THE CLASS OF 50s
ANIL KAPOOR
Global glory
Age: 50, Profile: Actor - producer, Laurels: National Award for Best Actor in Pukar. Screen Award for Best Actor in Virasat and Best Supporting Actor in Taal
The second son of veteran film producer Surinder Kapoor, Anil always aspired to dazzle the celluloid with his acting. He made a dashing breakthrough under his father's banner in Woh 7 Din. He shot to dizzy heights of stardom with blockbuster hits like Karma, Mr India, Tezaab and Ram Lakhan and was the superstar of the late '80s. He made a hit on-screen pair with Madhuri Dixit in films like Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Kishen Kanhaiya and Beta. He kept reinventing himself and starred in a variety of roles that established his histrionic versatility in Eeshwar, Taal, Nayak and Viraasat.
He won his first National Award for Best Actor in Pukar and then diversified into film production with Badhai Ho Badhai and My Wife's Murder. He continued spinning out winning performances in comic bonanzas like No Entry and Welcome and also essayed a light role in Race and a mature role in Subhash Ghai's Black And White. Tashan and Yuvraaj were some of the recent commercial films he was seen in.
He is now sunk himself deep in two home productions - No Problem and Aiesha, the latter starring his daughter Sonam in the title-role. As his daughter rightly summed up, "Dad is too young to play my father on screen!"
Big-ticket director
Age: 58, Profile: Editor-director, Laurels: Box-office wizard
After Partner, the winning jodi of Govinda and David Dhawan is back with Do Knot Disturb. The laugh- riot is likely to lure legions of their fans back to the marquee. Dhawan has also been simultaneously directing Hook Ya Crook, a jail escape drama with cricket as the backdrop. His box- office credentials make him the B-Town's big-ticket director. Ironically, he was trained at the Film and Television Institute of India which is synonymous with more meaningful cinema!
David aka Rajinder Dhawan is a trained film editor and edited several films before turning a director himself with action thrillers Taaqatwar, Jurrat, Aag Ka Gola and Aandhiyan, all of which failed to stir up the box-office. Only after he teamed up with Govinda in a family drama Swarg, did he come into his own.
With Aankhen, a mad -cap comedy starring Govinda, Chunky Pandey and a monkey, Dhawan realised his true calling. He had a natural flair for comedy and together with Govinda he kept the audience in splits for years with a series of comedies like Coolie No 1, Hero No 1 and Jodi No 1. The two have made over a dozen films so far. And their box-office magic continues.
Comedy specialist Dhawan has also a great tuning with Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. While his elder brother Anil Dhawan is a yesteryear hero, his sons Rohit and Varun are all set to enter Bollywood. While the elder son Rohit is directing Come On Pappu, the younger Varun evinces interest in acting. Considered a legend unto himself, the maker of the flashiest and most glam films is a simple man togged invariably in track pants and tees flashing a smile that always reaches his eyes.
Still a sizzler
Age: 52, Profile:Actor - entrepreneur, Laurels: National Award for Best Actress in Rudaali Her fans look forward to her rare appearances. Whether she's lending her voice to an animated feature Jumbo or playing the star mama in Luck By Chance, Dimple Kapadia likes to tread the path less-trodden. She continues to be the fantasy woman for heroes and fashion designers alike. Still a sizzler, she likes to underplay her glam quotient as she declares that the most enjoyable role of life now is that of being a real-life granny. She's diversified to manufacturing handmade candles; her Faraway Tree remains a brand to reckon with. She also helps out daughter Twinkle with her interior designer shop The White Window.
She was just 16 when Raj Kapoor spotted her and launched her in the teen romance Bobby opposite his young son Rishi. Dimple's nubile charm and bikini scene shot her to fame but even before she could taste her newfound stardom, she was married to the reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna. Her career was nipped in the bud and she settled for domesticity and maternity.
Following her divorce at 28, she returned with her original hero Rishi Kapoor with Ramesh Sippy's Saagar. Her fleeting topless scene in the film became a talking point then. She caused ripples with a lovemaking scene with Anil Kapoor
Through the '80s and '90s she kept appearing in films but it was in '93 that she got her due when she was awarded the National Award for Best Actress for her realistic role in Rudaali. The turn of the century saw the emergence of Dimple in a mature avatar as she played Akshaye Khanna's elderly muse in Dil Chahta Hai. She paired up with Rishi in Pyaar Mein Twist and her embittered haus frau part in Being Cyrus won accolades.
The rebel
Age: 59, Profile: Actor, director, Laurels: Padma Bhushan and three National Awards for Best Actor in Sparsh, Paar and Best Supporting Actor in Iqbal. Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in Iqbal. He will play the bride's father in the Broadway
However Padma Bhushan Naseeruddin Shah is contented with essaying multifarious roles on stage for his Motley Group which recently turned 30. An Aligarh Muslim University graduate and National School of Drama and Film and Television Institute of India alumnus - his film debut with Shyam Benegal's Nishant marked the arrival of a rebel. Hailed as the hero of parallel cinema, his films Manthan, Saaransh, Bhavni Bhavai, Chakra, Katha and Bazaar enjoyed a niche following. He dabbled in mainstream films beginning with Hum Paanch followed by Karma, Tridev and Mohra. He essayed his dream role of Mahatma Gandhi in Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram!
Later, he starred in international projects such as Monsoon Wedding and in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen co-starring Sean Connery, he played the evil Captain Nemo. He was seen in the Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye as a secular moulvi. Although he had directed plays for his theatre group earlier, he ventured into film direction with Yun Hota To Kya Hota...What If?, a film based on the 9/11 Twin Tower blasts in the US that failed to work at the box-office.
The success of A Wednesday, in which he portrayed the part of a disgruntled common man who holds the Government to ransom to teach them a lesson brought him back in the limelight. Yet he shuns attention and prefers to play out different roles on stage.
Flying high
Age: 52, Profile: Producer- director, Laurels: Oscar nomination and National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Salaam Bombay! and Golden Camera Award at Cannes Festival for the same
Even as her shaadi flick Monsoon Wedding is being adapted as a Broadway musical, heavy betting is on for her forthcoming Hilary Swank - Richard Gere starrer Amelia for an Oscar nomination! This biopic of the mysterious disappearance of aviation pioneer, feminist and author Amelia Earhart opens in late October. Only thrice in history has a woman been nominated for Best Director, so is Mira Nair now poised to join the distinguished club?
The commercial success of her last release The Namesake enhances her chances further. This Delhi girl sure is flying high. Educated at Delhi and Harvard Universities, she directed four documentaries at the outset of her career - of which India Cabaret, a film about the lives of strippers in a Bombay nightclub, won an award at the American Film Festival in1986.
She made a dazzling feature film debut with Salaam Bombay! in 1988 - it won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also got nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Using the proceeds of the film, she established Salaam Baalak Trust, an organisation for street children.
Her Mississippi Masala starring Denzil Washington and Sarita Choudhury showcased the plight of a displaced Ugandan -Indians living and working in Mississippi. Then followed The Perez Family by Christine Bell and it starred Marisa Tomei.
Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love, a film set in 16th-century India, which celebrated Vatsyayana's treatise on love-making. And then came her big bonanza - Monsoon Wedding in 2001, about a colourful Punjabi Indian wedding - a film that cut across all barriers and turned out to be a huge global hit.
She made it to Hollywood big-league with her Reese Witherspoon film Vanity Fair, never mind if the film didn't work - it established Nair's brand. Her adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake also won her great accolades. Recently, she made a 12-minute movie on AIDS awareness funded by The Gates Foundation called Migration. Maisha, a film lab to help East Africans and South Asians learn to make films, is her pet project and it is conducted in Kampala, Uganda.
She may not have succeeded in snagging Johnny Depp for Shantaram but she's flying high with Amelia.
Firebrand
Age: 58, Profile: Actor-director, Laurels: Three National Awards - for Best Actor in Krantiveer, Best Supporting Actor in Parinda and Agni Sakshi. Screen Award for Best Actor in Krantiveer and Apaharan
He plays the modern Krishna while Ajay Devgan the new age Arjun in Prakash Jha's Rajneeti, which is supposed to be inspired by the basic storyline of Mahabharat. Firebrand artiste Nana Patekar also plans to return to direction 20-years after Prahaar his army-based film which starred Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri Dixit and him. His new directorial venture aims to launch his son, Malhar.
He lives in his farmhouse near Pune and grows his own vegetables and even joins the local farmers' market with his produce. Willful and eccentric, the rough- hewn Marathi theatre actor has always called his shots. Commanding a hefty multi-crore fee for his acting assignments, Patekar lives life by his own rules.
Known for his unique and earthy style of acting and dialogue delivery, he's basically a commercial artiste from Mumbai's prestigious J. J. School of Art. He began his acting stint on Marathi stage and films and graduated to Bollywood with Mohre, but it was with B.R.Chopra's Aaj Ki Awaz (as villain) and N.Chandra's Ankush (as hero) that the Hindi filmdom took notice of him. His fiery act in Krantiveer turned him into a cult hero of the masses.
With Agnisakshi, Khamoshi: The Musical and Taxi No. 9-2-1-1 he proved his well-rounded histrionic capacity. He's been a worthy recipient of the National Award thrice over - once the Best Actor in Krantiveer twice as Best Supporting Actor in Parinda and Agni Sakshi . His comic don role in Welcome added to his popularity. The winner of Screen Award for Krantiveer and Apaharan, Nana Patekar continues to deliver fresh punches with his acting.
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Fan Fictions
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
