RAVITEJA

PROFILE:


Ravi Teja (Telugu: రవి తేజ; born 26 January 1965) is an Indian Telugu film actor. He got Best Actor Nandi Award for the film Neninthe in 2008.





Personal life:

Ravi Teja alias Bhupatiraju Ravishankar Raju was born in Jaggampeta, East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. He is the eldest of three sons to his father, Bhupatiraju Rajgopal Raju, a pharmacist, and mother Rajyalaxmi Bhupatiraju, a home maker. Both his brothers are now actors as well. Before starting his career in Tollywood, Ravi Teja spent most of his childhood in Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and Bhopal. Later on he moved to Vijayawada along with his family and joined Siddhartha Degree College to pursue his Bachelors in Arts. Half way through his graduation, he left for Chennai on 2 October 1988, to begin a career in film.



ENTRY TO THE TELUGU MOVIE INDUSTRY:


Ravi Teja belongs to the cadre of the people who worked hard in coming up the success ladder. Ravi Teja spent most of his child in North India. His father was a pharmacist and his mother, an engineer with Tata Industries.. Due to his job nature, there was frequent change in the places he lived. RaviTeja was brought up and educated in the north - Delhi, Bhopal, Jaipur and Bombay. Later on, he moved along with his family to Vijayawada and joined Siddharatha degree college.


His interest in films has brought him into the film industry. He worked as an assitant director in the beginning. 'Prathibandh', 'Aaj Ka goondaraj' and 'Criminal' are few of the films that he played the role of an assistant director.His friend Y.V.S Chowdary helped him to obtain some offers from Bollywood as a script writer. He also did small roles. He acted as one of the friends of Chiranjeevi in Aaj Ka Goondaraj. Ravi Teja joined Krishna vamsi as an assistant director for 'Ninne Pelladatha'. He also did a petty role in the film. Following Ninne Pelladatha, Krishnavamsi gave him the real break by casting him in a village macho role in 'Sindhuram'. The character Chanti clicked great. Though he got a good name for Sindhuram, his career did not profit much from that. He did some secondary roles in 'Premaku Velayara' and 'Padutha Thiyaga'.


It was 'Nee Kosam' directed by a debutante director Srinu Vaitla, that once again proved to the Telugu Film Industry, what it is failing to notice - A very talented actor. The awards committe noticed it. And he bagged an award for his performance in Nee Kosam. His secondary roles continued again with films like 'Annayya', 'Budget Padmanabam', 'Tirumala Tirupati Venkatesa', 'Ammayi Kosam'.


Raviteja got the break of his lifetime with 'Itlu Sravani Subramanyam'. Puri Jagannath, who is desperately looking to establish himself in the industry, after the failure of 'Bachi', paired up with Ravi Teja to deliver Itlu Sravani Subramanyam. The movie was well received and also got them good name. That's the turning point in his carrer.


Vamsi, who was planning his comeback innings, directed RaviTeja for 'Avunu Validharu Ishtapaddaru'. It definitely welcomed Vamsi back into the industry and added another hit to Ravi Teja. Meanwhile, his friend Poori Jagannaath, who made the biggest hit of the year in Kannada, Appu, decided to remake the film in Telugu with Ravi Teja. This time he wanted to produce the film too. 'Idiot' came out and set a new image for Ravi Teja and poured life into Vaishno Academy established by Puri Jagannath.


In 2003, Teja played the lead role in 'Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi', which became one of the biggest hits in his career. He also starred in other average flicks in that year as well. In 2004, he starred in one hit (Venky) and two flops (Naa Autograph & Chanti). In 2005, Teja played the lead role in Dil Raju's 'Bhadra', which became a big hit and completed a hatrick for Dil Raju. He also starred in 'Bhageeradha', which was hardly recognized at box office. The year 2006 has been very special to Teja as he gave his career biggest hit 'Vikramarkudu', despite the flop film 'Shock'.Ravi Teja, delivering three big hits consecutively is mentioned by the media as hatrick hero. The path is definitely looking great for him with good films lined up.His son was born in July 2006.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Karthavyam
1991	Chaitanya
1992	Aaj Ka Goonda Raj
1993	Allari Priyudu
1996	Ninne Pelladutha
1998	Sindooram	Chanti
1999	Manasichhi Choodu	Chanti
	Nee Kosam		Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury
	Samudram
2000	Tirumala Tirupathi Venkatesha	Tirupathi
	Annayya	Ravi
2001	Ammayi Kosam	Ravi
	Itlu Sravani Subramanyam	Subramanyam	Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury
	Budget Padmanabham
2002	Idiot	Chanti
	Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru	Anil
	Khadgam	Koti	Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury
2003	Ee Abbai Chala Manchodu	Vivekananda
	Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi	Chandu
	Oka Raju Oka Rani	Ravi
	Dongodu	Madhava
	Veede	Yedukondalu
2004	Venky	Venky
	Naa Autograph	Seenu
	Chanti	Chanti
2005	Bhadra	Bhadra
	Bhageeratha	Chandu
2006	Shock	Sekhar
	Vikramarkudu	Athili Satti Babu / Vikram Rathod
	Khatarnak	Dasu
2007	Dubai Seenu	Srinivas
2008	Krishna	Krishna	Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award
	Baladur	Chanti
	Neninthe	Ravi	Winner, Nandi Award for Best Actor
2009	Kick	Kalyan	Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award
	Anjaneyulu	Anjaneyulu
2010	Shambo Shiva Shambo	Karuna
	Don Seenu	Seenu
	Veera
	Mirapakai
	Kathilantodu

Awards

• Nandi Awards:Won "Best actor" award for the film Neninthe
• Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor For Krishna

RANI MUKHERJEE

Born	Rani Mukherjee March 21, 1978 (age 32) (1978-03-21) Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Other name(s)	Rani Mukherji, Rani Mukerjee
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1997 - present

Rani Mukerji (Bengali: রাণী মুখার্জী) born on 21 March 1978, is an Indian film actress who works in Bollywood movies.

Making her acting debut with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997), Mukerji had her first commercial success with Karan Johar's romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), her biggest hit so far, and won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in the film. She later starred in many films, most of which fared below expectations. She re-invented her image with the commercially and critically successful Saathiya^[1] (2002), for which she received numerous awards and nominations.

In 2004, her performances in the hit Hum Tum and the critically acclaimed Yuva earned her the Best Actress and the Best Supporting Actress awards at the Filmfare, making her the first actress to win two major awards in the same year. She received unanimous praise for her role as a deaf, dumb and blind girl in the film Black (2005), as well as many awards for her performance, establishing herself as a leading actress in Bollywood.

Early life and background

Mukerji comes from a film-oriented family of Bengali origin. Her father Ram Mukherjee is a retired director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios^[4] while her mother Krishna was a playback singer. Her brother Raja Mukherjee is a film producer, now turned director. Her maternal aunt, Debashree Roy, is a national award-winning Bengali film actress and her cousin, Kajol, is a popular Bollywood actress and another cousin, Ayan Mukerji is the writer and director of Wake Up Sid.

Mukerji is a trained Odissi dancer,^[5] and began learning the dance in the tenth grade. Mukerji studied at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu, and later enrolled at Mithibai College in Mumbai.

Acting career

Prior work and breakthrough, 1997-2002

After doing a short cameo appearance for the first time in her father's Bengali film Biyer Phool (1992), Mukerji made her acting debut five years later, as the protagonist of Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997). Her performance as a rape victim in the film was well received, but the film failed to do well commercially. Nevertheless, she received a Special Jury recognition at the Star Screen Awards. However, when the film failed at the box office, she returned to college to complete her education.^[6]

Mukerji had a successful comeback in 1998 with Ghulam, opposite Aamir Khan; the film did well at the box office.^[7] The song Aati Kya Khandala made Mukerji popular among the masses, earning her the nickname of Khandala Girl. Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, co-starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, followed for her that year. The movie was a blockbuster,^[7] and she received her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category.

She followed her career by signing on several projects. Unfortunately, most of them did not do well at the box office. Although Badal was one of the highest grossing films of 2000, she still didn't succeed to establish her status in the industry at that point of time.^[8][9]

In 2001, Mukerji starred in Abbas Mustan's romantic drama Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, co-starring Salman Khan and Preity Zinta. The film was released after a one-year delay, and was one of the first Bollywood movies to handle the issue of surrogate childbirth.^[10] Mukerji's role was that of Priya Malhotra, a woman who is unable to conceive after a miscarriage, thus hires a surrogate mother. Rediff.com wrote, "Rani Mukherji is handicapped with a role that doesn't give her much scope besides weeping and sobbing. To her credit, she manages to hold her own even while playing a stereotypical sacrificing bhartiya nari."^[11]

In 2002, Mukerji played the lead role in Kunal Kohli's romance Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, co-starring alongside Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. Although the movie did not do well in India,^[12] it generated great business overseas,^[13] and marked her entry into India's biggest production house: Yash Raj Films. Later that year, Mukerji starred in Shaad Ali's critically acclaimed Saathiya opposite Vivek Oberoi. Essaying the role of Suhani Sharma, a medical student who deals with the tensions and discontent of being married at a young age, she won a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, and among several other nominations, received her first Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare. Manish Gajjar from BBC noted, "...Rani Mukerjee...plays the character of a middle class girl with great conviction."^[14]

Success, 2003-06

Mukerji's first 2003 release was Aziz Mirza's drama Chalte Chalte opposite Shahrukh Khan.^[15] The film saw her play a similar role to that of Saathiya, and she received her second nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. Among another three releases that year, Mukerji starred in Chori Chori, where she portrayed her first comic role.^[16] Although the film did not do well at the box office, Mukerji's comic timing was praised.^[17]

In 2004, her performance as a Bengali housewife in Mani Ratnam's Yuva won Mukerji her second Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Though the film failed to do well,^[18] her performance was critically acclaimed with one critic writing, "the role demanded an actress of substance and Rani more than lives up to the expectations".^[19] She followed through by playing the leading role in the romantic comedy Hum Tum, which became one of the biggest hits of the year.^[18] The film, based on the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally..., was directed by Kunal Kohli. Mukerji's portrayal of Rhea Sharma, a woman of today's generation, won her several awards, including her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. BBCwrote about her performance," Rani is fast becoming one of the more dependable and versatile actresses of her generation."^[20]

Her last release of the year was Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, which emerged as the top grossing movie of the year in India and abroad,^[13][18] tells the love story of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh, played by Khan, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara, played by Zinta. Mukerji played the supporting role of Saamiya Siddiqui, a Pakistani lawyer who takes it upon herself to find the truth about Veer Pratap Singh.

Mukerji in her critically acclaimed performance as the blind, deaf and mute Michelle McNally inBlack (2005), which earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the second consecutive year.

In 2005, Mukerji starred in four high-profile films: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, Shaad Ali's Bunty Aur Babli, Amol Palekar's Paheli and Ketan Mehta's The Rising. She was primarily noted for her performance in Black. When Bhansali first came to Mukerji with the offer, she turned it down^[21] and stated that she was not confident enough to play a deaf-blind girl.^[21] Once the director put faith in her, she agreed to do it and intensely studied sign language with professionals at the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai.^[22] Mukerji received much critical acclaim for her performance and collected numerous trophies in the category of Best Actress at various award ceremonies. IndiaFM noted, "There's no denying that Rani delivers her best performance to date. With no dialogues in her lap, the actress conveys through expressions solely and what a terrific impact she makes. Here's a performance that should act as a reference guide for all aspiring actors".^[23] Her next release, Bunty Aur Babli, surfaced as one of the biggest hits of the year.^[24] The film, though successful at the box office, opened to mixed reviews, and so did Mukerji's performance, with one critic writing, "Rani has done a great job most of the time, though she does tend to go a little over the top in the crying scenes.^[25] Nevertheless, Mukerji received Best Actress nominations from the IIFA Awards and Filmfare Awards.

Mukerji was offered the lead role in Mira Nair's Hollywood film, The Namesake (2007) but owing to clashing dates with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, she could not commit to the project.^[26] Her first release in 2006 was Karan Johar's drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which consisted of a multi-starrer that included Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher. The film opened to mixed reviews but emerged as the most successful movie ever overseas.^[13] The film tells the story of two unhappily married couples in New York, which results in an extramarital affair. Mukerji played the role of Maya Talwar, a woman layered with self-doubt and question about the relationship between her and her husband, played by Abhishek Bachchan; her performance was well received. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN concluded, "Rani looks a million bucks and she dives under the skin of her character to make that part one that we will remember for a long time."^[27] She received several nominations for Best Actress, and won her third IIFA Best Actress Award for the third consecutive year. Mukerji's next release was B.R. Chopra's Baabul. The movie did not do well at the box office in India,^[28] though proved to be a hit overseas.^[13] Her role as a widow met with mixed reviews.

Recent work, 2007-present

Mukerji's first 2007 release, Ta Ra Rum Pum, where she played a pianist turned housewife and a mother for the first time on celluloid, was a semi hit.^[29] Her performance was generally well received, with one critic noting, "Rani enacts the role of the mother/wife proficiently."^[30] Her last two releases of the year, Pradeep Sarkar's drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag where she played the role of a woman who is forced to take up prostitution due to family problems and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya where she again essayed the role of a prostitute, were critical and commercial failures in India.^[29]

Mukerji's role in Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which released on 27 June 2008, received positive reviews from critics; however, the film failed to do well at the box office. Her most recent release, Dil Bole Hadippa was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, opened on 18 September 2009 under the Yash Raj Films banner and performed averagely at the box office. Mukerji starred as a feisty Punjabi village girl who dreams of playing first class cricket, no matter what it takes. Her performance in the film was generally well-received by critics.^[31] The movie co-stars Shahid Kapoor and Anupam Kher. Mukerji is currently shooting for No One Killed Jessica, which is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures and directed by Rajkumar Gupta. The film is believed to be based on the controversial Jessica Lal murder case.^[32]

Personal life

Mukerji changed the English tranliteration of her surname from Mukherjee to Mukerji several years ago. At the time, it was reported that she did this for numerological reasons. In 2006, Mukerji stated that numerology was not a concern; her name had been put down as Mukerji on her passport, and she wanted to be consistent.

Mukerji has three homes in Mumbai, including her childhood home. She bought a bungalow in Juhu for herself and her parents in mid-2005. The house went through a two year renovation with the interiors done by Twinkle Khanna and Sussanne Roshan.^[33]

Controversies

In June 2005, Mukerji was widely criticized following the publication of an interview with British newspaper Desi Xpress. Mukerji was asked to name her idol and she replied, "Adolf Hitler".^[34] However, in an interview with Times Now a year later, she denied ever mentioning Hitler's name.^[34]

In November 2006, Mukerji was shooting for the film Laaga Chunari Mein Daag in Varanasi when avid fans crowded the set. Security personnel beat the crowd back.^[35] A media storm followed as various groups insisted that Mukerji should have stopped the security guards. Mukerji later issued an apology.^[35]

Other work

In March 2004, Mukerji visited the sandy dunes of Rajasthan to boost the morale of the jawans. It was for a show where entertainers and stars visit Indian troops in far-flung regions to encourage them along with the NDTV team.^[36]

In February 2005, Mukerji performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help raise money for the victims of Tsunami in company with other Bollywood stars.^[37]
She was highly involved in the Temptations 2005 show in New Delhi. The actress helped to raise funds for the National Centre For Promotional of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), a leading disabled rights' group.^[38]

Mukerji donated her prize money, her half-share of 50 lakh rupees from her 2007 appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Preity Zinta, to the Holy Family Hospital. She said that this institution looks after children with heart problems.^[39]

Mukerji is a stage performer and has participated in two world tours. Her first world tour was in the year 1999 with Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna and Twinkle Khanna. It was called the Magnificent Five.^[40] Five years later, Temptations 2004 came along. It was the most successful Bollywood concert in its time. Mukerji performed alongside Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra in nineteen stage shows across the globe.^[41]

In 2005, Mukerji was a guest of honour at a state dinner to greet General Pervez Musharraf in company of the Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.^[42] Mukerji was the only Bollywood actress on the elite guest list.^[43]

She appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.^[44]

In the media

Rani Mukerji occupied the top slot of Filmfare's 'Top Ten Bollywood Actresses' list for two years in a row (2004–2005).^[45] She was also placed number one on Rediff's 'Top Bollywood Female Stars' Rankings for three consecutive years (2004–2006), while in 2007, she was ranked at number five.^[2] In February 2006, Filmfare Magazine placed her eighth amongst the "Ten Most Powerful Names of Bollywood",^[46] an achievement she repeated from the previous year, where she was ranked at number ten, the only woman on the list.^[47] In 2007, she was ranked at number five.^[48] On Women's International Day 2007, Mukerji came in fourth position on the All-Time Best Bollywood Actresses Ever listing.^[49]

She was placed at number #36 by UK magazine Eastern Eye as one of "Asia's Sexiest Women" (Sept/2006).^[50] Mukerji is frequently featured in various lists by Rediff.com, among them, Bollywood's Most Beautiful Actresses,^[51] Bollywood's Best Dressed Women^[52] and Women of Many Faces.^[53]

Mukerji has made three appearances in Karan Johar's talk show Koffee with Karan. She appeared with Kareena Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, and Madhuri Dixit as a surprise guest. Rani made her entry in to the small screen with the dance reality show Dance Premier League in 2009.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1992	Biyer Phool		Cameo Bengali film
1997	Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat	Mala
1998	Ghulam	Alisha
	Kuch Kuch Hota Hai	Tina Malhotra	Winner, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Mehndi	Pooja
1999	Mann		Special appearance in song Kaali Naagin Ke
	Hello Brother	Rani
2000	Badal	Rani
	Hey Ram	Aparna Ram	Tamil film Simultaneously made in Hindi as Hey Ram
	Hadh Kar Di Aapne	Anjali Khanna
	Bichhoo	Kiran Bali
	Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega	Pooja Oberoi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye	Priya Sharma
2001	Chori Chori Chupke Chupke	Priya Malhotra
	Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai	Pooja Shrivastav
	Nayak: The Real Hero	Manjari
	Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham	Naina Kapoor	Cameo
2002	Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai	Payal Khuranna
	Mujhse Dosti Karoge!	Pooja Sahani
	Saathiya	Dr. Suhani Sharma/Sehgal	Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Chalo Ishq Ladaaye	Sapna
2003	Chalte Chalte	Priya Chopra	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Chori Chori	Khushi Malhotra
	Calcutta Mail	Reema/Bulbul
	Kal Ho Naa Ho		Special appearance in song Mahi Ve
	LOC Kargil	Hema
2004	Yuva	Sashi Biswas	Winner, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Hum Tum	Rhea Prakash	Winner, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Veer-Zaara	Saamiya Siddiqui	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
2005	Black	Michelle McNally	Double-Winner, Filmfare Best Actress Award & Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance
	Bunty Aur Babli	Vimmi Saluja (Babli)	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Paheli	Lachchi Bhanwarlal
	Mangal Pandey: The Rising	Heera
2006	Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna	Maya Talwar	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Baabul	Malvika "Milli" Talwar/Kapoor
2007	Ta Ra Rum Pum	Radhika Shekar Rai Banerjee (Shona)
	Laaga Chunari Mein Daag	Vibhavari Sahay (Badki)/ Natasha	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
	Saawariya	Gulabji	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
	Om Shanti Om	Herself	Special appearance in song Deewangi Deewangi
2008	Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic	Geeta
	Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi		Special appearance in song Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte
2009	Luck by Chance	Herself	Special appearance
	Dil Bole Hadippa!	Veera Kaur/Veer Pratap Singh
2010	Koochie Koochie Hota Hai	Tina	Voice (Post-production)
	No One Killed Jessica	Meera	Filming[54]

ALLU ARJUN

PROFILE:
Original Name : Allu Arjun
Born : April 8 , 1983
Birth Place: Chennai , Tamil Nadu , India
Nationality: Indian
Profession: Actor
Pet Name: Bunny
Schooling :Chennai
Family:
Father: Allu Aravind (Mega Producer)
Siblings:
Elder Brother Allu Venkatesh and Younger brother Allu Sirish
Before cinema:Graphic Animator
Hobbies :Music, Dance, Watching movies, Reading
Favourites:
Colours: Black, White, Silver
Book: Oh Life, Relax Please
Vehicle: Scorpio, Safari, Seora
Dream Project : Movies like Gang Leader, Indra
Hero : Chiranjeevi
Heroine :Rani Mukharjee
Singers : Hariharan , K.K., Shanker Mahadevan

ENTRY TO THE FILM INDUSTRY:

He was first noticed when he made a special appearance in his uncle Chiranjeevi's film Daddy that was produced by his father.His dance abilities in the film amazed the audience and offers started pouring in. He was actually director Teja's first choice for Jayam. As Allu Arjun declined the role, it eventually went to Nitin and the film was huge hit.His first film as a leading man, "Gangotri", directed by veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao, was a hit. His second film "Arya" was a 2004 blockbuster. It was Arjun's first major hit. His third film, "Bunny" was also a hit. His fourth film, "Happy" didn't reach the expectations and turned out to be an average film. However, the film made decent profits in the United States.


In 2007, his next release with Puri Jagannadh, Desamuduru, proved to be a big hit at box office and the first hit of the year in Telugu. The film is the best in Arjun's career so far.

Early career

Allu Arjun was born in Chennai, India. His first lead role was in Gangotri, directed by K.Raghavendra Rao.^[1] His second role was in Arya, released in 2004, which became a big success at the box office.^[2] It was the role that first made him famous.

In 2005, his third film Bunny was released.It's a good hit for Allu Arjun.He had a hatrick of hits. His fourth film Happy which was released in 2006, had a bad run at Box Office.^[3] The film did, however, manage to make a decent profit in the Indian movie scene in the U.S.^[4]

Success: 2007 - present

In 2007, his fifth film, Desamuduru, directed by Puri Jagannadh, proved to be a box office hit^[5] and the first hit^[6] of the year in Tollywood. The movie grossed 6.58 crores in the first week of its release. This box-office take remains the highest so far in his career. In the same year, he also made a guest appearance in his uncle Chiranjeevi's film, Shankar Dada Zindabad.

In May 2008, his sixth film Parugu, directed by Bhaskar, was released.^[7] All of Allu Arjun's movies have been translated and dubbed into Malayalam. Desamudrudu was renamed Hero and Parugu was renamed Krishna and Gangotri was renamed Simhakutty(lioncub). This made him accessible to audiences in the state of Kerala, where he has been well-received.

For 2009, Arjun had only one release, Arya 2, which had the same story line of the 2004 hit film Arya, which also starred Arjun in the lead role. The film was directed by Sukumar who directed the first film. Kajal Agarwal, Navdeep, and Shraddha Das co-star with Arjun in Arya 2. The movie was not able to make it at the box-office. The movie got mixed responses and was eventually declared as a hit. He did a mega budget movie named Varudu directed by gunasekhar and it was released in 2010 and it was his third disappointment in his career.It had a budget of 18 crores. After he completed the Gunasekhar film, he did an all-star feature, Vedam with Manoj Kumar and the actress Anushka Shetty, directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi (known for his famous film, Gamyam). It has received positive reviews. It was rated 3.5/5 in many sites. He delivered his career best action in Vedam.

As of September 2009, Geetha Arts, the production banner owned by his father Allu Aravind, is planning to produce a mega budget movie. The titled “Badrinath” is in consideration. It is written by Chinni Krishna. It will be directed by V V Vinayak and will be acting along with Thammana . The estimated budget of the movie is Rs 35 crores. The movie is expected to begin in July 2010.^[8]

Awards

Filmfare Awards South

• 2008 : Best Telugu Actor for Parugu

Nandi Awards

• 2008: Special Jury Award for Parugu
• 2004: ((Nandi special Jury Award|Special Jury Award))for ((Aarya))

Santosham Film Awards

• 2005: Best Young Performer for Arya
• 2006: Best Young Performer for Bunny

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Co-Stars	Awards
1983	Vijetha	Master Allu Venkatesh
2002	Daddy	Gopi	Special appearance
2003	Gangotri	Simhadri	Aditi Agarwal, Prakash Raj
2004	Arya	Arya	Anuradha Mehta, Siva Balaji	Winner, Santosham Best Young Performers Award Winner, Nandi Award for Special Jury
2005	Bunny	Bunny	Gowri Munjal, Prakash Raj, Sarath Kumar	Winner, Santosham Best Young Performers Award
2006	Happy	Bunny	Genelia D'Souza, Manoj Bajpai
2007	Desamuduru	Bala Govind	Hansika Motwani
	Shankardada Zindabad		Special appearance
2008	Parugu	Krishna	Sheela, Poonam Bajwa, Prakash Raj	Winner, Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award Winner, Nandi Special Jury Award
2009	Arya 2	Arya	Kajal Aggarwal, Navdeep	Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award
2010	Varudu	Sandeep	Bhanu Sri Mehra, Arya (actor)
	Vedam	Anandha Raja	Manoj Manchu, Anushka Shetty
2011	Badhrinaadh	Badhrinaadh	Tamannaah Bhatia

PRABHAS

PROFILE:

Name: Prabhas Uppalapati

Nephew of Rebel Star: Shri KrishnamRaju

Birth Date: 23 October

Star Sign: Scorpio

Nationality: Indian

Profession: Actor

Family:

Father: U.Suryanarayana Raju

Mother: Siva Kumari

Sister: Pragathi

Brother: Prabodh

Height: 6' 2"

Home Address : Jublee Hills, Hyderabad
Favourites:

Hero : Krishnam Raju
Heroine : Savitri
Directors : Maniratnam, Ram Gopal Varma

Muisc director: A.RRahman

Personal Life

Prabhas Raju Uppalapati (born October 23, 1982 ), popularly known as Prabhas, the Tollywood actor and the nephew of Tollywood star and politician Krishnam Raju Uppalapati. He was born to Late U Suryanarayana Raju and Siva Kumari. He is one of three children, his brother is Prabodh and sister is Pragathi. His uncle is the famous actor and politician Krishnam Raju Uppalapati.

He currently lives in Hyderabad, India.

Career

Prabhas started his movie career with Eshwar in 2002 about a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl. In 2003, he was seen as the lead in Raghavendra. Prabhas's both these early movies did not fare very well at the box office but he gained stardom with M.S. Raju's film, Varsham, opposite Trisha Krishnan, in 2004^[1]. Prabhas actually got good acting skills exposed starting from Varsham, which ws the biggest musical love story based blockbuster of 2004. After the success of Varsham, Adavi Raamudu and Chakram could not live up to the expectations of Prabhas's fans. However in September 2005, he made a comeback with the phenomenal blockbuster, Chatrapathhi, opposite actress Shreya Saran. Chatrapati not only was the turning point to Prabhas but also to the film director, S S Rajamouli as a powerful director in Tollywood bringing full fledged star image to Prabhas exposing a broad spectrum of acting and dancing abilities. Chatrapati was followed by unsuccessful films such as Pournami, Yogi, and Munna. Despite these unsuccessful ventures, he continued to have a large, loyal fan base among telugu people, especially among females and young men.

In 2009 Prabhas was seen in Billa, which was a reworked telugu version of the hugely successful bollywood film Don. The movie starred Anushka Shetty and Namitha and also Hansika Motwani doing an item number. He shared screen space for the first time with his real life uncle, Krishnam Raju Uppalapati. The movie turned out to be an average grosser. His 2010 film Darling has given him a much needed breather. 2010's Darling has fresh music and different but smooth romantic family based love story.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Awards
2002	Eshwar	Eshwar
2003	Raghavendra	Raghavendra
2004	Varsham	Venkat	Winner, Santosham Best Young Performer Award
	Adavi Ramudu	Ramudu,
2005	Chakram	Chakram
	Chatrapati	Sivaji	Nominated, Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award
2006	Pournami	Siva Kesava,
2007	Yogi	EeshwarPrasad (Yogi)
	Munna	Munna/ Mahesh
2008	Bujjigadu	Bujji
2009	Billa	Billa, Ranga
	Ek Niranjan	chotu
2010	Darling	Prabhas
2011	Prabhas, Dil raju,Dasharath Combo	--
	Prabhas,S.S Rajamouli,KRR Combo	--
	Prabhas,Anushka, Lawrence Combo	--

HANSIKA MOTWANI

PROFILE:
Real Name: Hansika Motwani
Lives in: Mumbai, Maharastra , India
Birth Date: Aug 9 , 1989
Bith Place: Mumbai , Maharastra , India
Nationality: Indian
Profession: Actress
School Name: Poddar International School
Education: Inter completed
Family:
Father's Name: Pradeep Mothwani-Business man
Mother's Name: Mona Mothwani-Dermatalogist
Brother's Name: Prashant Motwani
Languages Known: Hindi and brokenTulu
Filmography:
2003 - Escape From Taliban - Guncha(child Artist)
2003 - Hawa - - (child Artist)
2003 - Koi... Mil Gaya - - (child Artist)
2004 - Jaago - Shruti (child Artist)
2004 - Hum Kaun Hai? - Sara (child Artist)
2004 - Aabra Ka Dabra - - (child Artist)
2007 - Desamuduru - Vaishali (Actress)

The new heart throb of telugu industry Miss "Hansika Motwani" seen as Vaishali in the newly realeased Desa Muduru opposite Allu Arjun seems to be very lucky. She seems to have started bagging new offers even before release of her debut film. She has been assigned to act opposite Raviteja. She has now became the Brand new Actress of the Telugu industry. She says that iam just a small girl and i pray god to give me nice offers in the industry.Has done several ad films for famous brands like Samsung Electronics, Bournvita, Pepsi and Santro opposite "Sharukh Khan" In a very short time of time she achieved the peak , as a child actress and said there is nothing more she can do now .... than complete her studies which has been neglected for long. She would be back after 3-4 years probably but no longer as a child actress .And heres she's back. She is well known to Hindi Tv audience as a Child artist.Prior to this, Hansika also acted in many Hindi soap operas like Ekta Kapoor’s Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Sony TV’s Hum 2 Hain Na, Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand and Zee TV’s Tum Bin, to name a few. She got her first big break after acting in Mehul Kumar’s Jaago. The film, based on true events, told the story of a 10-year-old mentally challenged girl, who was raped on a local train on August 14, 2002. Though the film did not do so well at the box-office, it gained Hansika good reviews from all centres . She has also done films like Hawa and Escape from Taliban, which unfortunately, bombed at the box office.

Hansika later went on to do the Amitabh Bachchan starrer, Hum Kaun Hai?, a remake of the Hollywood film, The Others. She played Sara, the daughter of Dimple Kapadia character in the film who suffers from extreme photosensitivity. She also played a role in Dheeraj Kumar’s Aabra Ka Dabra.She also took part in Celebrity Fame Gurukul, a singing competition among some other celebrities for charity. Though she was not a very good singer, Hansika noted that she accepted to be a part of the show because she wanted to do something for the children of Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Hansika Motwani is a Angel sent to the planet earth.She was born in Mumbai a city in India on August 9, 1991 and she started her career as a child artist. She is currently completing her 9th standard education in Podar international school. A Daughter of a business and her mother is a dermatologist though her parents were seperated in the year 2004.She entered the film industry in the movie Yahoo where she acted as a child artist with Juhi chawla and Govinda.Later on she came in the Hyundai Santro advert with Shahrukh khan and later was bagged with many offers.Her next biggest offer was from Rakesh roshan for acting in the movie Koi mil gaya with Hrithik roshan and Preity zinta. Alongwith acting in the movies she has also acted in many television adverts with big companies like Samsung,pepsi and bournvita.Her debut was in the movie Desamuduru opposite allu arjun , a telugu movie where she was paid 50 Lakhs Rupees and now is working on another upcomming telugu movie by name Dubai Seenu.

Personal life

Hansika attends Podar International School. Hansika mainly speaks Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, English, Hindi and Tulu, although her native tongue is Sindhi. Her father is Pradeep Motwani, a businessman, and her mother is Mona Motwani, a dermatologist. She is learning Tamil as she is making her debut in a Tamil film industry.

Before Film Career

She began her TV journey on a serial called Shakalaka Boom Boom (a story about a boy named Sanju and his magic pencil). Simultaneously, she also acted a child's role in the Indian serial Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chaand, for which she had received an award for the Favorite Child Award at Star Parivaar Awards. She also appeared as one of the children in Koi Mil Gaya.

Film career

Hansika made her debut in Puri Jagannadh's Telugu film, Desamuduru, starring opposite Allu Arjun. The film is about a crime reporter who falls in love with a sannyasi, played by Hansika.^[1] She also has a Hindi film entitled He: The Only One in where she will be essaying the role of a killer, hell bent on taking revenge for her family.^[2].

Hansika made her debut as a leading actress in Bollywood with Himesh Reshammiya in Aap Kaa Surroor - The Real Luv Story. She played the role of Himesh Reshammiya's lover Ria. The film was released on 29 June 2007 and became a Superhit in India.

Hansika made her debut as a lead actress in Kannada film Bindaas with Puneet Rajkumar.The film was released on 15 February 2008. She paired with Jr. NTR in the film Kantri which was released in May 2008. The film was a moderate hit. She is also making her Tamil film debut through Maapillai opposite actor Dhanush.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2003	Escape from Taliban	Guncha	Hindi	Child artist
	Hawa	Sanjana's daughter	Hindi	Child artist
	Koi... Mil Gaya	Priya Six	Hindi	Child artist
	Aabra Ka Daabra	Pinky	Hindi	Child artist
2004	Jaago	Shruti	Hindi	Child artist
	Hum Kaun Hai	Sara Williams	Hindi	Child artist
2007	Desamuduru	Vaishali	Telugu	Winner, Filmfare Best Female Debut (South)
	Aap Ka Surroor	Ria	Hindi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award
2008	Bindaas	Preethi	Kannada
	Kantri	Varalakshmi	Telugu
	Money Hai Toh Honey Hai	Ashima Kapoor	Hindi
2009	Maska	Meenu	Telugu
	Billa	Priya	Telugu	Cameo role
	Jayeebhava	Anjali Narasimha	Telugu
2010	Seetharamula Kalyanam	Nandhini	Telugu
	Mappillai		Tamil	Filming
	Ich		Tamil	Filming
	Velayudham		Tamil	Filming
Television
Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
1999	Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi	Baavri Virani	Hindi
1999	Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand	Tina	Hindi
2003	Shaka Laka Boom Boom	Karuna	Hindi
2004	Hum 2 Hain Na	Kareena / Koel	Hindi
	Karishma Kaa Karishma	Tina	Hindi

Adfilms (Commercials)

• Hyundai Santro
• she appeared in the ad of nirma replacing Sonali Bendre

Nayanthara

PROFILE:

Name: Nayanthara

Original Name: Diana Kurien

Date of birth: 8th Nov, 1984

Family:

Father : Kurian Kodiyattu

Mother : Omana Kurian

Brother : Lenu

Birth Place : Thiruvalla, Kerala

Debut Film: Manassinakkare (Malayalam)

Hobbies: Listening music, traveling, Reading..

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 55 kg

Pet name: Mani

Star: Scorpio

FavouritesColor: Black

Food: North Indian Dish

Qualification: Did 3rd DC Eng, LiteratureWon the Best Model Award of Kerala (2002)

ENTRY TO THE FILM INDUSTRY:

Nayathara entered the tinsel world debuting in the Malayalam film 'Manassinakkare', directed by Sathyan Anthikad opposite Jayaram (2003).The Kerala-born Christian girl from Tiruvalla, whose real name is Diana Kurien, had completed her B.A. literature and was doing her Chartered accountancy when films beckoned her. Her striking appearance and acting talent was appreciated by the Kerala audience. The huge commercial success of "Manassinakkare" helped her career in a big way.

Then came her second film, "Vismayathumbath"(2004) by Fazil, with super star Mohanlal. Though the film did not fare well at the box office, Nayanthara has become a noted actress in Kerala film industry. Her pretty looks captured the attention of Malayalam film buffs. She again did a film with Mohanlal, "Natturajavu".The pretty actress stepped into Tamil films with 'Ayya' (2005) where Sarat Kumar was her hero. Her second release in Tamil was the much awaited 'Chandramukhi' where she paired with superstar Rajnikanth. Barely out of her teens and hardly a year in the industry, nayantara seems to have done good career-wise. But strangely her pairings have all been with senior heroes. In between she came back to the Malayalam industry with two films 'Thaskaraveeran' and 'Raapakal' where Mammootty was her hero After crossing the border she has changed her 'seedha sadha' image and has started taking up glamorous roles. Nayanthara and Simbu's intimate life-sized posters in "Vallavan" created shock waves in Chennai. Similar excitement resulted when glamorous posters of "Kalvanin Kadhali" were posted all over Chennai. Her maiden Telugu film 'Lakshmi' has made a big splash in Tollywood. This glamour queen is one of the busiest actresses in the southern film industry today.

Nayantara
Born	Diana Mariam Kurian November 18, 1984 (1984-11-18) (age 25) Bangalore, Karnataka, India[1]
Other name(s)	Nayan, Diana
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003 - present

Diana Mariam Kurian (born on 18 November 1984),^[2] best known by her stage name Nayantara (Malayalam: നയന്‍ താര), is an Indian film actress, who has appeared in Malayalam,Tamil,Telugu and Kannada films. After several commercial successes such as Chandramukhi, Ghajini, Billa and Yaaradi Nee Mohini, she has established herself as one of the leading contemporary actresses in Tamil cinema.^[3][4]

Early life

She studied in various parts of India (Bengaluru, Gujarat, Delhi and Kerala)^{[citation needed]}, as her father was an Indian Air Force official. She is a Syrian Christian by birth. She did her schooling at the prestigious Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in north India and then attended Marthoma College in Tiruvalla for her Bachelor's degree in English Literature. She is a native of Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta district.^[3].

Career

Nayan was spotted when she was still in college by director Satyan Anthikkad, who cast her opposite Jayaram in the 2003 Malayalam film Manassinakkare. Later, she co-starred alongside Mohanlal in Natturajavu and in Fazil's Vismayathumbathu. She was also cast with Mammootty in Thaskaraveeran and Raapakal.

She subsequently started appearing in Tamil and Telugu films. 2005, she was cast opposite Sarath Kumar in Ayya, debuting in the Tamil film industry, and followed it up with Chandramukhi. The comedy horror film, in which she starred alongside Rajinikanth, became one of the most successful Tamil films in history, running for over 700 days in theatres, turning Nayantara eventually into one of the most-sought after actresses in Tamil. Later that year her third Tamil film, A. R. Murugadoss' Ghajini released, where she played a secondary female character, which again was a commercially highly successful venture. She then made her debut in Telugu, starring in the film Lakshmi, following which she performed in Boss, alongside Venkatesh and Nagarjuna, respectively. She regained her star billing in Kollywood acting opposite Ajith Kumar in the Vishnuvardhan-directed Billa. The gangster film, a remake of the same-titled 1980 Tamil film, went on to become a blockbuster success at the box office.

In 2008 she had five releases, four of which in Tamil. Her first release, the family entertainer Yaaradi Nee Mohini was one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the year, besides receiving seven nominations at the 56th Filmfare Awards South, including a Best Actress nomination for Nayantara for her portrayal of Keerthi. Her subsequent releases, however, Kuselan opposite Rajnikanth, Sathyam opposite Vishal, Aegan opposite Ajith Kumar and Villu opposite Vijay were all unsuccessful. Her only successful release in 2009 was Aadhavan with Surya which released in October 2009, and become one of the few hits of 2009 which ran for 100 days.

Her three 2010 releases, Bodyguard in Malayalam and Adurs in Telugu, all were super hit while her latest telugu release Simha was a blockbuster. Her forthcoming films include Boss Engira Bhaskaran with Tamil actor Arya and acclaimed director Shyamaprasad's Malayalam film entitled Electra. She is also making a glamorous debut into the Kannada film industry opposite super star Upendra.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Other notes
2003	Manassinakkare	Gauri	Malayalam	Winner, Asianet Award for Best Female New Face of the Year
2004	Vismayathumbathu	Reetha Mathews	Malayalam
	Natturajavu	Katrina	Malayalam
2005	Ayya	Selvi	Tamil
	Chandramukhi	Durga	Tamil
	Thaskara Veeran	Thankamani	Malayalam
	Rappakal	Gauri	Malayalam
	Ghajini	Chitra	Tamil
	Sivakasi	Nayanthara	Tamil	Special appearance in song Kodambakkam Area
2006	Kalvanin Kadhali	Haritha	Tamil
	Lakshmi	Nandhini	Telugu
	Boss	Anuradha	Telugu
	Vallavan	Swapna	Tamil
	Thalaimagan	Meghala	Tamil
	E	Jyothi	Tamil
2007	Yogi	Nandini	Telugu
	Dubai Seenu	Madhumathi	Telugu
	Sivaji: The Boss		Tamil	Special appearance in song Balleilakka
	Tulasi	Vasundhara Ram	Telugu
	Billa	Sasha	Tamil	Winner, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine, Nominated, Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award
2008	Yaaradi Nee Mohini	Keerthi	Tamil	Winner, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine Nominated, Filmfare Best Tamil Actress Award
	Kuselan	Nayanthara	Tamil	Simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu
	Sathyam	Deivalakshmi	Tamil
	Aegan	Mallika	Tamil
	Twenty:20	Diana	Malayalam	Special appearance in song He Dil Deewana
2009	Villu	Janavi	Tamil
	Anjaneyulu	Anjali	Telugu
	Aadhavan	Thara	Tamil	Nominated, Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine
2010	Adurs	Chandrakala	Telugu
	Bodyguard	Ammu Ashokan	Malayalam
	Goa		Tamil	Guest appearance
	Simha	Gayatri	Telugu
	Boss Engira Bhaskaran	Chandrika	Tamil	Post-production
	Electra	Electra Alexander	Malayalam	Filming
	Super		Kannada	Filming
2011	Mathilukalkkappruam	Narayani	Malayalam	Filming
	Billa 2 - The Chase Continues	Sasha	Tamil	Announced.[5]

Awards

• 2003 - Asianet Award for Best Female New Face of the Year - Manassinakkare
• 2007 - Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Billa
• 2008 - Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine - Yaaradi Nee Mohini

Rajani Kanth

PROFILE:
Real Name: Shivaji Rao Gaekwad

Screen Name: Rajnikanth

Nick Names: Superstar
Profession: Actor
Date of Birth: 12 Dec, 1950
Star/Rasi: Sirvana/Magaram
Mother Tongue: Marathi
Birth Place: Bangalore
Height: 5 feet 9 inches
Weight: 70 Kg
Education: * Early education in Acharya Patasala and later in Raamakrishna Mission, Bangalore(PUC discontinued)* Studied in the Film Institute
Family:
Father: Ramoji Rao
Mother: Rambhai
Sister: Shrimathi Aswathamma
Brothers: Sathya Narayana Rao & Nageshwara Rao
Wife: Latha
Daughters: Aishwarya & Sowandarya
Son-in-law: Dhanush
Marriage Date: 26.02.198
Earlier worked as: Carpenter, Bus Conductor
Guru: K.Balachander
Spiritual Guru: Satchithananda Swamiji
Ardent Devotee of: Shri Raghavendra
Politics: Played a major part in putting together an alliance between the DMK and TMC which won the 1996 Tamil nadu elections.
Admires: Lee Kwan Yew(Former Singapore prime minister)
Favourites:
Colour: Black
City: Chennai
Place: Himalayas
Food: Non-Vegetarian items
Dress: White Khurtha
Hollywood Actor: Sylvester Stallone
Indian Actor: Kamalhaasan
Actress: Rekha (Hindi)
Role: Romantic Roles
Musician: Illayaraja
Films: Hollywood Films
Books: Books written by Shri Ramana Maharishi
Novel: Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan & T. Janakiraman's Amma Vanthal
Writer: Jayagandhan
Poet: Kannadasan
Facts:
* Had a very troubled childhood. Lost his mother when he was only 5 years old.
* His father was a police constable.
* His ancestors were believed to be from a village called Nachiar Kuppam in Dharmapuri Dist. of Tamilnadu.
* Got his diploma in acting from Dr.P.N.Reddy.
* Was discouraged a lot by his fellow film institute students.
* In the beginning he did not know to speak Tamil well.
* His film 'Muthu' was dubbed as 'Dancing Maharaja' in Japan and it ran for 23 weeks in Tokyo. film 'Yejaman' was dubbed as 'Dancing Maharaja II''
* Has acted in two malayalam films and one Bengali film.
* Likes to drive on his own.
* Had acted in 12 of Amitabh's remade movies in Tamil
* When he was working as a conductor his salary was around Rs.750 and one his friends named Raj Bhadhur gave him money to study in the film institute in Chennai.
* Always prefers Big banners.
Address : 18, Ragaveera avenue,Poes Gardent, Chennai- 600086
Quote: Happiness begins when ambition ends.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Debut:
Tamil:Aboorva Ragangal
Hindi:Andhaa Kanoon
Telugu:Anthuleni Katah
English: Blood stone
Kannada:Katha Sangama
Malayalam: Alavudheenum Arputha Vilakkum
Bengali: BhagyaDevta
Career Firsts:
Hero: Bhairavi
Dual role: Billa
Triple role:Moondru Mugam
Positive role: Kavikuyil
Singing: Adikuthu Kuliru (Mannan)
Story and Screenplay: Valli
Movie dubbed and released in Japan: Muthu
First Film: Katha Sangama
50th Film: Tiger (Telugu)
100th Film: Shri Raghavendrar
125th Film: Rajathi Raja
150th Film : Padyappa
Awards:
* 2000 Padma Bhushan award from the Govt of India.
Tamil Nadu Govt awards
1999 - Best Actor(Padayappa)
1989 - MGR award
1984- Kalaimamani award
1982- Best Actor (Moondru Mugam)
1978 - Best Actor(mullum Malarum)

* Filmfare Awards

1984 - Best Actor(Nallavanuku Nallavan)

* Cinema Express Awards

1995- Best Actor(Muthu)

1993 - Best Story writer (Valli)

1992 - Best Actor( Annamalai)

1991 - Best Actor(Thalapathy)

1988 - Best Achiever Award(Blood Stone)

1985 - Best Actor(Sri Raagavendirar)

1984 - Best Actor(Nallavanauku Nallavan)

* 1995 Best Actor Screen Awards(Peaddarayadu)

ENTRY TO THE FILM INDUSTRY:

Rajinikanth was born on December 12 1949 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child to his parents, Rambhai and Ramoji Rao.His original name was Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. He lost his mother at the age of five. He had his schooling at the Acharya Patasala in Bangalore andthen at the Vivekananda Balak Sangh, a unit of the Ramakrishna Mission. His mother tongue is Marathi, though he has not done any films in it.Before starting his career in the film industry, he had to take up all sorts of odd jobs. He served as a bus conductor for Karnataka state transport corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

Acting career:

A friend helped him to join the Madras Film institute where Rajinikanth completed basic acting course in 1974 at the age of 25.He started his acting career in Kannada in the movie Kathaa Sangama , directed by Puttanna Kanagal, in 1976.In Tamil, he started withplaying supporting roles, beginning as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander, who assigned him his stage name Rajnikanth. After several villainous roles, his first positive role was Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1979), in which Rajnikanth played afailed lover in the first half and a do-gooder in the second.

The second phase of his life started with K Balaji’s Billa, a superhit disproving the canard spread by detractors that Rajnikant was “finished”. He was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Pokkiri Raja, Thanikkattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and the all-important Moondru Mugham, in which Rajni essayed a triple role. Even two decades after its release, the last continues to be a box-office draw and Rajni’s fans can never tire of the thalaivar’s verbal clash with villain Senthamarai. K Balachander’s first home production, Nettrikkam proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni’s career.As an actor, Rajnikant’s greatest asset, apart from his style is his sense of humour and comic timing. Like Amitabh Bachchan is popular for his drunken soliloquies, Rajnikant is famous for his comic encounters with snakes, repeated umpteen times.

In the early 80s, Rajnikant made a foray into Bollywood with Andhaa Kanoon, a superhit. But Rajnikant could not concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down South. He still made a few films in Hindi, to mention specially Chaalbaaz which had Sridevi ina dual role.After several films in the Eighties, he played a Hindu saint in his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra. Many others followed, among them dramas, comedies and, at the end of the eighties, action-oriented family entertainers like Velaikkaran and Manidhan.Annamalai, which released in 1992, was the first Rajini film to gross almost Rs. 100 million at the box office.A new trend where his films’ collections exceed normal regional film expectations started off with Basha, followed by Annamalai, Arunachalam, Ejaman, Muthu and Padayappa. It’s now an accepted fact that only a Rajnikant film can break records set by his own films.Apart from Tamil, Rajnikanth has acted in over 160 movies, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. He has also acted in a Hollywood movie Bloodstone in 1988.

Rajnikanth was awarded the Padma Bhushan award in the year 2000 and was rated as one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asia week. Rajnikanth has won the Filmfare Best Actor Award, South on 2 occasions. He is the highest paid actor in India and the second highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

Unlike the eighties, several movies during his nineties were successful, like Muthu or Basha. At 53, his Baba released amid fanfare. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a miserable showing and fell short of market expectations accumulating heavy losses for the distributors. Rajnikanth himself returned the losses back to the distributors who had immense faith in him. The whole affair cost him dear in terms of repute of making a comeback.

Chandramukhi, a remake of the Malayalam movie Manichitrathazhu. Chandramukhi was claimed as one of the most successful Tamil films ever as it ran in theatres for over 700 days since release and still running. His next film, Sivaji: The Boss, directed by S. Shankar will be released in 2007.

Rajinikanth
Born	Shivaji Rao Gaekwad 12 December 1949 (1949-12-12) (age 60) Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Other name(s)	Rajni, Superstar
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	1975–2002, 2005-present
Spouse(s)	Latha Rangachari (1981–present)

Shivaji Rao Gaekwad (born on 12 December 1949),^[1] professionally known by his stage name Rajinikanth (Marathi: रजनीकांत; Kannada: ರಜನೀಕಾಂತ್; Tamil: ரஜினிகாந்த்), is the highest paid Indian film actor and a prominent media personality.^[2] He is best known for his mass popularity and appeal, largely drawn from his mannerisms and stylized delivery of dialogue in films. He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 2000 for his contribution to Indian cinema.^[3] Other than acting, Rajinikanth worked as a screenwriter, film producer, and also a playback singer. Apart from his film career, he is a philanthropist and serves as an influence in the politics of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Rajinikanth made his debut as an actor in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by Kailasam Balachander, whom the actor considers as his mentor. He was later favoured in Tamil cinema for portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. After the release of his film Bairavi (1978), he became known as the "superstar" of Tamil cinema, a title given to him by film producer S. Dhanu and still used by many people to refer to him.^[4][5] While acting in many Indian languages, he also appeared in films of other nations, including in that of the United States. After being paid 20 crores, about US$4.3 million, for his role in Sivaji (2007),^[6][7] he became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.^[8]

Early life

Rajinikanth was born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in a Marathi-family, mother Jijabai and father Ramoji Rao Gaekwad, on December 12, 1950 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He was the youngest among four children; has two elder brothers and a sister. After the death of his mother, he struggled with an impoverished lifestyle during his childhood. He had his formal education in Acharya Patasala and had his higher education in Ramakrishna Mission in Bangalore. Between 1968 and 1973 he worked in many places in Chennai, thus moving continuously from Bangalore to Chennai. He performed various odd jobs before joining the then-Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor. In 1973, he moved to Chennai to seek a career in acting and joined the Madras Film Institute with the help of a friend.^[9]

Acting career

Rajinikanth joined the Madras Film Institute in 1973 along with a fellow bus driver and completed a basic course in acting. In the film institute he was helped by his Vice Principal, A. Prabhakaran.^[10][11] After he graduated from the film institute another popular hero Chiranjeevi fondly called as megastar also joined the same institute. They both became close friends later.

Rajinikanth has acted in over 150 films, which includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Bengali films. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon but did not make as much of an impact as he had in the south. He still appeared in several Hindi films, such as Chaalbaaz, Uttar Dakshan, Geraftaar and Hum. He made his debut in an American film, in a supporting role, with the movie Bloodstone in 1988 with much fanfare in India at the time of its release. However, the movie was unsuccessful in the United States. He also made brief stints in German- and Japanese film industries. His film Muthu was dubbed into Japanese and later turned out to become a major hit in the country, ultimately creating a huge Japanese fan-following for him. In 2005, his film Chandramukhi was dubbed in German and released in all German-speaking nations.

Supporting roles: 1975-1979

Rajinikanth's first film was in Tamil cinema, where he was initially casted in supporting roles, debuting as a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal in 1975.^[12] The film was directed by K. Balachander, who is constantly referred to by Rajinikanth as his own "guru" or mentor. The following year, Rajinikanth acted in his first Kannada film, Katha Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Though Rajinikanth refers to director K. Balachander as his mentor, it was director S. P. Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth’s image entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half of the film and a protagonist in the second. Around this time Mullum Malarum (1978), directed by J. Mahendran, established Rajinikanth in the Tamil film arena as a film hero. The success of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted Muthuraman to make a mushy melodrama with Rajinikanth as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings in Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979). These films were the turning points in Rajinikanth’s career; he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences to one who could also evoke emotions. The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his stylized mannerisms proved he had at last become a "star" from a "common actor." His film roles were mainly as a villain during the period 1975 to 1977, co-starring frequently with Kamal Haasan as the protagonist, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae, Moondru Mudichu and Avargal. In 1978, Rajinikanth acted in the film Bairavi, in which he was credited as "superstar."

Gaining popularity: 1980-1989

Rajni as portrayed in his first commercial success Billa (1980).

During this phase of his career, when he was reaching dazzling heights, Rajinikanth abruptly chose to quit acting, but was coaxed back.^[13] He continued acting with the blockbuster Tamil film Billa, which was a remake of the blockbuster bollywood movie Don. With its phenomenal success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits, namely Murattu Kaalai, Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pudukavithai^[14] and Moondru Mugam. K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajni’s career. He acted in his first cameo role alongside Meena Durairaj, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984). More box-office hits dominated the 80's with Padikkathavan, Thee, Velaikaran, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Mr. Bharath, and Maaveeran all of which are remakes of Amitabh Bachchan movies.^{[15] [16]} In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

Career peak: 1990-1999

The vast majority of his movies released during the nineties were extremely successful, notably Thalapathy, Mannan, Annamalai, Uzhaippali, Veera, Badsha, Muthu,^[17] Arunachalam and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay and acted as a special appearance in the film Valli (1993) which however failed to make an impact at the box office. His cult classic Badsha, released in 1995, went on to become a massive blockbuster and is routinely touted by his fans and critics alike as the movie which elevated him from being just another very popular actor with loads of charisma to an almost demigod status in the eyes of the masses. His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Japanese as Muthu: The Dancing Maharajah and became very popular in Japan.^[18][19] Throughout this decade, Rajinikanth established himself as a box office phenomenon; all of the films mentioned in this era were all formulaic mass entertainers which routinely succeed in box office. It can be argued that it was also during this time that Rajinikanth started to converge with politics, whether that confluence was voluntary or not is debatable, but the objective fact cannot be disputed that as his films began to take on a whole new dimension in terms of expectations, hype and revenue, his political clout also steadily rose with the cinematic tide as well. This trend began with the release of Annamalai in 1992 and arguably climaxed during the time of Padayappa's release in 1999. Being his 150th film, Padayappa, directed by K. S. Ravikumar, undoubtedly turned out to be the largest blockbuster in his career.

Indulging in politics: 2002

The new millennium began very well for Rajinikanth; Padayappa had rewritten previous box office records. Finally, after more than a three year sabbatical from cinema, at 52 years of age, he starred in his home production, Baba which released on August 15, 2002 amidst much fanfare and extreme hype. The film was a poor grosser box-office as it had failed miserably to meet the expectations due to a very weak screenplay, which Rajinikanth himself had written, his second stint at screenplay writing after Valli. The thin screenplay revolved around the story about a gangster who later engages in spirituality and when compared to his previous film, Padayappa, it was a colossal disappointment. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a tremendous loss when compared to his previous box office successes throughout his career. It fell short of market expectations and the high bids reportedly translated to heavy losses for the distributors. Rajinikanth himself repaid the losses incurred by the distributors.^[20][21] Rajinikanth thereafter reported that he was to quit acting, hence taking part in social and political activities.

Return to success: 2005-2007

Rajinikanth (left) as portrayed in a scene in Sivaji.

After the Baba debacle, Rajinikanth mulled over numerous scripts with many directors, including K. S. Ravikumar, and finally chose to act in director P. Vasu's Tamil remake of Manichithrathazhu, Chandramukhi. Many people within the industry had written Rajinikanth off after the Baba fiasco, essentially saying "the bloom was off the rose" and that "the gold does not glitter anymore".^[22] In essence, many viewed Chandramukhi as Rajinikanth's comeback film, his make or break movie and in the end, when it was released on April 14, 2005, it went on to create new box office records and smashed his own previous records and once and for all removed any doubt within the industry with regards to Rajinikanth's box office clout and incomparable appeal to the masses. Chandramukhi broke the record of being the longest running Tamil film, as of 2007.^[23] Just after Chandramukhi's release, it was reported that AVM Productions were to produce a film directed by S. Shankar starring Rajinikanth, the largest collaboration yet for a Tamil film. The film was titled Sivaji: The Boss and released on June 15, 2007 after two years of filming and meticulous production. With massive international anticipation, it subsequently went on to become a major blockbuster, being ranked among other major Bollywood and Hollywood releases of the year. Sivaji became the first Tamil movie to be charted as one of the top-ten best films of United Kingdom and South Africa box-offices upon release^[24][25].

Kuselan controversy: 2008

Following Sivaji, Rajinikanth worked with P. Vasu again for Kuselan, a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, in which Rajinikanth played a cameo role as himself, a star in the Indian film industry, and as a best friend to the main character. According to Rajinikanth, the film somewhat narrarates his early life. The film however performed poorly at box offices; some distributors incurred major losses due to the film, which Rajinikanth voluntarily settled with his own budget.^[26][27]

Recent work: 2009-present

During the course of the production for Sivaji, Ocher Studios, the animation company of Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth, in association with Adlabs announced their intention of producing a CGI animation film starring an animated version of Rajinikanth. As of 2009, Rajinikanth joined hands with Shankar again for Endhiran, a science fiction film produced by Sun Pictures. He will be lending his voice to the lead character in the animation film, Sultan: The Warrior, which is being directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth.

A. R. Murugadoss had previously shown interest in directing Rajinikanth in his next feature film after Ghajini.^[28] Rajinikanth has stated that he is interested in starring in Pyramid Saimira's next production, in order to compensate for Kuselan.^[29] Rajinikanth announced that he will no longer be acting in "youth roles" after Endhiran and will begin to act in roles which will be closer to his real age.

Awards and honours

Rajinikanth received his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1984 for Nallavanuku Nallavan. He later received Filmfare Award nominations for his performances in Muthu in 1995 and Sivaji in 2007.^[30]

Between 1977 and 2009, Rajinikanth received several awards from Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Cinema Express and Filmfans Association for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing. He has received awards in the Best Actor category for his performance in the films Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Padayappa, Peddarayudu, Badsha, Muthu, Annamalai, Thalapathy, Velaikaran, Sri Raghavendra, Nallavanuku Nallavan, Moondru Mugam, Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Mullum Malarum and 16 Vayathinile. He received an award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri. He has also received awards in Best Story Writer and Best Producer categories for Valli.

He was named and honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2000 from the Government of India.^[3] In September 2005, Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Chandramukhi. Recently, he was selected as the Indian Entertainer of the Year for 2007 by NDTV, competing against the likes of Shahrukh Khan.^[31] He has also received other honours such as the Raj Kapoor Award in 2007 from the Government of Maharashtra. He was named as one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek.^[32] In 2010, he received the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Award for Excellence in Indian Cinema.^[33]

Notable filmography

Main article: Rajinikanth filmography

Year	Title	Role(s)	Language	Notes
1975	Apoorva Raagangal	Abaswaram	Tamil
1976	Moondru Mudichu		Tamil
1977	16 Vayathinile	Parattai	Tamil
	Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri	Aravind	Tamil
1978	Mullum Malarum	Kaali	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1979	Ninaithale Inikkum		Tamil
	Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai	Santhanam	Tamil
1980	Billa	Billa, Raja	Tamil
	Murattu Kaalai	Kaalaiyan	Tamil
1981	Thillu Mullu	Indran/ Chandran	Tamil
1982	Moondru Mugam	Alex Pandian, Arun, John	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
1984	Nallavanuku Nallavan	Manickam	Tamil	Winner: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1985	Sri Raghavendra	Raghavendra Swami	Tamil
1991	Thalapathi	Surya	Tamil
1992	Annamalai	Annamalai	Tamil
1995	Badsha	Manickam	Tamil
	Muthu	Muthu, Ejamaan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Nominated: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
1997	Arunachalam	Arunachalam, Vedachalam	Tamil
1999	Padayappa	Aarupadayappan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
2005	Chandramukhi	Dr. Saravanan, King Vettaiyan	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor
2007	Sivaji	Sivaji Arumugam	Tamil	Winner: Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor Nominated: Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award
2010	Endhiran	Vaseegaran, Chitti	Tamil	Post-production

Personal life

Rajinikanth was born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to a Marathi family in Bangalore. He worked as a bus conductor, and acted in some plays in his spare time. His friend, a bus driver, encouraged him to join films, and when the Adyar Film Institute was set up in Madras (now Chennai), he enrolled.^[34]

He married Latha Rangachari on 26 February 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. They now have two daughters named Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Soundarya Rajinikanth. His wife, Latha Rajinikanth currently runs a school named The Ashram. His elder daughter Aishwarya Rajinikanth married actor Dhanush on 18 November 2004 and they have one son named Yathra. His second daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth, works in the film industry as a director, producer and graphic designer; she became engaged to industrialist Ashwin Ramkumar on 17 February 2010.

Politics

Supported political parties

In 1995, Rajinikanth announced that he is willing to support the Indian National Congress after meeting Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.^[35] An opinion poll conducted by the magazine Kumudam predicted that Congress with Rajinikanth's support might win up to 130 seats in Tamil Nadu Assembly. In 1996, when the Congress Party decided to align with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Rajinikanth supported Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) alliance. The TMC used a bicycle as their election symbol and used an image of Rajinikanth riding a bicycle from the film Annamalai in their posters. Rajinikanth said, "Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if AIADMK returns to power." Rajinikanth wholeheartedly supported the DMK and TMC alliance and asked the people of Tamil Nadu and his fans to vote for that alliance. This alliance had a complete victory in 1996.^[35]

In 1996, Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in parliamentary elections.^[36]

Cauvery river strikes

In 2002, Rajinikanth undertook a day-long fast to protest Karnataka's decision to not to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.^[37] and announced that he would contribute Rs 10 million toward a plan to interlink the Indian rivers. He met with Prime Minister Vajpayee and many experts to canvass support for the project.^[38] Other members of the Tamil film industry, including members of the Actors Association the DMK, had planned a solidarity protest and Director Bharathi Raja stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry and called him "traitor who had a tacit understanding with the Karnataka Government".^[39]

During the 2008 Hunger Strike organized by the South Indian Film Artistes' Association in support of the Hogenakkal drinking water project, he reprimanded Karnataka politicians. Further, he appealed to leaders not to inflame the water project issue for political gains and requested that the issue should be resolved soon. He urged the Karnataka politicians "to speak the truth." "People are equal to God. They cannot be fooled and will not remain silent if you continue to act in such manner," he stated.^[40] Leader of the Pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Vatal Nagaraj demanded an apology from Rajinikanth and threatened that he would not be allowed in the state of Karnataka and all his films would be boycotted for Rajinikanth's speech against Kannada politicians.^[41]

2008 mock party

Several local fan associations of Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu have continuously wanted him to take active participation in politics. In this regard, a few fans in Coimbatore started their own political party in the name of Rajinikanth and introduced their own flags and symbols for the party in mid-2008. When the actor heard about this, he wrote an open letter to the press and declared that he had no connection with these events and has strictly warned fans not to indulge in such activities, and failing to adhere would cause him to take up legal action against them. He also mentioned that he was not interested in politics and thus, was only committed to the production of his film Endhiran. He added that nobody can force him to enter politics, just as no one can stop him from entering it at the right time.^[42]

Philanthropy

He converted one of his banquet halls, the Raghavendra Marriage Hall, to a charitable trust to help the needy.^[43] As of 2007^[update], he planned to construct a new hospital and a new school on a piece of land near Chennai.^[44]

Criticism

In 2002, during Rajinikanth's own hunger strike for agitating the state of Karnataka to release Cauvery river water into Tamil Nadu, another hunger strike was organized by the Tamil film directors' association. Rajinikanth had yet continued with his own strike. leading to several criticism of Rajinikanth. Director Bharathi Raja, who also condemned other actors and politicians of Tamil Nadu, had stated that Rajinikanth was on the verge of dividing the film industry.^[45]

Also in 2002, Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S. Ramadoss condemned him for smoking and posing with beedi's in his film Baba. He was criticised for spoiling Tamil youth by glorifying smoking and drinking. PMK volunteers attacked theatres which screened the movie Baba and usurped film rolls and burnt it.^[46] Famous film producers like M. Saravanan accused Ramadoss saying that cigarette smoking and drinking are shown in all movies and that Baba was just being "picked on" by the PMK leader because of his popularity in Vanniar areas which is considered PMK bastion. To stop controversies, Rajinikanth reported that he was not going to act in any roles that require him to drink or smoke. In keeping his words, the roles he appeared in thereafter did not show the actor drinking or smoking.

Following the release of Kuselan in Karnataka on August 1, 2008, Rajinikanth thanked the Kannada film industry for allowing the release of his latest film and lifting the ban. He gave an open statement clarifying his stand to the people of Karnataka state and regretted for not being clear in his speech during the Hogenakkal Water Project hunger strike.