Kshatriya

Kshatriya (from kshatra, "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of the Hindu society. The Sanskrit term kshatriya is used in the context of Vedic society wherein members organised themselves into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya and sudra. Traditionally, the kshatriya constituted the ruling and military elite. Their role was to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime.

Origins

Early Rigvedic tribal chiefdom

The administrative machinery in the Rig Vedic period functioned with a tribal chief called Rajan whose position was not hereditary. The king was elected in a tribal assembly, which included women, called Samiti. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle; was assisted by a priest; and did not maintain a standing army, though in the later period the rulership appears to have risen as a class. The concept of fourfold varna system was non-existent.

Later Vedic period

The later addition of the hymn Purusha Sukta to the Rig-veda describes the mythical history of the four varna. Some scholars consider the Purusha Sukta to be a late interpolation into the Rig-veda based on the neological character of the composition, as compared to the more archaic style of the vedic literature. Since not all dark-skinned Indians was fully regulated under the varna in the vedic society, the Purusha Sukta was supposedly composed in order to secure vedic sanction for the heredity caste scheme. An alternate explanation is that the word 'Shudra' does not occur anywhere else in the Rig-veda except the Purusha Sukta, leading some scholars to believe the Purusha Sukta was a composition of the later Rig-vedic period itself to denote, legitimise and sanctify an oppressive and exploitative class structure that had already come into existence then.

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan (IPA: [əmɪˈtaːbʱ ˈbəttʃən]; born 11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s for movies like Zanjeer and Deewar, and was dubbed India's first "angry young man" for his on-screen roles in Bollywood. Often referred to in the media as the "Shahenshah of Bollywood", "Star of the Millennium" or "Big B", he has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades. Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. So total was his dominance of the movie scene in the 1970s and 1980s that the French director François Truffaut called him a "one-man industry."

Bachchan has won numerous accolades in his career, including three National Film Awards as Best Actor and many awards at international film festivals and award ceremonies. He has won 15 Filmfare Awards and is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 40 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He also had a stint in politics in the 1980s.

Sunny Deol

Sunny Deol (born Ajay Singh Deol, 19 October 1957) is an Indian film actor, director and producer known for his works exclusively in Hindi cinema. He is the son of veteran actor Dharmendra, and the elder brother of actor Bobby Deol. In a film career spanning twenty five years, Deol has won two National Film Awards, and two Filmfare Awards. Deol made his debut in the film Betaab for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. From there, he went on to star in numerous films in the 80s and 90s like Tridev, Arjun, Kroadh, Ghayal, Vishwatma, Lootere, Darr, Damini – Lightning, Jeet, Ghatak, Border, Ziddi, Arjun Pandit, and Indian. He made his debut as a director and producer with Dillagi, in which he also starred alongside his brother Bobby. Deol made his debut opposite fellow debutant Amrita Singh in Betaab (1983), which was a blockbuster that launched the careers of both actors. His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award Nomination.

Raveena Tandon

Raveena Tandon is an Indian actress, producer, and a former model. She has primarily worked in Bollywood films, though she appeared in a few Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada cinemas.

Tandon made her acting debut with Patthar Ke Phool (1991), and won a Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year for her performance in the film. During the 1990s, she was part of several commercial successes such as Dilwale (1994), Mohra (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Ziddi (1997), among others. Despite attaining popularity, her main successful period evolved in the early 2000s, when she ventured into more serious roles and turned towards arthouse and parallel cinema. She got high critical acclaim for her performances in films like Aks (2001), Satta (2003), Shool (1999), and Sandhya (2002). She was at the peak of her career in 2002, when she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lajmi's Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001).

In 2012 she appeared as a host on the TV show Isi Ka Naam Zindagi.

Lawrence D'Souza

Lawrence D'Souza is an Indian film director (earlier worked as cinematographer) known for his Hindi films of the 1990s.

Filmography

Notes

Nadeem Shravan has given music for all his movies except dil tera diwana. Saajan was the biggest blockbuster movie of his career.

External links