A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (63–87 km/h, 17.5–24.2 m/s or 39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds.^[1] Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected.

Other sources use minimums as low as 28 knots (52 km/h) and maximums as high as 90 knots (170 km/h). Through 1986, the National Hurricane Center used the term gale to refer to winds of tropical force for coastal areas, between 33 knots (61 km/h) and 63 knots (117 km/h). The 90-knot (170 km/h) definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is 55 knots (102 km/h).^[2]

The most common way of measuring winds is with the Beaufort scale /ˈboʊfərt/.^[3] It is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.

On the Beaufort Wind Scale, a Gale is classified as: Moderate Gale(32-38 miles per hour), Fresh Gale(39-46 mph), Strong Gale(47-54 mph) and Whole Gale(55-63 mph). A Gale is a type of Wind Description preceded by Calm, Light Air, Slight Breeze, Gentle Breeze, Moderate Breeze, Fresh Breeze, Strong Breeze and succeeded by Storm and Hurricane on a Beaufort Wind Scale. There is a unique Beaufort Scale number and a unique Arrow Indication for each type of Wind Description mentioned above.

References[link]

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Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif in 2012
Born	(1984-07-16) 16 July 1984 (age 27) Hong Kong
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	British[1]
Ethnicity	British Indian
Occupation	Model, Actress
Years active	2003 – present

Katrina Kaif (born 16 July 1984^[2]) is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi-language film industry.^[3][4] She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. She was voted the sexiest Asian woman in the world by Eastern Eye in the years 2008, 2009 and 2010.^[5][6] Being a British citizen, she works in India on an employment visa.^[1]

Kaif made her acting debut with Kaizad Gustad's box office bomb Boom (2003). She tasted success in 2007 with Vipul Shah's Namastey London and followed with such films as Anees Bazmee's Welcome (2007), Abbas-Mustan's Race (2008) and Kabir Khan's New York (2009).^[7] She has since appeared in critically and commercially successful films like Prakash Jha's political thriller Rajneeti (2010) and Zoya Akhtar's dramedy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011).^[8]

Early years and personal life[link]

Kaif was born in Hong Kong,^[9] to an Indian Kashmiri father,^[10][11][12] Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Susanna Turquotte,^[13] both of whom are British citizens. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Kaif once stated, "My dad, unfortunately, and not out of choice, has had no influence on our upbringing, on our religious or social or moral bearings."^[14] When she came to India, she changed her surname to Kaif, because it was Indian in origin.^[15] Furthermore, Ayesha Shroff has maintained that the actress' original name is Katrina Turquotte.^[15] Kaif has seven siblings; a brother and six sisters.^[16] From Hong Kong, she and her family moved to China, then to Japan. From there she went to France when she was 8, and thereafter lived for a few months at a time in Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries.^[17] Then she moved with her family to Hawaii, and eventually to her mother's home country of England. Although it is often assumed that Kaif is from London, she lived there only for three years before finally moving to Mumbai.^[17]

Religious views[link]

Kaif is known to have secular religious views, and has been to various religious places in India,^[18] including Hindu, Sikh and Islamic places of worship.^[19] She has been seen worshipping at Siddhivinayak temple, Hindu temples in Haridwar, Shirdi, Amritsar's Golden temple and Ajmer Sharif dargah.^[19][20][21]

Career[link]

Modeling and early film career (1998–2004)[link]

Kaif began her modeling career at age fourteen; her first assignment was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London under a contract with the Models 1 Agency and did campaigns for houses such as La Senza and Arcadius, and even walked on the London Fashion Week.^[22]

Kaif's modeling work led to her discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). The film, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Gulshan Grover, failed to make an impact. She then moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments, but filmmakers were hesitant to cast Kaif due to her poor command of Hindi.^[23][24]

Breakthrough (2005–2006)[link]

In 2005, Kaif made a cameo in Ram Gopal Verma's drama Sarkar, as Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend. The same year, she landed her first major role in David Dhawan's adaptation of Cactus Flower, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, where she was paired opposite Salman Khan. The film also featured Sushmita Sen, Arshad Warsi, Isha Koppikar and Sohail Khan in leading roles. Upon release, the film became a moderate success with Taran Adarsh, a prominent film critic, mentioning Kaif as a "complete revelation".^[25] The following year, she was paired opposite Akshay Kumar for the first time in Raj Kanwar's box-office flop Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. However, for her portrayal of Jia A. Yashvardhan, Adarsh wrote, "Taking giant strides as an actor, Katrina is, without doubt, the star of the show. It's her magnetic presence and dependable performance that you carry home once the show has ended." ^[26]

Success (2007– present)[link]

Katrina Kaif at Book launch of 'Raajneeti - The Film & Beyond, 2012

In 2007, Kaif appeared in four films, all of which were successful at the box office. Her first release was Vipul Shah's romantic-comedy Namastey London. Kaif portrayed the character of a British Indian girl named Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra, alongside Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Clive Standen. Upon its release, the film became a major hit, with Nikhat Kazmi, of the The Times Of India praising the chemistry between the leading couple.^[27] She next played a supporting role in Anil Sharma's melodrama Apne. Featuring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kirron Kher and Shilpa Shetty, the film was a box-office hit.^[28] Her next release was David Dhawan's unofficial remake of Hitch, Partner, where she starred alongside Salman Khan, Govinda, and Lara Dutta. Her final film of 2007, Welcome, directed by Anees Bazmee and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor, was declared a blockbuster in India,^[28] despite negative reviews from critics.

Her first release of 2008 was Abbas-Mustan's action-thriller Race; she played Saif Ali Khan's secretary, Sophia, who is secretly in love with his hostile stepbrother (played by Akshay Khanna). The film also featured Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy in leading roles. Despite its success, Kazmi wrote, "Katrina is too pale as the blousy secretary who comes into her own only when she gets seductive with a Touch me, kiss me tenor. " ^[29]

Kaif was next seen in Anees Bazmee's action comedy Singh Is Kinng, portraying Akshay Kumar's love interest and Ranvir Shorey's fiancée. After its release, the film was declared a blockbuster, making it Kaif's sixth consecutive success at the box office. The movie also emerged as the third highest grossing film of 2008.^[30] Kaif's final release of the year, Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj, was a commercial failure,^[31] but its script made its way into the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for artistic merit, original screenplay with a substance, and the film as a whole.^[32][33]

In 2009, she featured in Kabir Khan's terrorism drama New York, with John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It was a critical and commercial success in both India and overseas.^[34] Kaif's performance was highly praised: Taran Adarsh wrote, "Katrina gives you the biggest surprise. Known for her glamour roles, Katrina proves that she can deliver if the director and writer offer her a role of substance. She's outstanding. In fact, people will see a new, different Katrina this time."^[35] For her performance, Kaif received her first Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.^[7] She next had a cameo in the star-studded action-thriller Blue, popularly known as India's first underwater thriller, with Akshay Kumar and Zayed Khan.^[36] However, it was declared a flop. In November 2009, she appeared along with Ranbir Kapoor, in Rajkumar Santoshi's blockbuster comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, as Jennifer Pinto. Critics mostly praised her fresh chemistry with Kapoor rather than her performance as a whole.^[37] Her final release that year was Priyadarshan's star-studded De Dana Dan with Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Neha Dhupia. Despite a good opening, the film failed to do well at the box office.^[38]

Kaif's first release of 2010 was Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti, where she appeared opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film was a modern-day adaptation of The Mahabharata set against the political backdrop of Delhi. Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai and Shruti Seth also played starring roles. Upon release, the film performed extremely well at the box office, and earned Kaif favourable reviews for her portrayal of the dynamic Indu Sakseria.^[39] Her final release that year was Farah Khan's brainless comedy Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar.^[40] The film received unanimous negative reviews from critics and was declared a flop. However, Kaif's item number Sheila Ki Jawani became a major chartbuster.^[41]

Kaif (second from left) promoting ZNMD in Chandigarh with the cast of the film

In 2011, she was seen alongside Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin in Zoya Akhtar's dramedy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,^[42] which emerged as a major critical and commercial success. Kaif was praised for her portrayal of a fun-loving diving instructor Laila. Taran Adarsh wrote, "Katrina is a revelation...the actress continues to surprise you with her performances in film after film."^[43] She next featured in Yash Raj Films' comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan opposite Imran Khan and Ali Zafar.^[44] The film was successful at the box office, and earned Kaif positive notice for her portrayal of vivacious punk-rock girl Dimple Dixit, with Rahul Gangwani saying "the film ultimately belongs to Katrina Kaif. She sparkles, sizzles and infuses energy into the film."^[45] Consequently, she received her second Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.

As of January 2012, Kaif is set to appear in three high-profile productions under the Yash Raj Films banner such as Kabir Khan's spy thriller Ek Tha Tiger opposite Salman Khan, Yash Chopra's Untitled Project alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma and Vijay Krishna Acharya's adventure film Dhoom 3 alongside Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and Rimi Sen.

Voice dubbing[link]

It should be noted that due to her poor knowledge of Hindi (and other Indian languages), Kaif's voice was often dubbed by another actress. However, with the exception of De Dana Dan she has used her own voice for all of her films since New York. Earlier, she had dubbed for films like Namastey London and Singh Is Kinng.^[46]

Brand endorsements[link]

In the year 2002, Katrina Kaif was chosen as Coca-Cola's brand ambassador in Tamil Nadu along with Tamil leading actor Vijay. The Coca-Cola advertisement was popular in Tamil Nadu, with Katrina Kaif and Vijay dancing to a Tamil song called "Gullu Gullu".^[47] She has also worked for several skin products companies, particularly Veet, as well as several multi-national brands, such as Panasonic.^[48] Katrina is now the brand ambassador of the national airline of the United Arab Emirates – Etihad Airways.^[49]

Awards[link]

She has won 14 awards including Filmfare awards and also nominated for 13 awards till now.

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

Bollywood portal

• British Indian

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Katrina Kaif

• Katrina Kaif at the Internet Movie Database

Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar in 2009
Born	Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (1967-09-09) 9 September 1967 (age 44) Amritsar, Punjab, India
Occupation	actor, producer, presenter
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Twinkle Khanna (2001–present)

Akshay Kumar (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia^[1] on 9 September 1967^[1]) is an Indian film actor, producer, comedian and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has nominated for Filmfare Award several times and won two times. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series", which included Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi (1997), International Khiladi (1999), and Khiladi 420 (2000), as well as other action films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Mohra (1994), Elaan (1994) and Suhaag (1994).^[2]

Later he also gained fame for his drama, romance and comic roles.^[3] He started becoming known for his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dhadkan (2000) as well as drama films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), and Garam Masala (2005) met with acclaim. His success further rose in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. He has thus established himself as one of the leading actors in Hindi cinema.

Apart from acting, Kumar worked as a stunt actor; he often performed many dangerous stunts in his films,^[4] which earned him a reputation as the "Indian Jackie Chan".^[2] 2008 marked his television debut as the host of the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. In 2009, Kumar founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.^[5] In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema. The following year he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. In 2011 Asian Film Awards honored Kumar for his outstanding achievement in Cinema.^[3]

Early life[link]

Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar, Punjab.^[1] His father was an army officer. His mother's name is Aruna Bhatia. From a very young age, he was recognised as a performer, particularly as a dancer. Kumar was raised in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighbourhood before moving to Mumbai.^[6] In Mumbai, he lived in Koliwada, which was another Punjabi dominated area.^[6] He studied at Don Bosco School and then Guru Nanak Khalsa College (King's Circle), where he participated in sports with Janpal Singh.^[6]

After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India,^[7] he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand,^[6] where he learned Muay Thai^[7] and worked as a chef^[6] and waiter.^[7] He then came back to Mumbai, where he started teaching martial arts. One of his students happened to be a photographer and recommended him to do modelling. The student gave him a modelling assignment for a small company. For his two hours posing in front of the camera, Kumar got Rs. 5,000, compared to his previous monthly salary of Rs. 4,000. That was one of the main reasons why he chose to be a model. After a couple of months of modelling, Kumar was offered a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.^[6]

Career[link]

1990s[link]

Kumar made his Bollywood acting debut with the 1991 film Saugandh, which was followed by the 1992 thriller film Khiladi. In 1994, his action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Mohra were among the highest grossing films of the year.^[8] Later that year, Yash Chopra signed him for the romantic film Yeh Dillagi which was also a success.^[8] He received appreciation for his performance in this film, where he played a romantic role which was different compared to his action roles. He would consequently receive his first nominations for Best Actor award at the Filmfare and Star Screen ceremonies. During the same year, Kumar also had success with films like Suhaag and the low budget action film Elaan. All these achievements, promoted Kumar as one of the most successful actors of the year.^[9]

In 1995, along with his share of unsuccessful movies, he starred in the third film in his Khiladi series Sabse Bada Khiladi, which was a hit.^[10] He proved to have success with the Khiladi series, as in the next year he starred in the fourth successful film with Khiladi in the title, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi opposite Rekha and Raveena Tandon. The film became one of the highest grossing films of the year.^[11]

In 1997, Kumar was seen in a supporting role in Yash Chopra's hit film Dil To Pagal Hai, co-starring Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award nomination. In the same year, he attempted a comedy role with the fifth film in the Khiladi series, Mr and Mrs Khiladi. Unlike his previous films with Khiladi in the title, the film failed commercially.^[12] In the same way as this film, his next Khiladi releases in the following years went on to fail at the box office. In 1999, Kumar received critical acclaim for his roles in the films Sangharsh and Jaanwar. Whilst the former did not make a profit at the box office, the latter turned out to be a success.^[13]

2000s[link]

Kumar on the sets of Heyy Babyy

In 2000, he starred in the comedy Hera Pheri (2000) which was a commercial success.^[14] He also starred in the romantic film Dhadkan later that same year which performed moderately at the box office.^[14] That same year, he performed some of his most dangerous stunts in Khiladi 420, where he climbed a running plane, stood on top of the plane flying a thousand feet in the air, and jumped from the plane onto a hot air balloon.^[4] In a later scene, he is also seen being chased by a car, dodging bullets, jumping off buildings, and climbing walls.^[15] In 2001, Kumar played a negative role in the film Ajnabee. The film won him much acclaim as well as his first Filmfare Award for Best Villain.^[1] Kumar played a role as role as a blind man in Aankhen.

Following Hera Pheri, Kumar starred in a number of comedy films, including Awara Paagal Deewana (2002) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004).^[16] and Garam Masala (2005). The films succeeded at the box office^[17][18] and his performance in the latter earned him his second Filmfare Award, for Best Comedian.^[1] Apart from his action, comedy and romantic roles, Kumar displayed a flair for dramatic roles in films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001), Aankhen (2002), Bewafaa (2005) and Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005).^[1] n

In 2004 he starred in Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai. In 2006 he starred in a sequel to Hera Pheri titled Phir Hera Pheri. As was the former, the sequel became a huge success at the box office.^[19] Later that year he starred alongside Salman Khan in the romantic musical Jaan-E-Mann. The film was a well anticipated release, and despite receiving positive reviews from critics, did not do as well as expected at the box office.^[19] Though the film under-performed, his role as a shy, lovable nerd was praised.^[20] He ended the year with the comedy Bhagam Bhag, which was a success.^[19] In that same year, he led the Heat 2006 world tour along with fellow stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen and Celina Jaitley.^[21]

2007 proved to be Kumar's most successful year during his career in the industry, and as described by box office analysts, "probably the best ever recorded by an actor, with four outright hits and no flops."^[22] His first release, Namastey London, was critically and commercially successful, and his performance earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare. Critic Taran Adarsh wrote of his performance in the film, "he's sure to win the hearts of millions of moviegoers with a terrific portrayal in this film."^[23] His next two releases, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa, were box office successes as well.^[24][25] Kumar's last release of the year, Welcome, did extremely well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster status and simultaneously becoming his fifth successive hit.^[26] All of Kumar's films which released that year did well in the overseas market as well.^[27]

Kumar's first film of 2008, Tashan, marked his comeback to the Yash Raj Films banner after 11 years. Although much anticipated by the public,^[28] the film was a critical and commercial failure. His second film, Singh Is Kinng was a huge success at the box office and broke the first-week worldwide record of Om Shanti Om, the previous highest figure.^[29] His next film was the animated film Jumbo. The year also saw Kumar making his small screen debut as the host of the successful show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. He later returned to host the show's second season in 2009.

In 2009, Kumar featured opposite Deepika Padukone in the Warner Bros.-Rohan Sippy production Chandni Chowk to China. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film was a critical and commercial failure at the box office.^[30] Kumar's next release was 8 x 10 Tasveer. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, the film was a critical and commercial failure. His next release was Kambakkht Ishq. Kumar's film Blue was released on 16 October 2009. Blue collected about Rs. 42 crores at the box-office.^[31] His last release in 2009 was Priyadarshan's De Dana Dan.

2010s[link]

Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha and Prabhudeva at the first look launch of the movie 'Rowdy Rathore'.

He then appeared in the 2010 comedy, Housefull, directed by Sajid Khan which garnered the second-highest opening weekend collection of all time.^[32] Kumar's next release was Khatta Meetha, directed by Priyadarshan which was an average grosser. He also appeared in Vipul Shah's Action Replayy, which was a box office failure.^[33] His last film of 2010 was Tees Maar Khan. In 2011 he starred in Patiala House and Thank You.

He also co-produced a film with Russell Peters titled Breakaway (dubbed into Hindi as Speedy Singhs) which is reminiscent of his own Patiala House.^[34] Breakaway has become the highest-grossing English movie in Canadian history.^[35] Akshay Kumar, recently dubbed for the Hindi version of Hollywood, action blockbuster, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Akshay dubbed for the role of 'Optimus Prime', which is one of the key characters in the film. He took the dubbing role for his son, Aarav, and did so for free.^[36]

His latest film is Rohit Dhawan's Desi Boyz (2011), which co-starred John Abraham, Chitrangada Singh and Deepika Padukone. His first release of 2012 was Housefull 2 which is a sequel to his 2010 successful film Housefull. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was declared Super Hit collecting 181.25 crore (US$36.16 million) at Box Office in 5 weeks. It was also a huge hit in overseas and the biggest Bollywood grosser in New Zealand. Akshay's Rowdy Rathore released on Ist June 2012.^[37] It marks the returns of him in action genre after 7 years.

Personal life[link]

Kumar earlier dated several of his colleagues, such as Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon. After being engaged twice to actress Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of actors Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, he married her on 17 January 2001. Their son named Aarav was born in September 2002.^[1] He stays in shape with a combination of kickboxing, basketball, swimming and other sports, as well as working out at the gym. In the year 2004, he was honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Award for his outstanding achievements in Bollywood. In 2008 the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada awarded him with Honorary Doctrate of Law for his outstanding work in the film industry and contribution to social work. The same year he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People (India) magazine. The following year he was awarded the highest Japanese honour of "Katana" and a sixth degree Black Belt in Kuyukai Gojuryu Karate. He was one of the 15 international celebrities invited for the Olympics torch-bearer rally to Canada.^[38]

Awards and honors[link]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Television appearances[link]

See also[link]

• List of Indian Actors

References[link]

External links[link]

• Akshay Kumar at the Internet Movie Database