, steals the money from her wallet and takes off in her car to go and find Jody. Rodney tries to kill Jody in a drive-by shooting; however, he is unsuccessful with both efforts. After this Yvette kicks Rodney and his friends out of her apartment. While at Sweetpea's house playing cards, Yvette and Sweetpea's girlfriend Kim step outside. Yvette then goes and sits beside Jody. When Jody ignores her she throws the chair back and runs off. Jody goes after her. She then tells Jody about everything she's been going through, even about Rodney trying rape her. Jody then hugs Yvette and says that he's been missing her.

Jody and Sweetpea confront Rodney, and as he attempts to escape, Jody shoots him in the ankle. Sweetpea urges Jody to kill Rodney, but he refuses, at which point Sweetpea kills Rodney himself. Feeling guilty for Rodney's death, Jody prepares to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, but thankfully Melvin catches him and takes the gun. After reflecting on the death of Rodney and how he put Yvette and his son in danger by not being around consistently, Jody finally moves out of his mom's house and in with Yvette.

Jody has now become a mature man, realizing that his mom's relationship with Melvin is a stable one and that he has a family of his own that he needs to protect and take care of. Afterwards, Jody and Yvette get married and she becomes pregnant with Jody's third child and her second child with him. Sweetpea decides to turn over a new leaf and gets baptized, putting his old life as a street thug behind him.

Cast[link]

• Tyrese Gibson as Joseph "Jody" Simmons, an unemployed bike mechanic.
• Omar Gooding as Sweetpea, Jody's best friend.
• Taraji P. Henson as Yvette, Jody's girlfriend and the mother of his son.
• Snoop Dogg as Rodney, Yvette's ex-boyfriend and the film's antagonist.
• Ving Rhames as Melvin, Juanita's ex-con boyfriend.
• Adrienne-Joi Johnson as Juanita, Jody's mother.
• Elmo Tawnie as Tippy Top second cousin on Jimmy John's side
• Mo'Nique as Patrice, Juanita's best friend.
• Angell Conwell as Kim, Sweetpea's girlfriend.
• Tamara LaSeon Bass as Peanut, the mother of Jody's baby daughter.
• Tawny Dahl as Pandora, Yvette's coworker and a pursuer of Jody.
• Tracey Cherelle Jones as Sharika, Yvette's best friend.

Development[link]

• The lead role was originally written for Tupac Shakur in 1996, but when he died, production for the film was put on hold. Jody listens to many of Shakur's songs and has a picture of him on his wall.
• Singleton originally wrote the role of Rodney for Ice Cube.
• The cast won a special award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2001. The film was also in the running for the Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize.

Release and reception[link]

Box office[link]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $$8,606,403 in 1,533 theaters in the United States, averaging $5,614 per venue, and ranking number 5 at the box office. It grossed a total of $28,734,552 domestically and $647,097 overseas (France, Australia, United Kingdom and Spain), totalling about $29,381,649 worldwide.^[1] The film had a budget of $16 million and is rated R for its strong sexuality, profane language, violence and some drug use,^[6] and is ranked 64 at the box office in drama-summer for that year (2001).

Critics[link]

The film received generally positive feedback from critics. Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4 saying, "Baby Boy is a bold criticism of young black men who carelessly father babies, live off their mothers and don't even think of looking for work. It is also a criticism of the society that pushes them into that niche. There has never been a movie with this angle on the African-American experience" and "[it] doesn't fall back on easy liberal finger-pointing. There are no white people in this movie, no simplistic blaming of others; the adults in Jody's life blame him for his own troubles, and they should."^[7] Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, praised the film for being "...Compelling.... heartfelt and personal..." Rotten Tomatoes gives Baby Boy a critic score of "Fresh" with a 77% rating score from top critics; "Preachy and repetitive in parts, Baby Boy still manages to exude authenticity, thanks to its competent cast."^[8]

Awards and recognition[link]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255819/awards

Soundtrack[link]

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 19, 2001 by Universal Records. It peaked at #41 on the Billboard 200 and #12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

External links[link]

• Official website
• Baby Boy (film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Baby Boy (film) at AllRovi

References[link]

Baby Boy can refer to:

• "Baby Boy" (Beyoncé Knowles song)
• "Baby Boy" (Big Brovaz song)
• "Baby Boy" (Whigfield song)
• Baby Boy (film), a 2001 film starring Tyrese Gibson and Snoop Dogg
• Baby Boy (soundtrack), 2001 soundtrack album from film
• Baby Boy (Beanie Baby), a Beanie Baby bear produced by Ty, Inc. in three styles
• Baby Boy da Prince, American rapper
• "Baby Boy", a 2004 song from the Danny the Dog soundtrack by Massive Attack featuring Thea

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan at NDTV Greenathon in Yash Raj Studios, 2012
Born	Aamir Hussain Khan (1965-03-14) 14 March 1965 (age 47) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, director and writer
Years active	1973–1974, 1984, 1988–2001, 2005–present
Spouse	Reena Dutta (1986–2002) Kiran Rao (2005–present)
Children	3
Website
http://www.aamirkhan.com/

Aamir Hussain Khan (pronounced [ˈaːmɪr ˈxaːn]) (born 14 March 1965) is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.^[1][2][3]

Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional career eleven years later with Holi (1984) and had his first commercial success with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). He received his first National Film Award as a Special Jury Award for his roles in the films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Raakh (1989).^[4] After eight previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the major grosser Raja Hindustani (1996)^[5][6] and later earned his second Best Actor award for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan, which also marked the debut of his own production company.

Following a four-year break from acting, Khan made his comeback playing the title role in the historical Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and later won a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his role in Rang De Basanti (2006). The following year, he made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par, for which he received a Filmfare Award for Best Director. This was followed by Ghajini (2008), which became the highest grossing film of that year, and 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time, unadjusted for inflation.^[7] The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contributions towards the arts.^[8][9][10]

On 30 November 2011, Khan was appointed as national brand ambassador of UNICEF to promote child nutrition.^[11]

Early life[link]

Khan was born in Bandra's Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, India, to a Muslim^[12] family that has been actively involved in the Indian motion picture industry for several decades. His father, Tahir Hussain, was a film producer while his uncle, Nasir Hussain, was a film producer as well as a director and an actor. His family on his father´s side are originally from Herat, Afghanistan.^[13]

He is a descendant of the scholar and politician Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and a second cousin to former deputy chairperson and current member of Rajya Sabha Dr. Najma Heptulla.

Career[link]

Actor[link]

Khan began his film career at the age of 8, as a child actor in a home production, made by Nasir Hussain, titled Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)^[14] and Madhosh (1974). Eleven years later, he made his adult acting debut in a role that went quite unnoticed in Ketan Mehta's Holi (1984).

Khan's first notable leading role came in 1988 in the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak which was directed by his cousin and Nasir Hussain's son Mansoor Khan. This film was a breakthrough commercial success, effectively launching Khan's career as a leading actor. Having the typical 'chocolate hero' looks, he was publicised as a teen idol. He also starred in critically acclaimed film Raakh, for which Khan got his first National Award for Special Jury Award. After that, he went on to appear in several other films in the late '80s and early '90s: Dil (1990), which became the highest grossing film of the year,^[15] Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) (for which he also wrote the screenplay), and Rangeela (1995). Most of these films were successful critically and commercially.^[16][17][18] Other successes include Andaz Apna Apna, co-starring Salman Khan. At the time of its release the movie was reviewed unfavorably by critics, but over the years has gained a cult status.^[19]

Khan at 2011 Berlin Film Festival

Khan continued to act in just one or two films a year, an unusual trait for a mainstream Hindi cinema actor. His only release in 1996 was the Dharmesh Darshan directed commercial blockbuster Raja Hindustani in which he was paired opposite Karisma Kapoor. The film earned him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award, after seven previous nominations, and went on to become the biggest hit of the year, as well as the third highest grossing Indian film of the 1990s.^[20] Khan's career had seemed to hit a plateau at this point of time, and most of the films to follow for the next few years were only partially successful. In 1997, he co-starred alongside Ajay Devgn, Kajol and Juhi Chawla in Ishq, which performed well at the box office. The following year, Khan appeared in the moderately successful Ghulam, for which he also did playback singing.^[21] John Mathew Matthan's Sarfarosh (1999), Khan's first release in 1999, was also moderately successful, gaining an above average box office verdict.^[22] The film was highly appreciated amongst the critics and Khan's role as a dedicated, honest and uncorrupted cop engaged in fighting border terrorism, was well received, as was his role in Deepa Mehta's art house film Earth. His first release for the new millennium, Mela, in which he acted alongside his real-life brother Faisal Khan, was both a box-office and critical bomb.^[23]

In 2001 he appeared in Lagaan. The film was a major critical and commercial success,^[24] and received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards. Additionally, the film gathered critical acclaim at several international film festivals, in addition to winning numerous Indian awards, including the National Film Awards. Khan himself won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. The film continues to be one of the most popular Hindi films in the west.^{[citation needed]}

The success of Lagaan was followed by Dil Chahta Hai later that year, in which Khan co-starred with Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan, with Preity Zinta playing his love interest. The film was written and directed by the then newcomer Farhan Akhtar. According to critics, the film broke new grounds by showing Indian urban youth as they really are today. The characters depicted were modern, suave and cosmopolitan. The film did moderately well and was a success mostly in urban cities.^[24]

Khan then took a four year break citing personal problems, and returned in 2005 with Ketan Mehta's Mangal Pandey: The Rising playing the title role of a real-life sepoy and a martyr who helped spark the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or the 'First War of Indian Independence'.^{[citation needed]}

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's award-winning Rang De Basanti was Khan's first release in 2006. His role was critically acclaimed,^[25] earning him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and various nominations for Best Actor. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing films of the year,^[26] and was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars. Although the film was not shortlisted as a nominee for the Oscar, it received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the BAFTA Awards in England. Khan's work in his next movie, Fanaa (2006) co-starred with Kajol was also appreciated,^[27] and the film went on to become one of the highest grossing Indian films of 2006.^[26]

His 2007 film, Taare Zameen Par was also produced by him and marked his directorial debut. The film, which was the second offering from Aamir Khan Productions, starred Khan in a supporting role as a teacher who befriends and helps a dyslexic child. It opened to excellent responses from critics and audiences alike. Khan's performance was well-received, although he was particularly applauded for his directing.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Khan appeared in the movie Ghajini. The film was a major commercial success^[28] and became the highest grossing Bollywood movie of that year. For his performance in the film, Khan received several Best Actor nominations at various award ceremonies as well as his fifteenth Filmfare Best Actor nomination.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, Khan appeared in the commercially and critically acclaimed film 3 Idiots as Ranchodas Chanchad which became Bollywood's highest grossing film^[7] and won multiple Filmfare Awards including Best Picture.^[29] Around August, 2011, Khan started talks with Siddhartha Basu's BIG Synergy, to host a talk show, similar to the Oprah Winfrey show.^[30] On May 6, 2012, the highly anticipated show Satyamev Jayate debuted in English and all major Indian languages and received both popular and critical praise for its dicussions on various social issues like female foeticide, child sexual abuse and dowry plaguing Indian society.

Aamir is being paid Rs. 3 crore rupees per episode as to host the Satyamev Jayate and it makes him the highest paid host in Indian television industry. ^[31] This show has already received the highest TRP and dubbed as one of biggest hits on the Indian television after Ramayan.

Producer[link]

Khan at a promotional event for Taare Zameen Par

In 2001 Khan set up a production company known as Aamir Khan Productions. Its first film was Lagaan. The movie was released in 2001, starring Khan as the lead actor. The film was selected as India's official entry to the 74th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. It was eventually chosen and nominated in that category but lost to No Man's Land. The film won numerous awards at several Indian award functions such as Filmfare and IIFA, and won the National Film Award for Most Popular Film, an award shared between Khan and the film's director, Ashutosh Gowariker.^[32] Khan later commented on the loss of Lagaan at the Oscars: "Certainly we were disappointed. But the thing that really kept us in our spirits was that the entire country was behind us".

In 2007 he produced the drama Taare Zameen Par which marked his directorial debut. Khan also played a supporting role in the film, sharing the screen with the debut of child actor Darsheel Safary. The film was initially conceived of and developed by the husband and wife team, Amole Gupte and Deepa Bhatia. It was a story of a young child who suffers in school until a teacher identifies him as dyslexic. The movie was critically acclaimed,^[33] as well as a box office success. Taare Zameen Par won the 2008 Filmfare Best Movie Award as well as a number of other Filmfare and Star Screen Awards. Khan's work won him two awards at the Filmfare, the Best Movie and the Best Director awards, which established his status as a competent filmmaker in Bollywood.

In 2008, Khan launched his nephew Imran Khan's debut in the film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na under his production house. The film was a big hit in India, and eventually earned Khan another nomination for Best Movie at the Filmfare.^[34]

In 2011, Khan released his home production Dhobi Ghat.^[35] which was directed by his wife Kiran Rao.

Television[link]

Khan made his television debut with his social issue based talk show Satyamev Jayte which started airing on 6 May 2012. The show will went live simultaneously on Star Plus, Star World and national broadcaster Doordarshan on the 11 A.M. Sunday slot in eight languages, being the first ever show to do so in India.^[36] The show opened to highly positive reviews and feedback from various eminent personalities such as social activists, media houses, doctors, film and television personalities, and Khan was praised for his effort, describing the show as a movement.^[37] In her review, Ritu Singh of IBN Live stated that, "Aamir Khan deserves an applause for bringing up such a sensitive issue and presenting it in a hard hitting way. The amount of research Aamir and his team has put into the show was clearly visible with the facts and figures presented. Every aspect of the issue was covered with great diligence."^[38] Parmita Uniyal from Hindustan Times praised the content and Khan for "step[ing] in to do what journalists are supposed to do – make a difference. The show is a classic example of that."^[39] 84 million people watched the show, making it, to date, the highest rated show on Indian television.^[40]

Humanitarian and political causes[link]

In April 2006, Aamir participated in the demonstrations put up by the Narmada Bachao Andolan committee with their leader Medha Patkar after the Gujrat government's decision to raise the height of the Narmada dam. He quoted to support adivasis, who might got displaced from their homes.^[41] Later he faced protests and a partial ban on his film Fanaa but the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh supported him by saying Everyone has the freedom of expression. If someone says something on a particular subject, that doesn't mean you should start protesting.^[42] Aamir also lended his support to Janlokpal Bill Movement led by Anna Hazare in August 2011.^[43]

He has been supporting common causes and in the same row when asked about views on entertainment tax in 2012 budget Aamir said, I don't want any reduction in that, all I expect is focus on education and nutrition.^[44] He quitted GOI's copyrights panels in February 2010 after facing sharp differences with other members.^[45] He journeyed to diverse parts of India, mostly to small towns during promotion of 3 Idiots saying film makers from Mumbai don’t understand small town India,^[46] which was an connecting to India experience, which is extended in his debut TV show Satyamev Jayate.

Personal life[link]

Khan married Reena Dutta, who had a small part in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, on 18 April 1986. They have two children, a son named Junaid and a daughter, Ira. Reena was involved briefly in Khan's career when she worked as a producer for Lagaan. In December 2002, Khan filed for divorce, ending the 15-year marriage. Reena took custody of both children.^[47] On 28 December 2005, Khan married Kiran Rao who had been an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowariker during the filming of Lagaan.^[48] Khan is a follower of spiritual leader J. P. Vaswani.^[49]

Though nominated many times, Khan does not attend any Indian film award ceremony as he feels "Indian film awards lack credibility".^[50] In 2007, Khan was invited to have a wax imitation of himself put on display at Madame Tussauds in London.^[51] However, Khan declined stating that, "It's not important to me... people will see my films if they want to. Also, I cannot deal with so many things, I have bandwidth only for that much."^[52] But he finally gave a nod to attend the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards, to be presented on 3 May 2012.^[53] But, Aamir Khan, who was supposed to attend the awards ceremony, gave it a last-minute miss.^[54]

In 2007, Khan lost a custody battle for his younger brother Faisal to their father, Tahir Hussain.^[55] His father passed away on 2 February 2010.^[56]

In a 2009 interview, Khan states that he tends to take an independent approach to the world of filmmaking, noting that he does not "do different things; I try to do it in a different manner. I think every person should follow his/her dream and try and make it possible to create an ability to achieve it backed by its practicality." He has also indicated that he is more interested in the process of filmmaking than in the end result: "For me, the process is more important, more joyful. I would like to have my entire concentration on the process right from the first step."

On 5 December 2011, Khan and his wife Kiran Rao announced the birth of their son, Azad Rao Khan,^[57] through a surrogate mother.^[58]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Producer[link]

Writer/Director[link]

See also[link]

• List of Indian film actors

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Crerar, Simon. "Aamir Khan on Making it in Bollywood^{[dead link]}." The Times, 15 January 2010.
• Bamzai, Kaveree. Aamir Khan: Mr Blockbuster^{[dead link]}. India Today, 7 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2011

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aamir Khan

• Official website
• Aamir Khan at the Internet Movie Database

Kiran Rao
Kiran Rao at 'DK Bose' Song Success Bash
Born	(1973-11-07) November 7, 1973 (age 38)[1][2] Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Occupation	Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Aamir Khan

Kiran Rao (Konkani: किरण राव) is an Indian film producer, screenwriter, and director.

Kiran Rao was born in Maratha family Bangalore on November 7, 1973.^[3][1][2] She was raised in Calcutta where she attended Loreto House and La Martiniere Calcutta. In 1992, her parents decided to leave Calcutta so she shifted to Mumbai.^[2] She graduated with an economics major from the Sophia College for Women (Bombay) in 1995. She attended the Social Communications Media course at the Sophia Polytechnic for two months, but then left for Delhi. She got her Masters at AJK Mass Communication Research Center at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.^[4]

Career[link]

Kiran Rao started her career as an assistant director in the epic film Lagaan directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, whom she also assisted later on Swades: We, the People. Lagaan was nominated for 74th Academy Awards in the foreign language film category. Aamir Khan produced and starred in the same film. She also worked as Second Assistant Director with Academy Award nominated director Mira Nair on the indie hit Monsoon Wedding.^[5] She scripted and directed the film Dhobi Ghat, which was released in January 2011 under Aamir Khan Productions.^[6][7] She has started writing her next film which will have roots in Calcutta.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Rao married actor/film director Aamir Khan in 2005, after he divorced his first wife Reena Dutta in 2002. They met on the sets of movie Lagaan. Kiran Rao was one of the film's assistant directors. They married in December 2005 and now live in Bandra, an upscale Mumbai suburb.^[8] Kiran Rao and Actor Aamir Khan have a baby boy. The baby boy is named Azad Rao Khan after Aamir's uncle Maulana Azad Khan.^[9]

Actor[link]

Director[link]

• Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)^[10] (2011)

Assistant Director[link]

• Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
• Monsoon Wedding (2001)
• Saathiya (2002)
• Swades: We, the People (2004)

Producer[link]

• Taare Zameen Par (2007) (associate producer)
• Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) (associate producer)
• Peepli Live (2010) (producer)
• Dhobi Ghat (2011) (producer)
• Delhi Belly (2011) (producer)
• Talaash(2012)(producer) in progress

See also[link]

• Aamir Khan

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kiran Rao at the Internet Movie Database

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi