Portal:India
Portal maintenance status: (June 2018)
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Introduction
India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country as of June 2023; and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. (Full article...)
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Ram Narayan (IPA: [raːm naːˈɾaːjəɳ]; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.
Narayan was born near Udaipur and learned to play the sarangi at an early age. He studied under sarangi players and singers and, as a teenager, worked as a music teacher and travelling musician. All India Radio, Lahore, hired Narayan as an accompanist for vocalists in 1944. He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947, but wishing to go beyond accompaniment and frustrated with his supporting role, Narayan moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. (Full article...) -
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Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (pronounced [soːnəm kəˈpuːr]; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received several awards, including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award. One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, Kapoor appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list from 2012 to 2016.
Kapoor, the daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, began her career as an assistant director on filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2005 film Black. She made her acting debut in Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya (2007), a box office flop, and had her first commercial success with the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010). This was followed by a series of commercial failures and repetitive roles, which garnered her negative reviews. The 2013 box office hit Raanjhanaa marked a turning point in Kapoor's career, garnering her praise and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. (Full article...) -
Image 3Anbe Sivam (transl. Love Is God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language slice-of-life drama film directed by Sundar C. and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. Anbe Sivam stars Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod, with Nassar, Santhana Bharathi, Seema and Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. The film tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai.
Produced on a budget of ₹120 million, Anbe Sivam takes on themes such as communism, atheism, and altruism and depicts Haasan's humanist views. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. Arthur A. Wilson served as the cinematographer and M. Prabhaharan served as the art director. (Full article...) -
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The Chalukya dynasty ([tʃaːɭukjə]) was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of the 12th century.
The rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to large empires with the ascendancy of Badami Chalukyas. A Southern India-based kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region between the Kaveri and the Narmada rivers. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called "Chalukyan architecture". Kannada literature, which had enjoyed royal support in the 9th century Rashtrakuta court found eager patronage from the Western Chalukyas in the Jain and Veerashaiva traditions. The 11th century saw the patronage of Telugu literature under the Eastern Chalukyas. (Full article...) -
Image 5Chandralekha (also spelt Chandraleka) is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.
Development began during the early 1940s when, after two successive box-office hits, Vasan announced that his next film would be entitled Chandralekha. However, when he launched an advertising campaign for the film he only had the name of the heroine from a storyline he had rejected. Veppathur Kittoo (one of Vasan's storyboard artists) developed a story based on a chapter of George W. M. Reynolds' novel, Robert Macaire: or, The French bandit in England. Original director T. G. Raghavachari left the film more than halfway through because of disagreements with Vasan, who took over in his directorial debut. (Full article...) -
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Margaret Alice Murray FSA Scot FRAI (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom, she worked at University College London (UCL) from 1898 to 1935. She served as president of the Folklore Society from 1953 to 1955, and published widely over the course of her career.
Born to a wealthy middle-class English family in Calcutta, British India, Murray divided her youth between India, Britain, and Germany, training as both a nurse and a social worker. Moving to London, in 1894 she began studying Egyptology at UCL, developing a friendship with department head Flinders Petrie, who encouraged her early academic publications and appointed her junior lecturer in 1898. In 1902–03, she took part in Petrie's excavations at Abydos, Egypt, there discovering the Osireion temple and the following season investigated the Saqqara cemetery, both of which established her reputation in Egyptology. Supplementing her UCL wage by giving public classes and lectures at the British Museum and Manchester Museum, it was at the latter in 1908 that she led the unwrapping of Khnum-nakht, one of the mummies recovered from the Tomb of two Brothers – the first time that a woman had publicly unwrapped a mummy. Recognising that British Egyptomania reflected the existence of a widespread public interest in Ancient Egypt, Murray wrote several books on Egyptology targeted at a general audience. (Full article...) -
Image 7The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language biographical period film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is about Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary who fought for Indian independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. It features Ajay Devgan as the titular character along with Sushant Singh, D. Santosh and Akhilendra Mishra as the other lead characters. Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal and Amrita Rao play supporting roles. The film chronicles Singh's life from his childhood where he witnesses the Jallianwala Bagh massacre until the day he was hanged to death before the official trial dated 24 March 1931.
The film was produced by Kumar and Ramesh Taurani's Tips Industries on a budget of ₹200–250 million (about US$4.2–5.2 million in 2002). The story and dialogue were written by Santoshi and Piyush Mishra respectively, while Anjum Rajabali drafted the screenplay. K. V. Anand, V. N. Mayekar and Nitin Chandrakant Desai were in charge of the cinematography, editing and production design respectively. Principal photography took place in Agra, Manali, Mumbai and Pune from January to May 2002. The soundtrack and film score is composed by A. R. Rahman, with the songs "Mera Rang De Basanti" and "Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna" being well received in particular. (Full article...) -
Image 8Loev (pronounced love) is a 2015 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Sudhanshu Saria. It stars Dhruv Ganesh and Shiv Panditt as two friends who set off to the Western Ghats for a weekend trip and focuses on their complex emotional and sexual relationship. It was Ganesh's final film, as he died from tuberculosis before its release. Loev also features Siddharth Menon and Rishabh Chaddha in supporting roles. The film's title is a deliberate misspelling of the word "love".
Saria wrote Loev's script while he was working on the draft of the unreleased film I Am Here and drew heavily from his personal experiences. It was eventually picked up for production by Arfi Lamba and Katherine Suckale despite Saria's own doubts on its viability. Principal photography took place at Mahabaleshwar, in the Western Ghats in peninsular India, and at Mumbai. The film was shot in the summer of 2014 over the course of sixteen days by the cinematographer Sherri Kauk in 2K resolution. It relied on crowdfunding and cost-cutting measures; its budget was relatively low at US$1 million. (Full article...) -
Image 9Eega (transl. The Fly) is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film was produced by Sai Korrapati's Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram with an estimated budget of ₹30–40 crore (US$6–7 million). It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil with the title Naan Ee (transl. I, the Fly). The film stars Sudeepa, Nani, and Samantha. M. M. Keeravani composed the songs and the background score, while K. K. Senthil Kumar was the director of photography. Janardhana Maharshi and Crazy Mohan wrote the dialogue for the Telugu and Tamil versions, respectively.
The film's narrative is in the form of a bedtime story told by a father to his daughter. Its protagonist, Nani, who is in love with his neighbour Bindu, is murdered by a wealthy industrialist named Sudeep, who is attracted to Bindu and considers Nani a rival. Nani reincarnates as a housefly and tries to avenge his death and protect Bindu from an obsessive Sudeep. (Full article...) -
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The Kingdom of Mysore, briefly called the Sultanate of Mysore from 1761 to 1799,' was a realm in the southern part of Deccan Plateau (modern-day South India) traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 by two Hindu brothers (claiming Yadava descent), in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with British India. The British took direct control over the princely state in 1831. Upon accession to the Dominion of India, it became Mysore State, later uniting with other Kannada speaking regions to form the state of Karnataka, with its ruler remaining as Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first governor of the reformed state.
The kingdom, which was founded and ruled for the most part by the Hindu Wodeyar family, initially served as feudatories under the Vijayanagara Empire. The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and during the rule of Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large expanses of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan. During a brief Muslim rule, the kingdom shifted to a Sultanate style of administration under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and was renamed the "Sultanat-e-Khudadad", translating into "The God gifted empire". ('Full article...) -
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Priyanka Chopra Jonas (pronounced [pɾɪˈjəŋka ˈtʃoːpɽa]; née Chopra; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the next two years, Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, and in 2022, she was named in the BBC 100 Women list.
Chopra accepted offers to join the Indian film industry following her pageant wins. Her acting debut came in the Tamil film Thamizhan (2002), followed by her first Bollywood feature in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003). She played the leading lady in the box-office hits Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and had her breakout role in the 2004 romantic thriller Aitraaz. Chopra established herself with starring roles in the top-grossing productions Krrish and Don (both 2006), and later reprised her role in their sequels. For playing a troubled model in the drama Fashion (2008), Chopra won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Chopra gained further praise for portraying a range of characters in the films Kaminey (2009), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), Barfi! (2012), Mary Kom (2014), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Bajirao Mastani (2015). (Full article...) -
Image 12Kahaani (IPA: [kəˈɦaːni]; transl. Story) is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language thriller film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Sujoy Ghosh. It stars Vidya Balan as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman looking for her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga Puja, assisted by Assist Sub-Inspector Satyoki "Rana" Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee) and Inspector General A. Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).
Made on a shoestring budget of ₹80 million (US$960,000), Kahaani was conceived and developed by Ghosh, who co-wrote the film with Advaita Kala. The crew often employed guerrilla-filmmaking techniques on Kolkata's city streets to avoid attracting attention. Its creative portrayal of the city and its use of local crew and cast members made it a notable film. Kahaani explores themes of feminism and motherhood in a male-dominated Indian society. The film also makes several allusions to Satyajit Ray's films, such as Charulata (1964), Aranyer Din Ratri (1970), and Joi Baba Felunath (1979). The film's musical score and soundtrack are composed by Clinton Cerejo and Vishal–Shekhar respectively, with cinematography handled by Setu and editing done by Namrata Rao. (Full article...) -
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Mohammed Abdul Karim CVO CIE (1863 — 20 April 1909), also known as "the Munshi", was an Indian attendant of Queen Victoria. He served her during the final fourteen years of her reign, gaining her maternal affection over that time.
Karim was born the son of a hospital assistant at Lalitpur, near Jhansi in British India. In 1887, the year of Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Karim was one of two Indians selected to become servants to the Queen. Victoria came to like him a great deal and gave him the title of "Munshi" ("clerk" or "teacher"). Victoria appointed him to be her Indian Secretary, showered him with honours, and obtained a land grant for him in India. (Full article...) -
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Vijayanagara literature in Kannada is the body of literature composed in the Kannada language of South India during the ascendancy of the Vijayanagara Empire which lasted from the 14th through the 16th century. The Vijayanagara empire was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I. Although it lasted until 1664, its power declined after a major military defeat by the Shahi Sultanates in the battle of Talikota in 1565. The empire is named after its capital city Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround modern Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka.
Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Veerashaiva and Vaishnava faiths, and to a lesser extent to that of Jainism. Writing on secular topics was popular throughout this period. Authorship of these writings was not limited to poets and scholars alone. Significant literary contributions were made by members of the royal family, their ministers, army commanders of rank, nobility and the various subordinate rulers. In addition, a vast body of devotional folk literature was written by musical bards, mystics and saint-poets, influencing society in the empire. Writers of this period popularised use of the native metres: shatpadi (six-line verse), sangatya (compositions meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument), and tripadi (three-line verse). (Full article...) -
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Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai she took part in amateur plays. After graduation, she briefly worked as a model and then as a television presenter.
Pinto rose to prominence with her film debut in the drama Slumdog Millionaire (2008), winning a SAG Award and earning a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She earned critical acclaim for her roles in Miral (2010), Trishna (2011), and Desert Dancer (2014). She also saw commercial success with the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and the epic fantasy action film Immortals (2011). Pinto's other notable roles include You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Love Sonia (2018), Hillbilly Elegy (2020), and Mr. Malcolm's List (2022). She also starred in the Showtime miniseries Guerrilla (2017), and had a recurring role in the Hulu series The Path (2018). (Full article...) -
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India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country as of June 2023; and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago.
Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity. Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.
By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest. Its evidence today is found in the hymns of the Rigveda. Preserved by an oral tradition that was resolutely vigilant, the Rigveda records the dawning of Hinduism in India. The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western regions.
By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism,
and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity.
Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin.
Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity, but also marked by the declining status of women, and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief. In South India, the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia. (Full article...) -
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The Western Chalukya Empire (/tʃəˈluːkjə/ chə-LOO-kyə) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the modern Bidar district of Karnataka state, and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Before the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and Central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta empire after a successful invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur region defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani.
For over a century, the two empires of South India, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Thanjavur fought many fierce wars to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage, took sides with the Cholas further complicating the situation. During the rule of Vikramaditya VI, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Western Chalukyas convincingly contended with the Cholas and reached a peak, ruling territories that spread over most of the Deccan, between the Narmada River in the north and Kaveri River in the south. His exploits were not limited to the south for even as a prince, during the rule of Someshvara I, he had led successful military campaigns as far east as modern Bihar and Bengal. During this period the other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysala Empire, the Seuna dynasty, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas and gained their independence only when the power of the Chalukya waned during the later half of the 12th century. (Full article...) -
Image 18Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (transl. "The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride"), also known by the initialism DDLJ, is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on 20 October 1995, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as Raj and Simran, two young non-resident Indians, who fall in love during a vacation through Europe with their friends. Raj tries to win over Simran's family so the couple can marry, but Simran's father has long since promised her hand to his friend's son. The film was shot in India, London, and Switzerland, from September 1994 to August 1995.
With an estimated total gross of ₹200 crore ($60 million) worldwide, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1995 and one of the most successful Indian films in history. When adjusted for inflation, it is the second highest-grossing Indian film of the 1990s, behind Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! It won 10 Filmfare Awards—the most for a single film at that time—and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Its soundtrack album became one of the most popular of the 1990s. (Full article...) -
Image 19Nil Battey Sannata (lit. 'Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing'; slang for "Good For Nothing"), released internationally as The New Classmate, is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex under the banners of Colour Yellow Productions and JAR Pictures, the film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and Nitesh Tiwari. Swara Bhaskar starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out household maid and single mother of a sullen young girl named Apeksha, played by Riya Shukla. The film's theme is a person's right to dream and change their lives, irrespective of social status.
Released in India on 22 April 2016, Nil Battey Sannata was distributed by Eros International and garnered critical and audience acclaim. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, especially its narrative and realism, and the performances of the cast, Bhaskar's in particular. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director, while Bhaskar and Shukla won the Screen Awards for Best Actress (Critics) and Best Child Artist respectively. The film did well at the box-office, collecting a total of around ₹69 million (US$830,000) during its entire theatrical run. The same year, the film was remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku, with Iyer returning to direct. The following year, it was remade in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha. (Full article...) -
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The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Measuring on average 95 to 100 cm (37 to 39 in) from beak tip to end of tail with a 145-to-155 cm (57-to-61 in) wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage, with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A widespread but uncommon species, it breeds in scattered locations across Europe (predominantly in Portugal and Spain, and central and eastern parts), and east across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing broad expanses of the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east, the Strait of Sicily in the center, or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west. An isolated non-migratory population lives in Southern Africa.
Unlike the closely related white stork, the black stork is a shy and wary species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. It feeds on amphibians, small fish and insects, generally wading slowly in shallow water stalking its prey. Breeding pairs usually build nests in large forest trees—most commonly deciduous but also coniferous—which can be seen from long distances, as well as on large boulders, or under overhanging ledges in mountainous areas. The female lays two to five greyish-white eggs, which become soiled over time in the nest. Incubation takes 32 to 38 days, with both sexes sharing duties, and fledging takes 60 to 71 days. (Full article...) -
Image 21Sholay (Hindustani: [ˈʃoːleː] ⓘ, transl. Embers) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. The music was composed by R D Burman.
The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released as a 198-minute long film. In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. The film was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union. It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, and was the highest-grossing film in India up until Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). By numerous accounts, Sholay remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation. (Full article...) -
Image 22Kal Ho Naa Ho (transl. There may be no tomorrow, pronounced [kəl ɦoː naː ɦoː]), also abbreviated as KHNH, is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Nikhil Advani in his directorial debut with a story written by Karan Johar with dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar, and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta, with Sushma Seth, Reema Lagoo, Lillete Dubey, and Delnaaz Irani in supporting roles. In the film, Naina Catherine Kapur (Zinta) and Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan) fall in love, but a secret prevents him from reciprocating his feelings and results in a plan to set Naina up with her best friend, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan).
Collaborating with Johar, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the soundtrack and score. Anil Mehta, Manish Malhotra, and Sharmishta Roy were the cinematographer, costume designer and art director, respectively. Principal photography took place in Toronto, New York City, and Mumbai from January to October 2003. The soundtrack was released on 27 September 2003 to positive reviews; the title song, "It's The Time To Disco", "Kuch To Hua Hai", and "Pretty Woman" were particularly well-received. (Full article...) -
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In May 2003, a tropical cyclone officially called Very Severe Cyclonic Storm BOB 01 produced the worst flooding in Sri Lanka in 56 years. The first storm of the 2003 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed over the Bay of Bengal on May 10. Favorable environmental conditions allowed the system to intensify steadily while moving northwestward. The storm reached peak maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) on May 13, making it a very severe cyclonic storm according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The cyclone drifted north over the central Bay of Bengal, gradually weakening due to heightened wind shear. Turning eastward, the storm deteriorated to a deep depression on May 16 before it curved northeastward and re-intensified into a cyclonic storm. It came ashore in western Myanmar and dissipated over land the following day.
In the wake of prolonged precipitation during the first half of May, the cyclone produced torrential rains across southwest Sri Lanka while stationary in the central Bay of Bengal. The storm drew extensive moisture that coalesced in the mountainous portion of the island. A station at Ratnapura recorded 366.1 mm (14.41 in) of rainfall in 18 hours on May 17, including 99.8 mm (3.93 in) in one hour. In southwestern Sri Lanka, the rainfall caused flooding and landslides that destroyed 24,750 homes and damaged 32,426 others, displacing about 800,000 people. Overall damage totaled about $135 million (2003 USD), and there were 260 deaths. The cyclone also produced some rainfall in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and along the country's eastern coast. The storm funneled moisture away from the mainland, which possibly contributed to a heat wave that killed 1,900 people, and dropped heavy rainfall in Myanmar. (Full article...) -
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Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire (1025–1343) in what is now southern India. The empire was established by Nripa Kama II, came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana (1108–1152), and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji dynasty invaders in 1311.
Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths, and to a lesser extent that of the Vaishnava faith. The earliest well-known brahmin writers in Kannada were from the Hoysala court. While most of the courtly textual production was in Kannada, an important corpus of monastic Vaishnava literature relating to Dvaita (dualistic) philosophy was written by the renowned philosopher Madhvacharya in Sanskrit. (Full article...) -
Image 25Phoolan Devi (10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly known as the Bandit Queen, was an Indian dacoit (bandit) who became a politician, serving as a member of parliament until her assassination. She was a woman of the Mallah subcaste who grew up in poverty in a village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where her family was on the losing side of a land dispute which caused them many problems. After being married off at the age of eleven and being sexually abused by various people, she joined a gang of dacoits. Her gang robbed higher-caste villages and held up trains and vehicles. When she punished her rapists and evaded capture by the authorities, she became a heroine to the Other Backward Classes who saw her as a Robin Hood figure. Phoolan Devi was charged in absentia for the 1981 Behmai massacre, in which twenty Thakur men were executed, allegedly on her command. After this event, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh resigned, and calls to apprehend her were amplified. She surrendered two years later in a carefully negotiated settlement and spent eleven years in Gwalior prison, awaiting trial.
Phoolan Devi was released in 1994 after her charges were set aside; she subsequently became a politician and was elected as a member of parliament for the Samajwadi Party in 1996. She lost her seat in 1998 and then regained it the following year; she was the incumbent at the time of her death in 2001. She was assassinated outside her house by Sher Singh Rana, who was convicted for the murder in 2014. At the time of her death, she was still fighting against the reinstituted criminal charges, having lost a 1996 appeal to the Supreme Court to have the charges dropped. Phoolan Devi's worldwide fame grew after the release of the controversial 1994 film Bandit Queen, which told her life story in a way she did not approve of. Her life has also inspired several biographies and her dictated autobiography was entitled I, Phoolan Devi. There are varying accounts of her life because she told differing versions to suit her changing circumstances. (Full article...)
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Image 1Al-Ameen College of PharmacyPhoto: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAl-Ameen College of Pharmacy is a pharmacy college in Bangalore, India. Established in 1983, it is under the purview of the Al-Ameen Educational Society.
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Image 2Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India. Built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, in 1785, the building reflects a maturation of ornamented Mughal design (as seen in the Badshahi Mosque).
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Image 3Image credit: Vaikunda RajaThe Lotus-Namam is the symbol of Ayyavazhi, a Dharmic belief system that originated in South India in the 19th century. The lotus represents the 1,008-petalled Sahasrara and the flame-shaped white Namam represents the Aanma Jyothi or ātman, sometimes translated as 'soul' or 'self'. The number of practitioners is estimated to be between 700,000 and 8,000,000, although the exact number is unknown, since Ayyavazhis are reported as Hindus during censuses.
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Image 4Photograph credit: Augustus BinuK. T. Thomas (born 30 January 1937) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, known for his strong opinions on Indian socio-political matters. He was selected as a district and sessions judge in 1977, and became a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1985. A decade later, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, on which he served until retiring in 2002. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2007 for services in the field of social affairs.
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Image 5The mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, India. This red sandstone building, on the western side of the complex, faces the west side of the mausoleum. In the forefront is a howz, meant for ablution. On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab ("answer"), a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern; this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance. Both were constructed in 1643.
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Image 6Photo: Marcin BiałekDuladeo Temple, dated to circa A.D. 1000–1150, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Khajuraho, India.
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Image 7A statue of the Hindu god Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. In this form, Shiva performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation. A Telugu and Tamil concept, Shiva was first depicted as Nataraja in the famous Chola bronzes and sculptures of Chidambaram. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in Chidambaram Temple, the foremost Shaivist temple.
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Image 8Photo credit: PeripitusThe national flower of India, Nelumbo nucifera is known by a number of common names, including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, and sacred water-lily. This plant is an aquatic perennial, though under favorable conditions its seeds may remain viable for many years.
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Image 9Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a member of the bird family Coraciidae, the rollers. It occurs widely from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and is designated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The bird is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is commonly found in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and is often seen perched on roadside bare trees and wires, which give it a good view of the ground below where it finds its prey. Its diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but also includes spiders, scorpions, amphibians and small reptiles. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird.
This picture shows an Indian roller of the benghalensis subspecies, photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. -
Image 10Photograph credit: Charles James SharpDanaus genutia, the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, south-eastern Asia and Australia. It prefers areas of moderate to heavy rainfall, and typical habitats include scrubby jungle, deciduous forests and fallow land near habitations. The insect sequesters toxins from plants, and advertises its unpalatability by having prominent markings and striking colour patterns. This adult male common tiger, of the subspecies D. g. genutia, was photographed in Kerala, India.
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Image 11Photograph: Arthur Chapman; edit: Papa Lima Whiskey and Ryan KaldariBrahmaea wallichii, also known as the owl moth, is a moth from the family Brahmaeidae. With a wingspan of about 90–160 mm (3.5–6.3 in), it is one of the largest species of Brahmin moth. This nocturnal species is found in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Japan.
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Image 12Photograph: Augustus BinuArundhati Roy (b. 1961) is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997 Man Booker Prize with her debut novel The God of Small Things. Born in Shillong, Meghalaya, Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting (and later marrying) director Pradip Krishen. She wrote The God of Small Things over a four-year period ending in 1996; it was published the following year and received positive international reviews, although in India the work was controversial. She has continued to write essays and articles, but has yet to publish another novel.
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Image 13Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimBangles on display in Bangalore, India. These rigid bracelets are usually made from metal, wood, or plastic and are traditionally worn by women in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, it is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks.
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Image 14Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAn Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) photographed in Bangalore, India. In India these squirrels are associated with the Hindu deity Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, and as such are not to be harmed. However, in Western Australia they are considered pests and at times targeted for eradication.
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Image 15Photo credit: Luc ViatourA fire breather in the "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band" of India. Fire breathing, which is said to have originated in India, is the act of creating a large flame by spraying, with one's mouth, a flammable liquid upon an open flame. A number of legendary creatures are said to possess innate capabilities for fire breathing, most notably dragons.
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Dimple Kapadia is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Hindi films. She was discovered by Raj Kapoor at age 14, who gave her the title role in his teen romance Bobby (1973), opposite his son Rishi Kapoor. The film became a massive commercial success and made her an overnight star. Her role as a Christian teenager from Goa established her as a youth fashion icon and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Kapadia retired from acting following her marriage to Indian actor Rajesh Khanna earlier in 1973, and returned to the film industry in 1984, after her separation from Khanna. The release of her comeback film, Saagar, was delayed, with Zakhmi Sher becoming the second film of her career. Released in 1985, Saagar earned her a second Best Actress award at Filmfare, and she went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema in the 1980s and early 1990s. The early roles she played following her return included the Hitchcockian thriller Aitbaar (1985), for which she received positive reviews, and the commercially successful action films Arjun (1985) and Janbaaz (1986). During this period, she acted in several films in South India, which she admitted to having made for financial gain and dismissed their quality.
Many of Kapadia's early roles relied on her perceived beauty, and she would struggle to be taken seriously as an actress. She made a decision to accept more serious roles, and won acclaim for her role in the marital drama Kaash (1987). Financial success came with films like Insaniyat Ke Dushman (1987), Insaaf (1987), in which she played double roles; the controversial revenge saga Zakhmi Aurat (1988), in which she played an avenging rape victim; and Ram Lakhan (1989). She started the next decade by venturing into neorealist art films, known in India as parallel cinema, including Drishti (1990), Lekin... (1990), and Rudaali (1993). All these films won her critical praise, and her role as a professional mourner in the latter earned her a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. She further essayed character parts in Prahaar (1991), Angaar (1992), Gardish (1993), and Krantiveer (1994), which garnered her a fourth Filmfare Award, in the Best Supporting Actress category. (Full article...) -
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Ajay Devgn is an Indian actor, director and producer who works in Hindi films. He debuted as an actor in Phool Aur Kaante (1991), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Devgn then played a kickboxer in the martial arts film Jigar (1992) and a blind in Vijaypath (1994). His subsequent hits include Suhaag (1994), Dilwale (1994), Diljale (1996), Jaan (1996), Ishq (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). He garnered Filmfare Best Actor nominations for Naajayaz and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. His performance in Zakhm (1998) secured Devgn his first National Film Award for Best Actor. In 2000, Devgn started Ajay Devgn FFilms and produced and headlined the commercially unsuccessful Raju Chacha. He got a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination for enacting a dacoit in the ensemble film Lajja (2001).
2002 proved to be a banner year for Devgn as he received universal acclaim for his performances in Company, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Deewangee. He won his second National Award for portraying revolutionary Bhagat Singh in The Legend of Bhagat Singh and received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for it and Company. As the antagonist of Deewangee, he earned a Filmfare Best Villain Award. His 2003 projects included Bhoot, a sleeper hit, and Gangaajal, in which he received another Filmfare Best Actor nomination for enacting a police officer. He next featured in Yuva (2004), Kaal (2005), and Omkara (2006). Rohit Shetty's Golmaal series established him in comic roles including Golmaal (2006), Golmaal Returns (2008) and Golmaal 3 (2010). Devgn was highly panned for Aag (2007), based on the 1975 cult classic Sholay. Aag is considered one of the worst films. In 2008, he directed and produced U Me Aur Hum. After featuring in Sunday (2008) and All the Best (2009), 2010 proved to be another milestone year for him as he delivered his first 100 Crore Club film with Golmaal 3 and received positive feedback for his roles in the top-grossing films Raajneeti and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai. The latter fetched him a Filmfare Best Actor nomination, as like his next Singham (2011), the first part of Shetty's Cop Universe. (Full article...) -
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Mersal (transl. Stunning) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Atlee Kumar, who co-wrote the screenplay with V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced by N. Ramasamy and Hema Rukmani under the banner of Thenandal Studio Limited, Mersal features Vijay in triple roles for the first time in his career. S. J. Surya, Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen and Samantha Akkineni play the other lead roles while Vadivelu, Kovai Sarala and Sathyaraj feature as supporting characters. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack, while also handling the background score along with Qutub-E-Kripa. Ruben and G. K. Vishnu were in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively. The film follows two brothers, Vetri (Vijay), a renowned magician, and Maaran (Vijay), a doctor who charges meagre amounts for his patients, who try to expose the corrupt dealings and medical crimes of another doctor, Daniel Arockiaraj (Surya), who also happens to be the same person that killed their parents, Vetrimaaran (Vijay) and Aishwarya (Menen).
Produced on a budget of ₹1.2 billion (about US$17.5 million in 2017), Mersal was released on 18 October 2017 and received positive reviews. It was also a commercial success, grossing ₹2.6 billion (about US$39.3 million in 2017) worldwide. The film won 35 awards from 57 nominations; its direction, screenplay, music and Vijay's performances received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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The Indian National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three armed forces (the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) train together before beginning pre-commission training at their respective service academies (Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) for army, navy, and air force cadets respectively). Established in 1954 and located in vicinity of Khadakwasla Dam, near Pune, it is the world's first tri-service academy.
NDA is not the only officer training academy in India. Besides NDA, which is tri-service academy, the Indian Army's IMA, Officers Training Academy (OTA), Army Cadet College (ACC), the Indian Navy's INA, and the Air Force's AFA are the other officer training academies of India. Besides cadets from NDA, these academies accept cadets separately from several streams. Apart from these, the Indian Army has three establishments for technical stream which include College of Military Engineering (CME), Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), and Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME). Although cadets are imparted technical training at these three academies, they are commissioned through OTA, Gaya. Excluding all these establishments, which are meant for combat arms, the Indian Army has other commissioning academies for support services such as the Medical Corps, and the Judge Advocate General's Department for example. (Full article...) -
Image 5The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1967, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the DFF to a director for their work within Indian cinema. It is presented by the president of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi.
The winner is given a "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh (US$3,000). Including ties and repeat winners, the DFF has presented a total of 53 Best Direction awards to 34 different directors. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than twenty languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of nine languages: Bengali (16 awards), Malayalam (14 awards), Hindi (11 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English, Kannada and Marathi (3 awards each), Assamese and Punjabi (1 each). (Full article...) -
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Rahul Dravid is a retired Indian international cricketer. in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket in matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nicknamed "The Wall" for his ability of "... fending off the fiercest, the fastest and the wiliest of bowlers around the world", he scored 36 centuries (scores of 100 runs or more) in Test cricket and 12 in One Day Internationals (ODI) between his debut in 1996 and retirement in 2011. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000, as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2004.
Dravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations. (Full article...) -
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Amateur radio or ham radio is a hobby that is practised by over 16,000 licensed users in India.
Licences are granted by the Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC), a branch of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. In addition, the WPC allocates frequency spectrum in India. The Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules, 1978 lists five licence categories:
To obtain a licence, candidates must pass the Amateur Station Operator's Certificate examination conducted by the WPC. The examination consists of two 50-mark written sections: Radio theory and practice, Regulations; and a practical test consisting of a demonstration of Morse code proficiency in sending and receiving. After passing the examination, the candidate must clear a police interview. After clearance, the WPC grants the licence along with the user-chosen call sign. This procedure can take up to one year. This licence is valid for up to five years. (Full article...) -
Image 8Kaththi (transl. Knife) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. The film stars Vijay and Samantha Ruth Prabhu while Sathish, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Tota Roy Chowdhury play supporting roles. The film focuses on the attempts made by a petty thief Kathiresan (Vijay), the look-alike of a jailed hydrology graduate Jeevanandham (Vijay), to lead a rebellion by farmers from the latter's village, Thanoothu. Kathiresan helps them fight against Chirag (Mukesh), the owner of a soft drink company who has exploited Thanoothu's water resources for his own profit. Produced by Allirajah Subaskaran and K. Karunamoorthy under their production company Lyca Productions, the soundtrack and score were composed by Anirudh Ravichander. George C. Williams and A. Sreekar Prasad were in charge of the cinematography and editing respectively.
Produced on a budget of ₹700 million, Kaththi was released on 22 October 2014 to critical acclaim. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹1.3 billion worldwide. The film won 14 awards from 33 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, choreography and stunt direction have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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The Green Park Stadium—formerly known as Modi Stadium—is a cricket ground in Kanpur, India. It is the home ground of the Uttar Pradesh cricket team and has played host to Ranji Trophy matches, as well as being a Test and One Day International (ODI) venue. The ground has hosted 21 Test matches, since the first one in 1952 when India played England. It has also staged 14 ODIs, the first of which was in 1986 when India lost to Sri Lanka by a margin of 17 runs. As of February 2016, no T20 International has been played at the ground.
The first century at the ground was scored by the West Indian Garfield Sobers. He made 198 during the second Test of the 1958–59 West Indies tour of India. The first Indian to score a century at the ground was Polly Umrigar, who made 147 not out against England in December 1961. West Indian Faoud Bacchus' 250, against India in February 1979, is the highest individual score by a batsman at the ground. India's Gundappa Viswanath and Mohammed Azharuddin have scored the most centuries at the venue with three each. The latter also holds the record for the highest score by an Indian at the ground. As of February 2016, 32 Test centuries have been scored at the stadium. (Full article...) -
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A women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match played in a maximum of 150 minutes between two ICC member sides, and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first such match was held in August 2004 between England and New Zealand. The India women's national cricket team played its first WT20I against England in August 2006; India won the match by eight wickets.
Since the team made its first WT20I appearance in 2006, 73 players—including five different captains—have represented India in the format. The list is arranged in the order in which each player won her first Twenty20 cap. Where more than one player won her first Twenty20 cap in the same match, those players are listed alphabetically by surname. (Full article...) -
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The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral.
From 1965 till 1981, the award was given to the authors for their "most outstanding work" and consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950. The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during the preceding twenty years, excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to ₹1.5 lakh (equivalent to ₹31 lakh or US$37,000 in 2023) from 1981. (Full article...) -
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Preity G Zinta is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films. She made her debut in 1998 with a supporting role in the drama Dil Se... Later that year, she starred in the commercially successful thriller Soldier. For the films, she won a Filmfare Award in the Best Female Debut category. In 1999, Zinta played the role of a CBI officer in the psychological thriller Sangharsh. She followed this with the role of a teenage single mother in the Kundan Shah-directed drama Kya Kehna (2000), a sleeper hit. That same year, she starred in the romance Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, and the crime drama Mission Kashmir, the third highest grossing Bollywood film of the year.
In 2001, Zinta featured in the dramedy Dil Chahta Hai, which is cited in the media as a defining film of Hindi cinema. Later that year, she portrayed a prostitute-turned-surrogate in the romantic drama Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. Her only screen appearance of 2002 was in the box-office flop Dil Hai Tumhaara. Zinta featured in four films in 2003. Her first role of the year was opposite Sunny Deol in Anil Sharma's drama The Hero—the most expensive Bollywood film to that point. She played a negative role in the romantic drama Armaan, which saw her portray a rich, schizophrenic woman. Following this, she starred in two blockbusters—the science fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya and the drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. For the latter, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. (Full article...) -
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Shah Rukh Khan is an Indian actor, producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He began his acting career by playing a soldier in the Doordarshan series Fauji (1988), a role that garnered him recognition and led to starring roles in more television shows. He soon started receiving film offers and had his first release with the romantic drama Deewana (1992), in which he played a supporting part. Khan subsequently played villainous roles in the 1993 thrillers Baazigar and Darr, box office successes that established his career in Bollywood. In 1995, Khan starred opposite Kajol in Aditya Chopra's romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, that became the longest running Indian film of all time. He continued to establish a reputation in romantic roles by playing opposite Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Kajol in the Karan Johar-directed Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001).
In 1999, Khan collaborated with Aziz Mirza and Juhi Chawla to start a production company, Dreamz Unlimited, whose first release was the comedy-drama Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) starring Khan and Chawla. The film was a commercial failure as was their next production, Aśoka (2001), leading to a setback. His career prospects improved in 2002 when he starred alongside Dixit and Aishwarya Rai in Devdas, a period romance that garnered him critical acclaim. In 2004, he collaborated with his wife Gauri Khan to launch another company, Red Chillies Entertainment, whose first feature was the box office hit Main Hoon Na (2004). Khan's popularity continued to increase in the 2000s as he played the romantic lead opposite younger actresses, most notably Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta, in several top-grossing productions, including Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). He also played against type as a NASA scientist in the drama Swades (2004), a hockey coach in the sports film Chak De! India (2007), and an autistic man in the drama My Name Is Khan (2010). (Full article...) -
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Mohabbatein (transl. Love Stories) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Aditya Chopra. It stars an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and the newcomers Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Jugal Hansraj, Kim Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, and Preeti Jhangiani. It tells the story of a fictional all-boys college Gurukul's principal Narayan Shankar (Bachchan) who prohibits his students from falling in love and will unhesitantly expel those who do not obey the rule. The rest of the film focuses on how the arrival of the violin teacher Raj Aryan Malhotra (Khan) changes his views. Mohabbatein's soundtrack was composed by Jatin–Lalit, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The film was shot by Manmohan Singh on sets designed by Sharmishta Roy, while the editor was V. Karnik.
The film opened at theatres on 27 October 2000 and was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the performances of Bachchan and Khan. Made on a production budget of ₹130 million (US$1.6 million), the film had a total gross of ₹900.1 million (US$11 million) becoming the year's highest-grossing Indian film. (Full article...) -
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Kajol is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films. She is a recipient of more than 40 accolades into her credit. Six Filmfare Awards, one Best Performance in a Negative Role for Gupt: The Hidden Truth and record-tying five Best Actress for the romance musicals Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, the tragedy romantic thriller Fanaa and the social drama My Name Is Khan. In addition to seven nominations. She has received five Screen Awards, four Zee Cine Awards, two Bollywood Movie Award, and one each Stardust Award and Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards.
Kajol made her acting debut with Bekhudi (1992), and had commercial successes in Baazigar (1993), and Yeh Dillagi (1994). Starring roles in the top-grossing romances Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) established her as a leading star in the 1990s and earned her two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.
After making her debut in 1992 with the romance Bekhudi, Kajol received critical acclaim and the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress for playing an orphaned girl in Udhaar Ki Zindagi (1994). She won her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of an Indian non-resident in the romantic drama Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), and Best Performance in a Negative Role for her performance as a femme fatale in the psychological thriller Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997), becoming the first actress to win in the latter category. Additionally, she received the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor – Female for Gupt. (Full article...) -
Image 16Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. It was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his production company, Studio Green. The film features Karthi and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles, with Kalaiyarasan, Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles. The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai. His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area. When Kaali hears of this, he decides to avenge Anbu's death. The soundtrack and score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan while the cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G and Praveen K. L. respectively.
Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations; its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and only 51 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Ravichandran Ashwin – a right-arm off break bowler – is a Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricketer who represents the India national cricket team. In a 2016 interview, former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan described Ashwin as the "best current Test spinner". , Ashwin has taken 36 five-wicket hauls in international cricket; he ranks joint-fifth in the all-time list, and second among his countrymen.
Ashwin made his Test debut in November 2011 against the West Indies. He took nine wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. India won the match and his performance earned him the man of the match honour. His career-best figures of seven wickets for 59 runs came against New Zealand in October 2016; in the process he also became the fifth bowler to take six five-wicket hauls against them. He has picked up ten or more wickets in a match on seven occasions. Ashwin made his ODI and T20I debuts in June 2010 against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, respectively, and is yet to take a five-wicket haul in both formats. His four wickets for 25 runs against the United Arab Emirates in the 2015 World Cup remain his best in ODIs, while his figures of four wickets for 8 runs against Sri Lanka are the fourth-best by an Indian in T20Is. (Full article...) -
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Thani Oruvan is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Mohan Raja, who also co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues with the duo Subha. The film features Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swami and Nayanthara in the lead roles. Thambi Ramaiah, Ganesh Venkatraman, Mugdha Godse and Nassar play supporting roles. The film's story focuses on Mithran (Ravi), an IPS officer, who learns of the plans of scientist and businessman Siddharth Abhimanyu (Swami) to sabotage a deal to make generic medicines available at low cost for poor people. Siddharth succeeds in his plan and begins indulging in a game of cat and mouse with Mithran. The rest of the story revolves around how Mithran overcomes the obstacles set by Siddharth. Produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S. Ganesh and Kalpathi S. Suresh under their company AGS Entertainment, the film's soundtrack and score were composed by Hiphop Tamizha. Ramji and Gopi Krishna handled the cinematography and editing respectively.
Made on a budget of ₹200 million, Thani Oruvan was released on 28 August 2015 and received positive reviews. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹1.05 billion worldwide. The film won 21 awards from 37 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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Irrfan Khan (7 January 1967– 29 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian and British-American films. His on-screen debut was a minor role in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! in 1988. He followed this with appearances in a variety of television shows in the late 1980s to 1990s including playing ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni in Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Makhdoom Mohiuddin in Kahkashan (1991), Vladimir Lenin in Lal Ghas Per Neele Ghodey (1992), a dual role in Chandrakanta (1994), and Valmiki in Jai Hanuman (1997). Khan found his television work unfulfilling and considered quitting acting.
His career experienced a turnaround with his breakthrough role as the lead in Asif Kapadia's The Warrior (2001), which won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film. He followed this with critically acclaimed villainous roles in Haasil and Maqbool (both in 2003). For the former performance, where he played a devious politician, Khan received the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role. In 2006, Khan portrayed a first-generation Bengali immigrant in the Nair-directed film The Namesake with Tabu and a hitman in The Killer. The following year, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a 38-year-old man waiting to marry the right woman in Life in a... Metro, directed by Anurag Basu. In 2008, he received international recognition for his role as a police inspector in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. (Full article...) -
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Vikram Vedha is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film directed and written by the husband and wife duo Pushkar–Gayathri and produced by S. Sashikanth under the banner of YNOT Studios. R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi play the title characters Vikram and Vedha respectively. Shraddha Srinath, Kathir and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar play the other lead roles while Prem, Achyuth Kumar, Hareesh Peradi and Vivek Prasanna feature as supporting characters. Sam C. S. composed the film's soundtrack and score. Richard Kevin and P. S. Vinod was in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively.
A contemporary adaptation of the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film follows Vikram, a police inspector who is decisive about good and evil, and the head of an encounter unit which is formed to track down and kill Vedha, a gangster. When the unit makes plans for another encounter, Vedha walks into the police station and voluntarily surrenders himself. He then tells Vikram three stories which bring about a change in the latter's perceptions of right and wrong. (Full article...) -
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Indian actor Aamir Khan first appeared on screen at the age of eight in a minor role in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). In 1983, he acted in and worked as an assistant director on Paranoia, a short film directed by Aditya Bhattacharya, following which he assisted Hussain on two of his directorial ventures—Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast (1985). As an adult, Khan's first acting project was a brief role in the 1984 experimental social drama Holi.
Khan's first leading role came opposite Juhi Chawla in the highly successful tragic romance Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). His performance in the film and in the thriller Raakh (1989) earned him a National Film Award – Special Mention. He went on to establish himself with roles in several lucrative films of the 1990s, including the romantic drama Dil (1990), the comedy-drama Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), and the romance Raja Hindustani (1996). He also played against type in the Deepa Mehta-directed Canadian-Indian co-production Earth (1998). In 1999, Khan launched a production company, Aamir Khan Productions, whose first release Lagaan (2001) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and earned him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. Also in 2001, he starred alongside Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna in the acclaimed coming-of-age drama Dil Chahta Hai. Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai are cited in the media as defining films of Hindi cinema. After a three-year hiatus, Khan portrayed the eponymous lead in Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), a period film that underperformed at the box office, after which he played leading roles in two top-grossing films of 2006—Fanaa and Rang De Basanti. (Full article...) -
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Arshad Warsi started his career as an assistant director to Mahesh Bhatt in Kaash (1987). Warsi choreographed the title song of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993), before making his acting debut in the Amitabh Bachchan-produced Tere Mere Sapne (1996). It was followed by Betaabi (1997), Hero Hindustani (1998), Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet and Trishakti (both 1999), among others, but most of these films failed to do well at the box office. In 2003, he had his breakthrough by playing the comic sidekick Circuit in Rajkumar Hirani's comedy-drama Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. His performance garnered him the Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role and received nominations for the Filmfare, IIFA, Screen and Apsara Film Producers Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor. Warsi won the GIFA Best Comedian Award for his role in the comedy Hulchul (2004), and garnered critical acclaim for portraying a police officer in the crime drama Sehar (2005). He received his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in the romantic comedy Salaam Namaste (2005).
In 2006, Warsi starred in the Rohit Shetty-directed comedy Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, and reprised his role of Circuit in the sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai. His performance in the latter won him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role, among other awards. That same year, he played lead roles in the mystery Anthony Kaun Hai? and the counter-terrorism drama Kabul Express. Warsi also hosted the first season of the reality television show Bigg Boss for which he earned the Indian Television Academy Award for Best Anchor – Game/Quiz Show. In 2007, he played a footballer in the sports film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal. The following year, he reteamed with Shetty for Golmaal Returns (2008), and played an intermittent explosive disorder patient in the comedy Krazzy 4 (2008). He won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor and received several nominations for playing a con man in the black comedy Ishqiya (2010). Also in 2010, Warsi co-produced and starred in the supernatural comedy-drama Hum Tum Aur Ghost, which performed poorly at the box office. Golmaal 3, the year's second-highest grossing Hindi film also featured him in a primary role. His first negative role came in 2013 with the action thriller Zila Ghaziabad, a critical and commercial failure. Warsi's portrayal of a lawyer in the comedy-drama Jolly LLB (2013), directed by Subhash Kapoor, garnered him several awards, including the IIFA Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role. His portrayal of a thief in Dedh Ishqiya (2014) attracted critical praise. (Full article...) -
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Haider is a 2014 Indian crime-drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and produced by Bhardwaj and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as the eponymous protagonist, and co-stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan. Bhardwaj wrote the dialogues for the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with Basharat Peer. Bhardwaj also composed the music and Gulzar wrote the lyrics. The film is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and tells the story of Haider who searches for his missing father during the Kashmir conflict of 1995.
Produced on a budget of ₹240 million (US$2.9 million), Haider was released on 2 October 2014, and grossed ₹690 million (US$8.3 million) worldwide. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, performances of Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, music and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 36 awards. (Full article...) -
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Alia Bhatt is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. As a child, she played a minor role in her father Mahesh Bhatt's production Sangharsh (1999), as the younger version of star Preity Zinta's character. In 2012, Bhatt had her first lead role in Karan Johar's teen film Student of the Year, but her performance in it was not well-received. Two years later, she gained praise for playing a kidnapping victim in the drama Highway (2014), winning the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. In the same year, her starring roles in the commercially successful romances 2 States and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, both produced under Johar's studio Dharma Productions, established her as a leading actress. She also sang the single "Samjhawan Unplugged" for the latter film's soundtrack.
In Bhatt's three film releases of 2016—Kapoor & Sons, Dear Zindagi, and Udta Punjab—she played young women in troubling circumstances. Her performance in the last of these won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Following another romantic role in Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), she played a spy in the thriller Raazi (2018) and a volatile girlfriend in the musical drama Gully Boy (2019). She won two more Best Actress awards at Filmfare for the latter two. This was followed by two poorly received films, Kalank (2019) and Sadak 2 (2020). Bhatt gained further success in 2022 with a brief role in the Telugu period film RRR, and starring roles in the fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva and biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi, in which she starred as the titular prostitute; all three rank among the highest-grossing Indian films of the year. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress and her fourth Best Actress award at Filmfare for the last of these. She also produced and starred in the Netflix black comedy Darlings under her company Eternal Sunshine Productions, for which she received a Filmfare OTT Award. (Full article...) -
Image 25Satyajit Ray (listen; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian filmmaker who worked prominently in Bengali cinema. Ray received numerous awards and honours, including India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1984) and India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna (1992). He was also awarded the Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France (1987) and an Honorary Award at the 64th Academy Awards (1991).
Often regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of world cinema, Ray made his directorial debut in 1955 with Pather Panchali. The film earned critical acclaim and was awarded under the Best Film category at various award ceremonies and film festivals, including the 3rd National Film Awards (1955), 7th Berlin International Film Festival (1957), and 1st San Francisco International Film Festival (1957). Pather Panchali was also awarded the "Prix du document humain" prize at the 9th Cannes Film Festival (1956). Ray won thirty-five National Film Awards during his four-decade career. Six of his films—Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar (1959), Charulata (1964), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968), Seemabaddha (1971), and Agantuk (1991)—won the Best Feature Film. Three films—Jalsaghar (1958), Abhijan (1962), and Pratidwandi (1970)—were awarded with Second Best Feature Film and Mahanagar (1963) was adjudged the Third Best Feature Film. Ray's 1961 documentary on Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore received awards at the Locarno and Montevideo film festivals as well as the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. His Hindi film Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, and the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Ray's Apu Trilogy (1955–59), comprising Pather Panchali, Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959), appeared in Time's All-Time 100 Movies in 2005. (Full article...)
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Kripa (Sanskrit: कृप, lit. 'pity', IAST: Kṛpa), also known as Kripacharya (Sanskrit: कृपाचार्य, IAST: Kṛpācārya), is a figure in Hindu mythology. According to the epic Mahabharata, he was a council member of Kuru Kingdom and a teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes.
Born to warrior-sage Sharadvan and nymph Janapadi in an extraordinary manner, Kripa and his sister Kripi were adopted by King Shantanu of Kuru Kingdom. Kripa was trained by his birth father and became a great archer like him. Later in the epic, he fought on the Kauravas's side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was among the few survivors of the war. (Full article...) -
Image 2Lekin... (transl. But...) is a 1991 Hindi drama mystery film, loosely based on the 1895 short story Kshudhit Pashaan (Hungry Stones) by Rabindranath Tagore and directed by Gulzar. It stars Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Amjad Khan, Alok Nath, and Beena Banerjee, and features a special appearance by Hema Malini. The film tells the story of Reva, a restless ghost who seeks liberation and haunts the ancient palace of Raja Param Singh in Rajasthan when she is discovered by Sameer, a museum curator sent by the government to salvage valuables in the region. As she recreates a visual representation of the history of the palace which reveals her tragic story, Sameer becomes determined to help set her free.
Produced by Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar (and co-produced by Hridaynath Mangeshkar and Bal Phule), the film took four years to release in theaters. It opened to positive reviews, with particular praise directed at Dimple Kapadia's performance. The soundtrack, composed by Hridaynath, was well-received, with Lata's rendition of "Yaara Seeli Seeli" becoming particularly popular. At the 38th National Film Awards, the film won five awards, a record for that year, including Best Music Direction for Hridaynath, Best Female Playback Singer for Lata, and Best Lyricist for Gulzar. At the 37th Filmfare Awards, the film won the Best Lyricist award, and Kapadia was nominated for Best Actress for her performance. (Full article...) -
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Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He is one of India's most acclaimed and commercially successful filmmakers. Ratnam has won six National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, and numerous awards at various film festivals across the world. In 2002, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, acknowledging his contributions to film.
Despite being born into a film family, Mani Ratnam did not develop any interest in films when he was young. Upon completion of his post graduation in management, he started his career as a consultant. He entered the film industry through the 1983 Kannada film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi. The failure of his subsequent films would mean that he would be left with fewer offers. After working in Telugu and Malayalam Cinema, he made his major breakthrough with Mouna Ragam (1986), established him as a leading filmmaker in Tamil cinema which won him his first Filmfare Best Director Award. He was the director of the critically acclaimed Nayakan (1987) and Anjali (1990), both of which qualified as India's official entry for The Academy Awards. He found success with the crime drama Thalapathi, romantic terrorism drama Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Dil Se.. (1998), and his romantic trilogy of Mouna Ragam (1986), Alai Payuthey (2000), O Kadhal Kanmani (2015). (Full article...) -
Image 4Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (transl. Secretly and Stealthily) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Abbas–Mustan, with screenplay and story from Javed Siddiqui and Neeraj Vora respectively. Starring Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta in lead roles, the film's music is composed by Anu Malik and lyrics are penned by Sameer. Telling the story of a married couple hiring a young prostitute as a surrogate mother, the film generated controversy during its release for dealing with the taboo issue of surrogate childbirth in India.
Initially set to release on 22 December 2000, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke's release was delayed for several months when producer Nazim Rizvi and financier Bharat Shah were arrested and the Central Bureau of Investigation seized the film's prints on the suspicion that the production had been funded by Chhota Shakeel of the Mumbai underworld. The film was released in March 2001 to a wide audience and emerged as a commercial success, becoming the sixth highest-grossing films of 2001 in India. (Full article...) -
Image 5Paava Mannippu (transl. Forgiveness of sins) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and edited by A. Bhimsingh, who co-produced it under his banner Buddha Pictures, with AVM Productions. The film features an ensemble cast of Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Devika and M. R. Radha. M. V. Rajamma, V. Nagayya, S. V. Subbaiah and T. S. Balaiah play supporting roles. It revolves around four children who are separated from their parents in childhood, then found and raised by foster parents of different religious backgrounds.
Bhimsingh initially began work on a film titled Abdullah, starring J. P. Chandrababu who narrated the story to him. Though some scenes were filmed, Bhimsingh was unconvinced with the results; after AVM volunteered to co-produce the film, Bhimsingh redeveloped the script as Paava Mannippu, with Chandrababu replaced by Sivaji Ganesan. The soundtrack and score were composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy while Kannadasan was the lyricist. (Full article...) -
Image 6Uyarndha Manithan (transl. The Noble Man) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Javar Seetharaman and directed by Krishnan–Panju. The film was produced by A. V. Meiyappan, M. Saravanan, M. Kumaran and M. Murugan under AVM Productions. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Sowcar Janaki, while S. A. Ashokan, Major Sundarrajan, Vanisri and Sivakumar play pivotal roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by M. S. Viswanathan, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali.
The film was Sivaji Ganesan's 125th as an actor. It was a remake of the 1966 Bengali film Uttar Purush. The plot revolves around a wealthy industrialist's son who secretly marries the daughter of his family estate's accountant, only for his father to discover it and burn down the estate along with his son's pregnant wife, who is inside. The remainder of the film reveals the truth behind how she and her progeny survive. (Full article...) -
Image 7Dil Chahta Hai (transl. The Heart Desires) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar in his directoral debut . It was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and released under the banner of Excel Entertainment (which Akhtar and Sidhwani co-founded), marking their cinematic debut. The film focuses on a significant transition period in the romantic lives of 3 college-graduate friends (Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna). It also stars Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia.
Dil Chahta Hai was based on Akhtar's diary detailing his trips to Mumbai and New York City, and a story by a friend of his, Kassim Jagmagia, who would ultimately become a creative associate at Excel Entertainment. He started writing the screenplay in 1998 but finished it when the film's principal photography was started two years later. The film was produced on a budget of ₹80 million (US$960,000), and filming took place in both India and Australia. It was one of the first films shot in sync sound, with Nakul Kamte and H. Sridhar handling its sound recording. The trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, with lyrics penned by Akhtar's father, Javed Akhtar, composed the soundtrack and the background score. (Full article...) -
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Congress Radio, also known as Azad Radio, was an underground radio station that operated for about three months during the Quit India Movement of 1942, a movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the British Raj for independence of India. Congress Radio was the broadcasting mouthpiece of the Indian National Congress and functioned from different locations in Bombay, present-day Mumbai, and briefly from Nashik. It was organized by Usha Mehta (1920–2000), then a 22-year student activist, with the help of amateur radio operators. Others who were involved included Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Vitthaldas Khakar, Chandrakant Jhaveri, and Babubhai Thakkar. The broadcasting equipment was supplied by Nanik Motwane of Chicago Radio, Bombay. Prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement like Ram Manohar Lohia, Achyutrao Patwardhan, and Purushottam Trikamdas were also associated with Congress Radio.
The radio station broadcast from 27 August through 12 November 1942 before being shut down by the authorities, with the operators being arrested. (Full article...) -
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Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. He is the recipient of numerous accolades including three National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards, and two Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In 2019, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, for his contributions to art.
Born in Belwa, a small village near the city of Bettiah in West Champaran district Bihar, Bajpayee aspired to become an actor since childhood. He relocated to Delhi at the age of seventeen, and applied for the National School of Drama, only to be rejected four times. He continued to do theatre while studying in college. Bajpayee made his feature film debut with a one-minute role in Drohkaal (1994) and a minor role as a dacoit in Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen (1994). After a few unnoticed roles, he played the gangster Bhiku Mhatre in Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 crime drama Satya, which proved to be a breakthrough. Bajpayee received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for the film. He then acted in films such as Kaun? (1999) and Shool (1999). For the latter, he won his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. (Full article...) -
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The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Devanagari: कंदारिया महादेव मंदिर, Kandāriyā Mahādeva Mandir), meaning "the Great God of the Cave", is the largest and most ornate Hindu temple in the medieval temple group found at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India. Because of its outstanding preservation and testimony to the Chandela culture, the temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. (Full article...) -
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During a debate at the Oxford Union on 28 May 2015, the Indian Member of Parliament, diplomat and writer Shashi Tharoor delivered a speech supporting the motion "Britain owes reparations to her former colonies". Tharoor was the seventh speaker in the debate, the final speaker from the proposition, and spoke for about fifteen minutes. While criticising the opposition, he argued that British colonial rule damaged the Indian economy.
Tharoor began his speech by arguing that the economic progress of Britain from the 18th-century onwards was financed by the economic exploitation and deindustrialisation of British India. He cited other negative effects of colonial rule on India, such as famines and the mandatory contribution of Indians toward the British war effort during the First and Second World Wars. Tharoor argued that supposed benefits of British colonialism, such as railways and democracy, were either constructed for the purposes of furthering economic exploitation or devised by Indians themselves. He ended his speech by suggesting that Britain pay one pound sterling per annum for the next two centuries as symbolic reparation. The side in favour of the motion won, with 185 votes to 56. (Full article...) -
Image 12Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, HI, MBE, SI, FPAS, FRS (Urdu: سلیم الزّماں صدّیقی [səˈliːmʊzːəmaːn sɪˈd̪ːiːqi]; 19 October 1897 – 14 April 1994) was a Pakistani organic chemist specialising in natural products, and a professor of chemistry at the University of Karachi.
Siddiqui studied philosophy at Aligarh Muslim University and later studied chemistry at Frankfurt University, where he received his PhD in 1927. On return to British India, he worked at the Tibbia College Delhi and the Indian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He later moved to Pakistan and worked in the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He went on to establish the Pakistan National Science Council and was appointed its first chairman in 1961. In the same year he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. He later co-founded the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, and after retirement from the government, he founded the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry. (Full article...) -
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Swami Vivekananda (/ˈswɑːmi ˌvɪveɪˈkɑːnəndə/; Bengali: [ʃami bibekanɔndo] ⓘ; IAST: Svāmī Vivekānanda ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (Bengali: [nɔrendronatʰ dɔto]), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and the father of modern Indian nationalism who is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined from a young age towards religion and spirituality. He later found his guru Ramakrishna and became a monk. After the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda extensively toured the Indian subcontinent acquiring first-hand knowledge of the living conditions of Indian people in then British India. Moved by their plight, he resolved to help his countrymen and found a way to travel to the United States, where he became a popular figure after the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago at which he delivered his famous speech beginning with the words: "Sisters and brothers of America ..." while introducing Hinduism to Americans. He was so impactful at the Parliament that an American newspaper described him as "an orator by divine right and undoubtedly the greatest figure at the Parliament". (Full article...) -
Image 14Krrish (Hindi pronunciation: [krɪʃ]) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. The film stars Hrithik Roshan in a dual role as father and son, with Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Sharat Saxena and Manini Mishra feature in supporting roles. A sequel to Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), it is the second installment in the Krrish franchise, and relates the story of Krishna (Roshan), the son of the previous film's protagonist, who inherits his father's superhuman abilities. After falling in love with Priya (Chopra), he follows her to Singapore, where he takes on the persona of "Krrish" to keep his identity secret while saving children from a burning circus. From that moment on, he is regarded as a superhero, and must later thwart the plans of the evil Dr. Siddhant Arya (Shah), who has a connection to Krishna's father, Rohit.
Krrish was conceived to be a film of global significance and a trendsetter in Indian cinema, with visual effects on par with those from Hollywood. To that end, the effects team was aided by Hollywood's Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma, and the stunts were choreographed by Chinese martial arts film expert Tony Ching. The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan, with the background score by Salim–Sulaiman. Filming was done to a large extent in Singapore as well as India. (Full article...) -
Image 15Velaiilla Pattadhari (transl. The Unemployed Graduate), popularly referred to as VIP, is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Velraj, in his directorial debut, and produced by Dhanush, who also enacts in the lead role alongside Amala Paul, Vivek, Saranya Ponvannan, Samuthirakani and Surbhi. It is the prequel to Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 (2017), which was directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth; replacing Velraj. The film follows Raghuvaran "Raghu," an unemployed graduate, who tries to overcome various obstacles before and after finding employment.
Dhanush, besides acting, producing and distributing the venture in association with Escape Artists Motion Pictures, also worked as the lyricist and album producer on the film's original soundtrack. The film's album and score were composed by Anirudh Ravichander.The stunt department of this movie was handled by Hari Dinesh. Principal photography commenced in August 2013 and was completed by May 2014, with the film being shot primarily in Chennai. The film was released on 18 July 2014, and received a positive critical reception. It was remade in Kannada as Brihaspathi (2018). (Full article...) -
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Mumbai Mirror was an English-language newspaper that was initially launched in 2005 by the Times Group as part of a ringfencing tactic to fight emerging competition in the city, mainly from Zee–Bhaskar's then joint newspaper, Daily News and Analysis. Mumbai Mirror was downsized and digitised by its owners at The Times Group on 5 December 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mumbai Mirror was bundled into a weekly digital edition, along with its other sister Mirror local editions including Bangalore Mirror, Pune Mirror and Ahmedabad Mirror, and its staff drastically downsized and the residual employees provided a new contract modelled around their previous job roles. The head office of the paper was moved out from Mumbai into Bangalore, and the Bangalore Mirror editor took over the Mumbai edition along with control over the other digital editions. (Full article...) -
Image 17Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (transl. Once upon a time in Mumbai again; Hindi pronunciation: [doːbaːra]) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language gangster film directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor. A sequel to 2010's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, with Sonali Bendre in a special appearance. The film's title is an intentional misspelling of "Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobaara", done in accordance with Ekta's belief in numerology and astrology.
Filming began on 27 August 2012 in Mumbai, with filming moving to Oman in September, becoming the first major Indian production filmed in the sultanate. Footage was shot in beach in Qantab, Qurum, and at the Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat. The film's visual effects (VFX) were by Reliance MediaWorks, and a team of 40 artists augmented 600 digital shots in one month. The live action sequences were filmed with RED and Arri's Alexa digital motion-picture camera. Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! was well-promoted, and the film's second trailer was shown on prime-time slots on four television channels. Hollywood actor Al Pacino was shown the theatrical trailer of the film. (Full article...) -
Image 18Devikarani Priscilla Sewpal Jana (5 December 1943 – 10 October 2020) was a South African human rights lawyer, politician and diplomat. As a member of the African National Congress (ANC) during the anti-apartheid movement, she participated in both legal activism as well as in the underground movement to end apartheid. She represented many significant figures in the movement, including South African president Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Steve Biko, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Jana was one of the very few South Africans who had access to political prisoners, including Mandela, in the maximum security Robben Island prison, and served as an emissary for coded messages between the political prisoners and the ANC leadership.
Jana's activism made her subject to violent harassment and an eventual banning order. Following the advent of full democracy in South Africa, she became a lawmaker and served as a Member of Parliament with the ANC between 1994 and 1999. She was also an ambassador of the South African government to the Netherlands and Ireland, and a commissioner with the South African Human Rights Commission. She was a member of the justice committee that was responsible for the roll-out of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (Full article...) -
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Mangalore (/ˈmæŋɡəlɔːr, ˌmæŋɡəˈlɔːr/ MANG-gə-lor, -LOR), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about 352 km (219 mi) west of Bangalore, the state capital, 14 km north of Karnataka–Kerala border and 297 km south of Goa. Mangalore is the state's only city to have all four modes of transport—air, road, rail and sea. The population of the urban agglomeration was 619,664 national census of India. It is known for being one of the locations of the Indian strategic petroleum reserves.
The city developed as a port in the Laccadive Sea during ancient times, and after Independence a new port was constructed in 1968 and has since become a major port of India that handles 75 percent of India's coffee and cashew exports. It is also the country's seventh largest container port. Mangalore has been ruled by several major powers, including the Mauryan empire, Kadambas, Alupas, Vijayanagar Empire, Keladi Nayaks, and the Portuguese. The city was a source of contention between the British and the Kingdom of Mysore rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and was eventually annexed by the British in 1799. Mangalore remained part of the Madras Presidency until India's independence in 1947 and was unified with Mysore State (now called Karnataka) in 1956. (Full article...) -
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Colonel Kekhashru Maneksha Mistry (7 November 1874 – 22 July 1959) was an Indian cricketer who was a member of the first all-Indian cricket team to tour England in 1911. A left-handed batsman and a left-arm bowler, he was considered one of India's first all-rounders. Mistry was a member of the Parsees cricket team in the Bombay Presidency tournaments and also played for the Maharaja of Patiala's team.
Mistry was an aide to the maharaja, Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, an association that continued until the maharaja's death, and was referred to as the 'grand old man of Indian cricket'. (Full article...) -
Image 21Hichki (pronounced [ɦɪtʃʰkɪ]; transl. Hiccup) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra and produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the former's banner of Yash Raj Films. Based on American motivational speaker Brad Cohen's autobiography Front of the Class, it stars Rani Mukerji in her comeback appearance as Naina Mathur, an aspiring teacher who was rejected by many schools because of her Tourette syndrome until she is accepted at the St. Notker's School, her alma mater. She is assigned to teach students from a nearby slum in the class 9F, which was created by the Government of India to fill a quota for the underprivileged.
Malhotra struggled to find a studio to finance Hichki, since the film, which had begun scripting in 2013 after he acquired the rights to Front of the Class, was felt to lack potential for the box office. Chopra and Sharma later insisted on producing Hichki with Malhotra as director. Principal photography was handled by Avinash Arun and took place in Mumbai between April and June 2017, with Meenal Agarwal as the art director and Vaibhavi Merchant providing the choreography. The film was edited by Shweta Venkat Matthew. Jasleen Royal and Hitesh Sonik composed the soundtrack and background score, respectively. (Full article...) -
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The Badami cave temples are a complex of Budhist,Hindu and Jain cave temples located in Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in northern part of Karnataka, India. The caves are important examples of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture, and the earliest date from the 6th century. Badami is a modern name and was previously known as "Vataapi", the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, which ruled much of Karnataka from the 6th to the 8th century. Badami is situated on the west bank of a man-made lake ringed by an earthen wall with stone steps; it is surrounded on the north and south by forts built during Early Chalukya and in later times.
The Badami cave temples represent some of the earliest known examples of Hindu temples in the Deccan region. They along with the temples in Aihole transformed the Mallaprabha River valley into a cradle of temple architecture that influenced the components of later Hindu temples elsewhere in India. (Full article...) -
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Parineeti Chopra (pronounced [pəriːniːt̪iː ˈtʃoːpɽaː]; born 22 October 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. Chopra has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2013.
After obtaining a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School, Chopra returned to India during the 2009 economic recession and joined Yash Raj Films as a public relations consultant. Later, she signed a deal with the company as an actress. She made her acting debut with the 2011 romantic comedy Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, in addition to a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She followed it by garnering acclaim for her starring roles in the box-office hits Ishaqzaade (2012), Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014). The first of these won her the National Film Award – Special Mention while the former two earned her nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. (Full article...) -
Image 24Court is a 2014 Indian legal drama film, written and directed by Chaitanya Tamhane in his directorial debut. The film examines the Indian legal system through the Mumbai Sessions Court trial of an aging protest singer, Narayan Kamble (Vira Sathidar), who is accused of encouraging a manhole worker to commit suicide through one of his folk songs. It also stars Geetanjali Kulkarni, Pradeep Joshi and Shirish Pawar.
The film's music was composed by Sambhaji Bhagat while Mrinal Desai and Rikhav Desai served as its cinematographer and editor, respectively. Tamhane was curious to see the difference between the real courtrooms and the way they were depicted in films. He wanted to explore the "judicial nightmare" in an Indian setting after coming across several real-life cases. His friend Vivek Gomber agreed to produce the film and also acted in it. The crew consisted of newcomers and the actors were non-professionals. There are four languages spoken in the film: Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English. Most of the dialogue is in Marathi as it is set in Maharashtra. Laws are read out in English. The defense lawyer is a Gujarati and speaks Gujarati language. (Full article...) -
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Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (pronunciation; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth president of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence movement, he went on to hold several key offices in independent India – as Deputy Chief minister of Andhra state and the first chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister— before becoming the Indian president.
Born in present-day Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, Reddy completed his schooling at Adayar and joined the Government Arts College at Anantapur. He quit to become an Indian independence activist and was jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress party representative. Reddy became the deputy chief minister of Andhra State in 1953 and the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. He was a union cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi from 1964 to 1967 and Lok Sabha Speaker from 1967 to 1969. He later retired from active politics but returned in 1975, responding to Jayaprakash Narayan's call for "Total Revolution" against the Indira Gandhi Government. (Full article...)
News
- 6 June 2024 – 2024 Uttarakhand snowstorm disaster
- A blizzard in the Himalaya mountains of Uttarakhand, India, kills nine Indian trekkers. (Reuters)
- 6 June 2024 –
- SpaceX launches Starship's Integrated Flight Test 4, successfully guiding both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage to soft water landings in the Gulf of Mexico and the Indian Ocean, respectively. (The New York Times)
- 4 June 2024 – 2024 Indian general election
- The alliance of parties led by Narendra Modi reaches the 272 seats threshold needed to form a government, but Modi's BJP party loses its outright parliamentary majority. (BBC News)
- 3 June 2024 – 2024 Indian heat wave
- More than 211 people are killed and nearly 25,000 others suffer from heatstroke amid a severe heat wave in India. (The Independent) (Reuters)
- 1 June 2024 – 2024 Indian heat wave
- At least 33 Indian election polling staff die from heatstroke in a heatwave across the country. (Al Jazeera)
Did you know...
- ... that Mansiya V. P., an Indian classical dancer, has experimented with choreographing a fusion of classical Bharatnatyam and traditional Sufi music?
- ... that the horse Sardar was gifted to Jacqueline Kennedy during her 1962 goodwill tour of Pakistan?
- ... that Akbar Bhawan, which houses the South Asian University and offices of India's Ministry of External Affairs, was originally a hotel?
- ... that after its merger with India, the last raja of Jubbal State joined the Indian Foreign Service?
- ... that Phomen Singh, an early Indian migrant to New Zealand, sold sweets and chutneys out of a suitcase?
- ... that deadly attacks from stray cows in India have become an electoral issue?
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