1.
Esha Deol
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Esha Deol is an Indian film actress and model who predominantly appears in Hindi films. She earned critical acclaim for her performance and was part of commercially successesful films like LOC Kargil, Yuva, Dhoom, Insan, Kaal, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Dus, No Entry, Shaadi No.1 and she made her comeback in Tell Me O Kkhuda. She starred opposite prominent actors like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, born to famous Bollywood actress of Tamil origin Hema Malini and Bollywood actor of Punjabi origin Dharmendra. She has a younger sister Ahana Deol and her older half siblings are Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Vijayta and Ajeeta, through her fathers first marriage to Prakash Kaur. Deol attended Mithibai College in Mumbai where she planned to become a fashion designer, Deol trained in the Odissi dancing style under Mumbai guru Rabindra Atibuddhi. She was trained by and performs classical Bharatanatyam dance with her mother, Deol decided to join the acting line of her parents and became a second-generation actress. She started her career in a lead role with Vinay Shuklas Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe opposite Aftab Shivdasani, with Sanjay Kapoor, Jaya Bachchan. This movie was a box office failure, Deol received mixed reactions from critics upon her performance. Savera R Someshwar of Rediff wrote Esha, as a person, shes athletic and seems perfectly capable of looking after herself in any situation. Esha, on screen, is required to convey three emotions, Love, sorrow and fear and she is just unable to look terrorised. Even her alleged romance with costar Aftab has not helped her shed her stern demeanour in her romantic scenes, rakesh Budhu of Planet Bollywood wrote She isn’t horrible, but given the hype, the demands and of course, comparisons, she surely isn’t up to the mark. Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe is just plain old mediocre in such a way that you end up noticing the flaws in Esha’s performance more and her facial expressions need work, her attitude is beautiful but she seems too stern when it is not required. Of course, she is close to being a washout. Despite mixed reactions and box office failure, Deol won numerous awards for her including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut at the 48th Filmfare Awards. Deols second film was Arjun Sabloks love triangle Na Tum Jaano Na Hum opposite Saif Ali Khan, the film flopped at the box office. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFm praised her acting and wrote it is Esha Deol who surprises you with a mature performance, although her looks are inconsistent, the youngster takes on the role with utmost sincerity and comes out with a natural performance. She has been better presented when compared to her debut film, bhavna Giani of Rediff praised Deols acting and dancing and compared it to Deols mother Hema Malini. Giani wrote As far as go, Esha is quite good
2.
Kareena Kapoor
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Kareena Kapoor, also known by her married name Kareena Kapoor Khan, is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and this initial success was followed by a series of commercial failures and repetitive roles, which garnered her negative reviews. The year 2004 marked a point for Kapoor when she played against type in the role of a sex worker in the drama Chameli. She went on to receive Filmfare Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her performances in the 2007 romantic comedy Jab We Met, married to actor Saif Ali Khan, with whom she has a son, Kapoors off-screen life is the subject of widespread coverage in India. She has a reputation for being outspoken and assertive, and is recognised for her contributions to the industry through her fashion style. In addition to acting, Kapoor is a stage performer and has contributed as a co-author to three books, an autobiographical memoir and two nutrition guides. She has also launched her own clothing line in association with the retail chain Globus, born on 21 September 1980 in Bombay, Kapoor is the younger daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita, her elder sister Karisma is also an actress. She is the granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, maternal granddaughter of actor Hari Shivdasani. According to Kapoor, the name Kareena was derived from the book Anna Karenina and she is of Punjabi descent on her fathers side, and on her mothers side she is of Sindhi and British descent. As a child, Kapoor regularly practised Hinduism with her family, despite her family background, her father disapproved of women entering films because he believed it conflicted with the traditional maternal duties and responsibility of women in the family. This led to a conflict between her parents, and they separated and she was then raised by her mother, who worked several jobs to support her daughters until Karisma debuted as an actress in 1991. After living separately for years, her parents reconciled in October 2007. Kapoor remarked My father is also an important factor in my life though we did not see him often in our initial years, Kapoor attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, followed by Welham Girls School in Dehradun. She attended the institution primarily to satisfy her mother, though later admitted to liking the experience, according to Kapoor, she wasnt inclined towards academics though received good grades in all her classes except mathematics. After graduating from Welham she studied commerce for two years at Mithibai College in Vile Parle, Kapoor then registered for a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard Summer School in the United States. She later developed an interest in law, and enrolled at the Government Law College, Mumbai, during this period, however, after completing her first year, Kapoor decided to pursue her interest to become an actress. She began training at an institute in Mumbai mentored by Kishore Namit Kapoor. While training at the institute, Kapoor was cast as the lead in Rakesh Roshans Kaho Naa
3.
Chennai
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Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/, formerly known as Madras /məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the biggest cultural, economic, according to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-largest city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked 43rd most visited city in the world for year 2015, the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed Indias health capital, as a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems. Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009,82,790 in 2011, tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the hottest city by the BBC, National Geographic ranked Chennais food as second best in the world, it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is one of the largest city economies of India. Chennai is nicknamed The Detroit of India, with more than one-third of Indias automobile industry being based in the city, in January 2015, it was ranked third in terms of per capita GDP. Chennai has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India, the name Madras is said to have originated from a Portuguese phrase mae de Deus which means mother of god, due to Portuguese influence on the port city. According to some sources, Madras was derived from Madraspattinam, a north of Fort St George. However, it is whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras meaning juice of honey or sugarcane in Sanskrit. The nativity of name Chennai, being of Telugu origin is clearly proved by the historians. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a deed, dated 8 August 1639
4.
Marathi people
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Their language, Marathi, is part of the group of Indo-Aryan languages. The community came to prominence in 1674 when Maratha warriors under Shivaji Maharaj established the Maratha Empire, during ancient period around 230 BC Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty which ruled the region for 400 years. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautami putra Satakarni, the Vakataka dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the 3rd century to the 5th century. The Rashtra kuta Dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the 8th to the 10th century, the Arab traveler Sulaiman called the ruler of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty as one of the 4 great kings of the world. From the early 11th century to the 12th century the Deccan Plateau was dominated by the Western Chalukya Empire, the Seuna dynasty, also known as the Yadav dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the 13th century to the 14th century. The Yadavas were defeated by the Khiljis in 1321, in the mid-17th century, Shivaji Maharaj founded the Maratha Empire by conquering the Desh and the Konkan region from the Adilshahi, and re-establish Hindavi Swaraj. The Marathas are credited to an extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. After Shivajis death, the Mughals, who had lost significant ground to the Marathas under Shivaji, the war against the Mughals was then led by the Sambhajis younger brother and successor Rajaram Chhatrapati. Upon Rajarams death in 1700, his widow Tarabai took command of Maratha forces, in 1707, upon the death of Aurangzeb, the War of 27 years between the much weakened Mughals and Marathas came to an end. The empire was expanded by many chieftains including Peshwa Bajirao Ballal I and his descendants, the Shindes, Gaekwad, Pawar, Bhonsale of Nagpur, the empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar in the north, and Bengal in the east. Pune under the Peshwa became the seat with envoys, ambassadors. However, after the Third battle of Panipat in which the Marathas were defeated by Ahmed Shah Abdali, due to the efforts of Mahadji Shinde, it remained a confederacy until the British East India Company defeated Peshwa Bajirao II. Nevertheless, several Maratha states remained as vassals of the British until 1947 when they acceded to the Dominion of India, the Marathas also developed a potent Navy circa 1660s, which at its peak, dominated the territorial waters of the western coast of India from Mumbai to Savantwadi. It would engage in attacking the British, Portuguese, Dutch, the Maratha Navy dominated till around the 1730s, was in a state of decline by the 1770s, and ceased to exist by 1818. Areas that correspond to present day Maharashtra were under direct or indirect British rule, first under the East India company and then under British crown from 1858. Marathi people during this era resided in the Bombay presidency, Berar, Central provinces, Hyderabad state, significant Marathi population also resided in Maratha princely states far from Maharashtra such as Baroda, Gwalior, Indore, and Tanjore. British rule over more than a century saw changes that were seen in all spheres, social, economic. The majority of Marathi people are Hindus, minorities by religion include Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Jews
5.
R. Madhavan
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Ranganathan Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer and film producer. Madhavan has received two Filmfare Awards, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations and he has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal, appearing in films from seven different languages. Madhavan began his career with television guest appearances, including a role on the Zee TV prime-time soap opera Banegi Apni Baat in 1996. After appearing in commercials and in roles, he later gained recognition in the Tamil film industry through Mani Ratnams successful romance film Alaipayuthey. Madhavan soon developed an image as a hero with notable roles in two of 2001s highest grossing Tamil films, Gautham Menons directorial debut Minnale and Madras Talkies Dumm Dumm Dumm. Madhavan was cast alongside Kamal Haasan in the 2003 drama Anbe Sivam, in 2004, he gave a critically acclaimed performance as the antagonist in the multi-starrer Aayutha Ezhuthu and the film secured him his first Filmfare Award for the intense portrayal of a rogue. He simultaneously worked on Tamil films, gaining acclaim for his portrayal of a vigilante in his home production Evano Oruvan and for the successful bilingual horror film. After appearing in further box office hits, Tanu Weds Manu and Vettai, returning after a three-year sabbatical in 2015, his comeback films, the romantic-comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns and the sports drama Irudhi Suttru, both won critical and commercial acclaim. In addition to his career, Madhavan has worked as a writer on his films, hosted television programmes and has been a prominent celebrity endorser for brands. He has also worked as a producer, first making Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films. Madhavan is noted for his activities and promotes various causes such as environment, health. He is particularly vocal about the protection of animals and was awarded PETAs Person of the Year recognition in 2012, Madhavan was born on 1 June 1970 in Jamshedpur, Bihar, India, to a Tamil family. His father Ranganathan was a management executive in Tata Steel and his mother and his younger sister, Devika, is a software engineer settled in the United Kingdom. He had a Tamil-speaking upbringing in Bihar, in 1988, Madhavan gained a scholarship to represent India as a cultural ambassador from Rajaram College, Kolhapur and spent a year in Stettler, Alberta, Canada as part of an exchange programme. He returned to Kolhapur and completed his education, graduating with a degree in electronics, as a result of this opportunity, he received training with the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, which he had, at a point, considered joining. However he missed the age cut-off by six months and was unable to join the programme. During the period, he won the Indian Championship for Public Speaking and subsequently represented India at the Young Businessmen Conference in Tokyo. During his stint in Mumbai, he opted to create a portfolio, in early 1996, Madhavan worked on a sandalwood talc advertisement directed by Santosh Sivan, who later recommended him to Mani Ratnam to take part in a screen test for a role in Iruvar
6.
Neetu Chandra
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Neetu Chandra is an Indian actress, producer and theatre artist. She has her own house called Champaran Talkies, winning the National Award for the film Mithila Makhaan. Neetu Chandra was born in Patna, Bihar, India and she was educated at the Notre Dame Academy, Patna and completed her undergraduate education at Delhis Indraprastha College. She started modelling and Neetu gives credit of her success to her mother and she has appeared in several advertisements and videos for firms since her graduation. She holds two Dan black belts in Taekwondo and represented India in the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong, Neetu Chandras brother is Nitin Chandra who also directed the movie Deswa. She entered Hindi film industry in 2005 with Garam Masala in which she portrayed Sweety and she also acted in Godavari, a Telugu film, in 2006. In 2007 she appeared in Madhur Bhandarkars film, Traffic Signal, in 2008, she had four releases, being directed by Dibakar Banerjee, Rahul Dholakia, Ashwini Dheer and Vikram. Her Tamil film, Yavarum Nalam with Madhavan, released in 2009, was declared a major hit. In 2010 she was seen in four Hindi films, Rann, Apartment, No Problem, in which she made a appearance, and Sadiyaan. In 2011 Deswa, a Bhojpuri film which she produced and which was directed by her brother, is released, in 2013, she acted in the Tamil gangster film Ameerin Aadhi Baghavan with Jayam Ravi. She has completed filming for a Greek film Home Sweet Home and she had to learn Greek for the film and also dubbed herself. She has two Hindi films, Kusar Prasad Ka Bhoot and Shooter, coming up, Chandra was signed as the brand ambassador for the Hoop, a Gitanjali brand. She also took part in a commercial for Mysore Sandal Soap, Neetu Chandra also appeared in music director Ismail Darbars music video Rasiya Saajan along with Zubeen Garg. She was also seen in the video of Bombay Vikings singer Neeraj Shridhars hit single Aa Raha Hoon Main. She is a Life Member of International Film And Television Club, in 2013, Chandra made her debut in theatre, in a play, called Umrao, which featured her in the title role. The Times of India wrote that, Neetu Chandras debut on stage, though confident, doesnt create the desired impact, in 2008, 7Seas Technologies launched a 3D mobile game, Neetu — The Alien Killer, with Neetu Chandra as the lead character. Neetu was featured on the cover of the January 2009 issue of Indian Maxim, Neetu began a relationship with actor Randeep Hooda in mid 2010 but the couple parted ways in 2013. Neetu Chandra at the Internet Movie Database
7.
Poonam Dhillon
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Poonam Dhillon is an Indian Hindi film, theatre and TV actress. A former Femina Miss India, Dhillon has acted in over 80 films. She is best known for her 1979 film, Noorie, for her six films with Rajesh Khanna Red Rose, Dard, Nishaan, Zamana, Awam and Sohni Mahiwal, Samundar, Saveray Wali Gaadi, Karma, Naam. Dhillon participated in Bigg Boss in 2009 and was playing the lead role of Sharda Modi in the Sony TV series Ekk Nayi Pehchaan in 2013. The first time Dhillon gained fame was when she got crowned Miss Young India 1978 at the age of 16, director Yash Chopra noticed her and offered her a role in the film Trishul where she performed the song Gapoochi Gapoochi gum gum with co-star Sachin Pilgaonkar. Chopra then gave her the role in Noorie, which he produced. For this, Dhillon was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress, subsequently she did about 90 films in Hindi, including Sohni Mahiwal, Red Rose, Teri Kasam, Dard, Nishana, Yeh Vada Raha, Samunder, Romance, Kasam, and Sitamgar. She was often paired with Rajesh Khanna and together, they performed in Dard, Nishaan, Zamana and Awam and Red Rose and she featured in six films opposite Rajesh Khanna. She did a cameo in Judaai as a favor to producer Boney Kapoor after Juhi Chawla dropped out and she also appeared in regional films such as Nyay Danda, Yuddha Kaanda and Ishtam. She has been in Hindi theater, The Perfect Husband which won the best comedy award in 2005. She then did two plays The Perfect Wife co-starring Sooraj Thapar and Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi with Asif Sheikh. Currently she is doing a play called U TURN which is the Hindi vesion of a Marathi play Dhillon ventured into the van business. She runs a make-up van company, VANITY, coming from an academic family where her father was an aeronautical engineer, her mother was Principal in a school, and her two siblings and both doctors. Poonam did her graduation after joining Films at age 16, currently she is doing her MBA in International Business. She has been active with social causes like drug awareness, AIDS awareness, family planning. Dhillon was the fourth guest on Bigg Boss aired on Colors TV and she ended up as runner-up on the show. She has been a prominent speaker at SAARC business summit at Kathmandu and she was also a speaker at the MINDMINE event. She did a show to Save and Empower the Girl Child with Lilavati Hospital, recently she has also launched an event and film production company, Poetic Justice Films Pvt Ltd
8.
Alaipayuthey
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Alaipayuthey is a 2000 Tamil musical romantic drama film co written co produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. Starring R. Madhavan and Shalini, the film explores the tensions of married life, the score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. The films story is mostly recollected in flashbacks by the character Karthik, Karthik and Shakthi fall in love against the backdrop of Chennai and its suburban trains, against the wishes of their parents. The film was received by critics and it did well at the Tamil and Telugu box-offices primarily for its music and realistic portrayal of romance. The film made its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001 and it was shown at various film festivals nationally and internationally. It also carried a popular soundtrack, composed by A. R. Rahman. Alaipayuthey was also released in Telugu as Sakhi and was remade and released in Hindi cinema in 2002, as Saathiya. Karthik Varadarajan is an independent and free-spirited software engineering graduate establishing a software start-up with his friends, at a friends wedding, he meets Shakti Selvaraj, a student of medicine at Madras Medical College. They continue to bump each other on local trains that they both use on their daily commute, and fall in love. Karthik pursues Shakti aggressively and proposes marriage, Shakthi, however, is reluctant, while apart, both Karthik and Shakti realize that they are desperately in love and decide to get married without the knowledge or consent of their parents. They continue living separate lives after marriage, meeting outside of their homes and hoping that their parents will see eye to eye at point in the future. However, when Shaktis older sister Poorni is on the verge of getting engaged, Shakti confesses to her parents and Raghus family that she is already married, Poornis engagement is called off and her parents throw her out of the house. Karthik too divulges the same to his parents and is asked by his father to leave his house. The marriage gets increasingly tense as both cope with frustrations and disappointments, Shakti learns that her father is seriously ill and requests Karthik to visit him. Karthik declines, citing her fathers hatred of him as the main reason and he eventually agrees, but by the time they reach her house, Shakti father passes away. Wracked with guilt, the two return home, their taking a turn for the worse. The two stop talking to each other, meanwhile, Karthik takes it upon himself to sort out Poornis love life and her broken engagement to Raghu. He arranges a date between the two, which initially fails, backfiring on Karthik, however, with more meetings, Poorni
9.
Hindustan Times
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Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period. The newspaper is owned by Rajya Sabha M. P. Shobhana Bhartia and it is the flagship publication of HT Media. Hindustan Times is one of the largest newspapers in India, by circulation, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.16 million copies as of November 2015. The Indian Readership Survey 2014 revealed that HT is the second most widely read English newspaper in India after The Times of India. It is popular in North India, with editions from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal. The print location of Jaipur was discontinued from June 2006 and that of Nagpur edition was discontinued from September 1997, HT launched a youth daily, HT Next, in 2004. The Mumbai edition was launched on 14 July 2005 and the Kolkata edition was launched in early 2000. In 2014 however, Hindustan Times was ranked 360th among Indias most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory, other sister publications of Hindustan Times are Mint, Hindustan, Nandan and Kadambani. Hindustan Times is owned by the KK Birla branch of the Birla family, Hindustan Times was founded in 1924 by Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, founder-father of the Akali movement and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab Province. S Mangal Singh Gill and S. Chanchal Singh were made in charge of the newspaper, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Tara Singh were among the members of the Managing Committee. The Managing Chairman and Chief Patron was Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, K. M. Panikkar was its first editor, Devdas Gandhi on the editors panel, and later editor. The opening ceremony was performed by Mahatma Gandhi on 26 September 1924, the first issue was published from Naya Bazar, Delhi. As an Oxonian, historian, and litterateur, Panikkar must have hoped to make his paper eventually more than an Akali sheet and he became the editor and funds flowed freely from activist Akali patrons. He exerted himself strenuously, but the paper made very little headway, in two years Panikkar could not take the print order any higher than 3,000. By then the Akali movement appeared to lose steam and funds dried up, the paper was saved from an untimely demise when Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya stepped in to realise his vision of a newspaper in Delhi. Malaviya raised ₹50,000 rupees to acquire the Hindustan Times along with the help of nationalist leaders Lajpat Rai and M. R. Jayakar and industrialist G. D. Birla, Birla took full control of the paper in 1933. The paper continues to be owned by the Birla family and it has its roots in the Indian independence movement of the first half of the twentieth century and even faced the noted Hindustan Times Contempt Case at Allahabad High Court. It was edited at times by many important people in India, including Devdas Gandhi, Sri Mulgaonkar, B. G. Verghese, sanjoy Narayan was editor in chief of the paper from August 2008 till July 2016
