Datta

Datta may refer to:

Suresh Wadkar

Suresh Ishwar Wadkar is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films and in Konkani.

Music teaching

In 1968, when Suresh Wadkar was 13, Jialal Vasant encouraged him to work towards the "Prabhakar" certificate offered by the Prayag Sangit Samiti, because it was equivalent to a BEd and qualifies the awardee to teach professionally. Wadkar successfully completed his "Prabhakar" and joined Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai as a music teacher.

He has a music school in Mumbai, India (www.ajivasan.com) and New Jersey/New York City (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com) where methodical training is given to students. He has also started an online music school, called SWAMA (Suresh Wadkar Ajivasan Music Academy), under Ace Open University.

Singing career

Though groomed for Indian classical music, he entered the Sur-Singar competition in 1976. Wadkar won the competition which was judged by composers from the Indian film industry including Jaidev. Jaidev later offered him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" in the film Gaman (released in 1978). He also performed in the film Paheli (released 1977).

Mithun Chakraborty

Gourang Chakraborty, better known by his stage name Mithun Chakraborty (Bengali: মিঠুন চক্রবর্তী); informally referred to as Mithun Da, is an Indian film actor, singer, producer, writer, social worker, entrepreneur and a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the art house drama Mrigayaa (1976), for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor.

He began his career as a junior actor and went on to establish himself as one of the top lead actors in Bollywood. He is particularly recognized as one of the best "dancing-heroes" in Bollywood with his unique "Disco and Desi" fusion-style dancing that is immensely popular among the masses. Along with legendary actor Raj Kapoor, Chakraborty is hugely popular in Russia for his role as dancer Jimmy in the 1982 Bollywood film Disco Dancer. He later won two more National Film Awards for his performances in Tahader Katha (1992) & Swami Vivekananda (1998). Chakraborty has appeared in more than 350 films including Bengali, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Telugu and Punjabi pictures.

Padmini Kolhapure

Padmini Kolhapure (Marathi: पद्मिनी कोल्हापुरे; born 1 November 1965) is an Indian actress who appeared primarily in Bollywood films during the 1980s. She made her television debut portraying Pallavi Modi in the Sony Entertainment Television India series Ekk Nayi Pehchaan.

Early life

Padmini Kolhapure was born second among the three daughters of Pandharinath Kolhapure, a professional musician, by his wife Anupama Kolhapure. Her younger sisters are the former actress Tejaswini Kolhapure, and Shivangi Kapoor, wife of actor Shakti Kapoor and mother of actress Shraddha Kapoor.

Padmini's family belongs to the Gomantak Maratha Samaj, the major Devadasi community of Maharashtra state, whose ancestral vocation is the performing arts (singing and dancing). The family took the surname "Kolhapure" because they hailed from Kolhapur. Padmini's father, Pandharinath Kolhapure, was a talented vocalist and Veena player. He was the son of Master Krishna Rao (sometimes referred to as Krishnarao Kolhapure), an exponent of Natya Sangeet who had enjoyed the patronage of the Baroda Durbar. Pandharinath's mother was the sister of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, and the natural sister of Balwantrao Abhisheki, the father of vocalist Jitendra Abhisheki. Thus, Padmini is a niece of legendary singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. Indeed, the two families has always enjoyed close ties. Master Krishna Rao and his brother-in-law Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, together with Chintamanrao Kolhatkar, had once founded their own theatre troupe known as "Balwant Mandali," which however met with only moderate success. Padmini's mother, Anupama Kolhapure, was born into a Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmin family belonging to Mangalore in Karnataka. She formerly used to work as ground staff with Air India.

Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s and also make a debut in Tamil cinema via 1992 blockbuster crime drama Amaran. He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1968 for his performance in Brahmachari and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhaata in 1982.

Shammi Kapoor is hailed as one of the most entertaining lead actors that Hindi cinema has ever produced. He was one of the leading stars of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s, the 1960s and early '70s. He made his Hindi Film debut in 1953 with the film Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits like Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Singapore, Junglee, College Girl, Professor, China Town, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Kashmir Ki Kali, Janwar, Teesri Manzil, An Evening in Paris, Bramhachari, Andaz and Sachaai.

Early life

He was given the name Shamsher Raj Kapoor at his birth in Bombay (now Mumbai) to film and theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor and Ramsharni Kapoor (née Mehra). Shammi was the second of the three sons born to Prithviraj (the other two being Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, both successful Hindi Film actors).