AK-47

The AK-47 (also known as the Kalashnikov, AK, or in Russian slang, Kalash) is a selective-fire (semi-automatic and automatic), gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known in the Soviet documentation as Avtomat Kalashnikova (Russian: Автомат Калашникова).

Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year of World War II (1945). In 1946, the AK-47 was presented for official military trials, and in 1948, the fixed-stock version was introduced into active service with selected units of the Soviet Army. An early development of the design was the AKS (S—Skladnoy or "folding"), which was equipped with an underfolding metal shoulder stock. In 1949, the AK-47 was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact.

Even after almost seven decades the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use. The AK-47 has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with armed forces as well as irregular forces worldwide, and was the basis for developing many other types of individual and crew-served firearms. As of 2004..."Of the estimated 500 million firearms worldwide, approximately 100 million belong to the Kalashnikov family, three-quarters of which are AK-47s".

Sadashiv Amrapurkar

Sadashiv Dattaray Amarapurkar (11 May 1950 – 3 November 2014) was an Indian actor, best known for his performances in Marathi and Hindi films in the period 1983 to 1999.

He received the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role in 1991 for Sadak — the first time the award was instituted. In addition to negative roles, he has done supporting roles and, more recently, comic roles.

Personal life

Sadashiv Amarapurkar was born on May 11, 1950, in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra Shevgaon Taluka, Ahmednagar, Nashik Division, in Maharashtra, India.

Sadashiv began acting during his school and college days. While completing his Masters in History at Pune University, he was already pursuing his passion in theatre. A versatile actor, director and writer, he won a number of state as well as national level prestigious awards in theatre and film. His first film was in Govind Nihalani's Ardha Satya (1983) for which he won a Filmfare Award.

He has acted in more than 300 movies in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Haryanvi, Telugu and Tamil. In 1993, he won the best actor in a villainous role Filmfare Award, the first time such award was instituted. In 1993 he also played the role of Inspector Pyare Mohan, in Aankhen, which won him accolades as a comic hero.

Ashish Vidyarthi

Ashish Vidyarthi is an Indian film actor known who works in multiple language films, predominantly in Bollywood, and Telugu cinema. He is noted for his antagonist characters. In 1995, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, for Drohkaal.

Early life

He was born in June 19, 1962 (age 53 years)Kannur, Kerala, to Reba Vidyarthi, a Kathak dancer of Bengali origin and Govind Vidyarthi, a Malayali theater personality from Thalassery, Kannur. Ashish got his surname from his father, who took on the surname 'Vidyarthi' as a tribute to freedom fighter Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi who died in Kanpur riots during the time of partition of India. He moved to Delhi in 1969 and joined the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Mehta Vidyalaya, where he won acclaim for his performances as an actor in dramatic and comedic roles. He attended Hindu College and earned a BA in History.

Career

He had a presence in the theatre circuit but he was first noticed by television audience in Sai Paranjpye comedy series Hum Panchi Ek Chawl Ke. He started acting in minor roles in regional television serials. Vidyarthi's film career began with a supporting role in the Kannada Film Anand. Later, he starred with Suresh Gopi in Hijack (1991). His break in Hindi films came with Naajayaz and Baazi.

Om Puri

Om Rajesh Puri OBE (born 18 October 1950) is an Indian actor who has appeared in mainstream commercial Indian and British films, Independent films and art films. His credits also include appearances in American films. He has been awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India.

Early life

Om Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana, to a Punjabi Hindu family. His father worked in the railways and in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.

Career

Puri has worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He made his film debut in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name by Vijay Tendulkar. It was directed by K. Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. Along with Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, he was among the main actors who starred in what was then referred to as art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992).