Kundan Shah (born 1947) is an Indian film director and writer. He is most known for his comedy classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and his 1985-1986, TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza.

Biography[link]

Shah studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and he developed an interest in the comedy genre.

His directional debut was the comedy film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (aka Who Pays the Piper) in 1983. He also took part in the writing of the film, along with Satish Kaushik. The film introduced a new kind of slapstick comedy into the Indian cinema for the first time and was well recognized.

Shah then started to work in television. He was one of the directors of the popular sitcom Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, which started telecast in August 1984. He became a partner of Iskra, a company founded by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Aziz Mirza and others. In 1985-1986 he directed the TV series Nukkad (street) along with Saeed Akhtar Mirza. The serial was another folk comedy dealing with the routine life of street youngsters.

After directing several serials, Shah took a long break of 7 years from cinema.

Shah made his comeback to cinema in 1993. He directed the famous Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and wrote the screenplay for the film. The film was another comic love story but it also displayed new aspects to its credit - it was the first time that the hero in the film was an absolute loser. The film starred Shahrukh Khan in one of his first roles. The film was much acclaimed and both Shah and Khan were appreciated for their work. In 1994, Shah won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie for the film. He was the first filmmaker to win this award.

In 1998, Shah directed another acclaimed film, Kya Kehna. Due to delay, the film released in 2000 and became the surprise hit of the year. The film dealt with a social controversial issue - single parenthood. Actress Preity Zinta debuted in this film and enacted the lead role of a teenage single-mother who tries to overcome the wrong values of her society. Zinta's performance was also acclaimed. The film also starred Saif Ali Khan and Chandrachur Singh.

Shah's next releases were Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000) starring Bobby Deol and Karisma Kapoor, Dil Hai Tumhara (2002) with Rekha and Preity Zinta, and the last one, Ek Se Badhkar Ek in 2004.

Awards[link]

• Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa
• National Film Award - Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director - Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• Kundan Shah at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2011)

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi
Born	Mumbai, India
Occupation	Actress, writer, painter, singer
Spouse	Shekhar Kapur

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is an Indian actress,^[1] writer, painter and singer. She speaks Telugu as her mother tongue language.

Career[link]

Suchitra started her career with the TV series Chunauti while still in school. In 1987-88, she acted in a production of Peanuts: The Musical, a musical based on the famous comic strip Peanuts. She played the character Lucy.

She was a successful model in the early nineties, endorsing products such as Palmolive soap, Clearasil, Sunrise Coffee, Limca and Colgate toothpaste. In 1994, she made her breakthrough in films with Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a commercial and critically acclaimed hit, opposite Shahrukh Khan. She also starred in Kilukkampetti opposite Malayalam Superstar Jayaram

She simultaneously pursued a music career in the mid- to late 1990s, releasing the pop albums Dole Dole[1] Dum Tara, Aha, and Zindagi, whose title track was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber [2]

Having given up her showbiz career for early marriage, she returned nearly ten years later in the film My Wife's Murder (2005), starring opposite Anil Kapoor Slum Dog Millionaire The film garnered rave reviews for Suchitra as a performer. She also starred in Karma, Confessions and Holi in 2009 — an Indo-American coproduction with an ensemble cast of stars including Naomi Campbell Sushmita Sen and Vincent Curatola, among others. The film failed at the box office.

The year 2010 saw the release of Rann, a film about the Indian media, directed by Ram Gopal Varma with a cast including Amitabh Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. Suchitra played the role of a media executive named Nalini Kashyap.

Suchitra is a classically trained vocalist in the Gwalior gharana style of Indian classical music. She studied the art form for over ten years.

She is an accomplished poet and painter, having trained in India, London and New York. She has exhibited her paintings in galleries across India and around the globe. Her art, Suchitra proclaims, is a divine blessing from Lord Ganesha. Having never painted or even sketched in her life before, Suchitra held a paintbrush in her hand for the first time on 27 September 2004 during the Ganesh Chathurthi festival, at the encouragement of her neighbour.

Suchitra is a writer whose views were first noticed via her blogs. Her many blogs — first on www.intentblog.com, a site where she was invited to share her views by Deepak Chopra, "art in a body part" and "give me another break," and subsequently on her own site have put Suchitra in the midst of many a controversy.

Suchitra's debut novel, The Summer of Cool, was released by Penguin India in January 2009 and met with huge success. It is her first in four called the Swapnalok Society series.^[2] Based on the ethos of growing up in a typical co-operative housing society in Mumbai, this genre and these stories have struck a chord with young urban Indians. The second book in the series is called The Good News Reporter and has been well received.

Personal life[link]

She was married to Shekhar Kapur, a renowned filmmaker from India. They have a daughter named Kaveri. In February 2007 they got divorced. Suchitra is actively involved in charitable work and is associated with a few NGOs.

Filmography[link]

• Rann (January 2010) ... Nalini Kashyap
• Mittal v/s Mittal" (2010) ... Karuna Maheshwari
• Karma, Confessions and Holi (2009) ... Sujata
• Aag (2007) .... Kavita
• My Wife's Murder (2005) ... Sheila
• Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) ... Aana
• Kilukkampetti (1991) ... ANU
• Chunauti (1987) TV series

References[link]

External links[link]

• Suchitra Krishnamoorthi at the Internet Movie Database
• Suchitra Krishnamoorthi Official Website
• The Hindu, Jan 2009
• Hindustan Times Jan 09
• Times of India June 2005
• http://www.shekharkapur.com/blog/archives/2009/01/its_slumdog_mil.htm

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: v. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (February 2012)

Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Born	(1950-07-20) 20 July 1950 (age 61) Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Manara Sikri (deceased) Ratna Pathak Shah (1982-present)
Children	Heeba Shah Imaad Shah Vivaan Shah
Signature	150px

Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is widely considered to be one of the best actors produced by India. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Early life[link]

Shah was born on 20 July 1950 in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India where his father was a Navy Officer. Shah's family hails from Sardhana in District Meerut (Uttar Pradesh).He is a descendant of the 19th-century Afghan warlord Jan Fishan Khan. Naseeruddin Shah did his schooling at St. Anselm's Ajmer and St Joseph's College, Nainital. He graduated in arts from Aligarh Muslim University in 1971 and attended National School of Drama in Delhi. He has been successful in mainstream Bollywood cinema as well as in Parallel Cinema. He has also appeared in international films, notably playing Captain Nemo in the Hollywood comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His elder brother is Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah PVSM, SM, VSM, recently appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.

Career[link]

Shah has acted in movies such as Nishant, Aakrosh, Sparsh, Mirch Masala, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai, Trikal, Bhavni Bhavai, Junoon, Mandi, Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!, Ardh Satya, Katha, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, etc.^[1] In the very early stages of his career he acted in a film Dil Aakhir Dil Hai directed by noted director Ismail Shroff, with Rakhi where she played the character of Naseer's elder girl friend kusumji whom he was forced to marry unwillingly because he is quite younger to her(in the film). One of his most important films Masoom (1983) was shot at St Joseph's College, Nainital.

He became active in mainstream Bollywood cinema with the 1980 film Hum Paanch. His next major success in mainstream films was the 1986 multi-starrer film Karma where he acted alongside veteran Dilip Kumar. Starring roles for films such as, Ijaazat (1987), Jalwa (1988) and Hero Hiralal (1988) followed. In 1988 he played opposite his wife Ratna Pathak as Inspector Ghote, the fictional detective of H. R. F. Keating's novels in the Merchant-Ivory English language film The Perfect Murder.

He has acted in several multi-starrer Bollywood films as well, such as, Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989) and Vishwatma (1992). In 1994, he acted as the villain in Mohra, his 100th film as an actor. He strongly believed that the distinction between art and commercial films had largely reduced, especially with the directors of the former also making commercial films. In 2000 his dream of playing Mahatma Gandhi was realized when he played Gandhi in Kamal Hassan's critically acclaimed Hey Ram which focused on the assassination of Gandhi from the assailant's point of view. He won a lot of critical acclaim by acting as Mohit, the drunken coach to a deaf and mute boy in Iqbal which was written by Vipul K Rawal keeping specially him in mind. He also worked in the critically acclaimed A Wednesday (2008).

Later, he starred in international projects such as Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and a Hollywood comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003 (co-starring Sean Connery) where he played the role of Captain Nemo. His portrayal of Nemo was very close to the design of the graphic novel, although his Nemo was far less manic. He worked in an Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, titled Maqbool and Rajiv Rai's Asambhav in 2004. He then went on to work in The Great New Wonderful. He was most recently seen in Ishqiya. Shah's upcoming films include The Hunt where he plays a recluse growing marijuana in his forest retreat.

He made his Pakistani film debut in Khuda Ke Liye by Shoaib Mansoor where he played a short cameo.

Other media and art forms[link]

In 1977, he along with Tom Alter and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play was Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which was staged at Prithvi Theatre on 29 July 1979.^[2]

In 1988, he acted in the eponymous television series based on the life and times of Mirza Ghalib, directed by Gulzar and telecast on DD National.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989, he had also acted as the Maratha King Shivaji in another eponymous television series Bharat Ek Khoj based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book The Discovery of India.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, he acted as a special agent in a TV Series Tarkash, coming in Zee TV. He played the role of a retired agent haunted by nightmares who is re-inducted as he apparently knows something about a dreaded terrorist somehow connected with his past.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, he played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the play Mahatma Vs. Gandhi, (which looked at the Mahatma's relation with Harilal Gandhi, his first son).^[3] With this, he achieved his objective of portraying Mahatma Gandhi, a role he had auditioned for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi.^[4] In 2000, he again portrayed the Mahatma, this time on film, in Hey Ram.^{[citation needed]}

He played the villain with dual identity of a Ghazal singer and Pakistani spy who supports terrorism in India in Sarfarosh (1999).^{[citation needed]}

He played the role of Mohit, a drunken coach, in the critically acclaimed film Iqbal (film). The role was specially written keeping him in mind by Vipul K Rawal, the writer of Iqbal (film). The film was recently voted as one of Ten Hindi Films that is considered ideal training and motivational material.

He was the first of several celebrity actors, who played the role of narrator in the popular audiobook series for kids Karadi Tales,.^{[citation needed]} He was also the narrator in the film Paheli - the Indian entry to the 2006 Academy Awards.^{[citation needed]}

He has been awarded the life membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television.^{[citation needed]}

As director[link]

Naseeruddin Shah has been giving performances with his theatre troupe at places such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Lahore. He has directed plays written by Lavender Kumar, Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.

His directorial debut in movie, Yun Hota To Kya Hota, was released in 2006. The movie stars several established actors such as Konkona Sen Sharma, Paresh Rawal, Irfan Khan, newcomer Ayesha Takia, his son Imaad Shah and his old friend Ravi Baswani.

Personal life[link]

He first got married to Parvin Murad, Surekha Sikri’s step sister. He has a daughter named Heeba Shah from his first marriage. He married Bollywood actress Ratna Pathak Shah in 1982 after the death of his first wife.^{[citation needed]} He has two sons from his second marriage Imaad and Vivaan. He has co-starred with Ratna in films like Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, Mirch Masala and The Perfect Murder.^[5][6]

Awards[link]

Other Awards[link]

• 2000: Won: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• 2000: Won: IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Award — Artistic Excellence for Performance in a Negative Role for Sarfarosh

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Director[link]

• Yun Hota To Kya Hota (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (February 2012)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Naseeruddin Shah

• Full Filmography
• Article about Shah's direction of plays
• An interview about state of Bollywood movies
• An article about Naseerudddin Shah's directorial debut in Cinema
• Award at the International Film Festival of Mumbai
• Naseeruddin Shah is a master at work
• Naseeruddin Shah to play Professor Shanku?
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076089/

v t e Shah family 1st generation Muhammed Shah (Jan-Fishan Khan) 2nd generation Nawab Muhammad Ali Shah-Nawab Of Khanpur Sardar Bhadur Meer Khan 3rd generation Amjad Ali Shah-Sultan Mohammed Khan 4th generation Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah · Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah · Rahat Ali Shah.Saadat Ali Shah 5th generation Amina Shah · Omar Ali-Shah · Idries Shah · Aqil Hussain Barlas · Naseeruddin Shah · Syed Kamal · Agha Sarwat Ali Shah . Mobeen Zehra Shah(Suhaila). Mir Ahmed Shah 6th generation Arif Ali-Shah · Amina Ali-Shah  · Saira Shah · Tahir Shah · Safia Shah · Owais Shah · Imaad Shah · Faraaz Ahmed Shah. Meraj Ahmed Shah.  · Adil Hussain Barlas  · Sifat Ali Shah. Samat Ali Shah.  · Fahad Ali Shah ·

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Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra at the launch of her book King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema
Born	Anupama Chandra (1962-10-31) October 31, 1962 (age 49) Calcutta, India
Occupation	Author, Journalist, Film critic
Spouse	Vidhu Vinod Chopra (1990 – present)

Anupama Chopra (born February 23, 1967) is an author, journalist and film critic. She has written several books on Indian cinema and has been a movie reviewer with NDTV and India Today.^[1] She is the film critic for the Hindustan Times.^[2]

Early life[link]

Anupama Chopra was born as Anupama Chandra in Calcutta, India. Her father was an executive with Union Carbide and her mother Kamna Chandra was a scriptwriter who penned dialogues for films like Prem Rog and Chandni. Chopra grew up in Mumbai where her family lived in Nepean Sea Road and then in Cuffe Parade. She also lived in Hong Kong for several years as a teenager. In 1987, she graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai with a BA in English Literature. At the advice of her teacher she decided to become a film journalist and earned her MA in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She won the Harrington Award for magazine journalism while at Medill. She later said, "Film journalism was untouchable at the time. Everybody was ashamed and nobody wanted to admit that I worked for Movie."^[3]

Career[link]

Anupama Chopra has written several books. Her first book Sholay: The Making of a Classic (2000) won the 2001 National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema. Her next book Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Bravehearted Will Take The Bride), was published by the British Film Institute in 2002, as part of their Modern Classics Series. Her book, King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema, was featured on the Editor's Choice list of the New York Times Book Review.

Her new book First Day First Show: Writings from the Bollywood Trenches, is a compilation of her articles on Hindi cinema over two decades, published by Penguin India.

Chopra's work has been published in India Today, India’s largest English language magazine. She has also written about Bollywood for various international publications such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Variety and Sight & Sound. Chopra presents and scripts a weekly film review show called Picture This on NDTV 24x7.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Chopra is married to Bollywood filmmaker and director Vidhu Vinod Chopra. She is the sister of Bollywood director and screenwriter Tanuja Chandra and writer Vikram Chandra.^[3]

Bibliography[link]

• A truly motivational book, One Book for Life Success
• Sholay: The Making of a Classic
• King of Bollywood : Shah Rukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema
• Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Book)
• First Day First Show: Writings from the Bollywood Trenches

References[link]

External links[link]

• Anupama Chopra website

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