Shahid Kapoor Biography

The chocolate boy Shahid Kapoor left his detractors blushing with his arresting performance in Jab We Met and Kaminey.

Behind the Scenes
Shahid Kapoor was born in Mumbai on 25 February 1981 to actors Pankaj Kapoor and Neelima Azeem, who divorced when he was three years old. His father married the actress Supriya Pathak. He has a brother Ruhan and sister Sana as well as a step-brother Ishaan.

Shahid and Kareena Kapoor, his long term girlfriend broke up just before the release of Jab We Met and since then he has been linked with several actresses like Amrita Rao and Vidya Balan. Shahid Kapoor and Kareena’s kiss was caught by a phone cam and created a controversy. He was also supposed to be dating Priyanka Chopra.

Facing the Camera
Shahid is a fabulous dancer owing to the training he undertook at Shiamak Davar Institute for the Performing Arts. He was a background dancer in Subash Ghai’s 1998 release Taal. He was also part of music videos and ads like Pepsi.

Big Screen Calling
2003 Shahid was launched as the lead in Ken Ghosh’s love story Ishq Vishq, winning the Filmfare Best Male Debut award for his performance. Shahid and Amrita Rao enjoy a popular onscreen chemistry.

2004 The year saw him in the thriller Fida and a romantic comedy Dil Maange More. Both movies generated an average response from movie-goers.

2005 His releases Deewane Huye Paagal (based on the Hollywood comedy There’s Something About Mary) and Vah! Life Ho Tho Aisa, were both entertaining without creating an uproar at the box office. Shikhar, in which he worked with Ajay Devgan, earned him a Star Screen Awards nomination for Best Actor.

2006 He moved away from romantic comedies when he played Raj Malhotra in the murder mystery 36 China Town and played Jeetu in Priyadarshan’s comedy Chup Chup Ke, both falling into the average-success category. Vivah, a drama of love, was a blockbuster and a high grosser. His performance as Prem was widely appreciated.

2007 Fool and Final slid by. For his role as Aditya Kashyap in Jab We Met, Shahid was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Awards and the movie was one of the year’s biggest hits.

2008 Kismat Connection with Vidya Balan failed to shake the box office and only added to the list of average hits.

2009 His fans got to see a whole new Shahid in Vishal Bharadwaj’s Kaminey. He was seen in a dual role as Charlie and Guddu with a speech defect. In Dil Bole Hadippa with Rani Mukherji he played a cricket player. Of the two releases, Kaminey was a hit.

Coming Soon
You can catch more of his boyish good looks in Paathshala, Milenge Milenge, and Chance Pe Dance.

He is also working with Anushka Sharma in a Yash Raj movie. He is the star of Mausam which his father will direct.

Bipasha Basu Biography

Bipashu Basu: this Bollywood dazzler started out as a supermodel before scorching the big screen with her sultry sensuality.

Early days
Bipasha was born on the 7 January 1979 in New Delhi, later moving with her family to Kolkata. She is the second of three sisters. The other two are Bidisha and Vijayeta.

Bipasha studied science. Her repulsion towards dissecting animals, prompted her to move away from medicine to commerce. She did her schooling at Bhavan's Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir and her college years were spent at Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society College. In her spare time, she took up some modelling assignments.

She participated in the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest and walked away as the winner. She moved to New York, courtesy the Ford agency, where she continued with her modelling, until she decided to pack her bags and head back to India, landing in Bollywood.

She has appeared in Sonu Nigam’s Video ‘Tu’ from his album Kismat as well as Jay Sean’s video ‘Stolen’.

Bipasha Basu dated some of the hunkiest men like Milind Soman and Dino Morea before settling on John Abraham. A photograph of her kissing footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, raised questions on whether her relationship with John Abraham was in trouble. However the couple still seems to be as smitten with each other as ever.

Bringing sexy back
2001 Bipasha broke stereotypes in Ajnabee, in which she is a married woman making a play for her husband’s married friend. The risk was worth it as she won the Filmfare Best Debut Award for her role.

2002 It was followed by the success of Raaz, a thriller directed by Vikram Bhat. She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress award for her role as Sanjana.

2003 She again made waves in Jism, with John Abraham, in which she played a scheming seductress.

2004 The year saw movies like Aetbaar and Rudraaksh that didn’t make much of an impact.

2005 Her films No entry and Phir Hera Pheri did well at the box office.

2006 It was Bipasha’s year all the way with hits like Corporate, Omkara, and Dhoom 2. Her brilliant portrayal in Corporate as Nishigandha Dasgupta won her a nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. She sizzled in the item number ‘Beedi’ in Omkara.

2008 Bipasha had another hit in her kitty with Race while her performance in Bachna Hai Haseeno was appreciated.

2009 Her first release of the year was, Aa Dekhen Zara, with Neil Nitin Mukesh. It was a moderate success. She was seen as Jhanvi in All the Best: Fun Begins.

More Bips
Year 2010 will see Bips in Pankh, Freeze, and a Bengali film Shob Charitro Kalponik. She is also a part of Lamhaa which stars Sanjay Dutt and is set in Kashmir.

Akshay Kumar Biography

Akshay Kumar with his clean cut good looks and a history in martial arts has smoothly made a transition from action hero to a romantic hero and then into comedy, keeping movie buffs glued to their seats as they wait for what this Khiladi has to offer next.

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia
Akshay Kumar was born as Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia on the 9 September 1967 in Amritsar to a middle class Punjabi household. His father was a government worker. He grew up in Delhi and later in Mumbai’s Koliwada area. He did his schooling at the Don Bosco School and his college years were spent in Khalsa College, where he showed an inclination for sports.

He studied martial arts in Bangkok while working as a chef. He came back to Delhi to teach martial arts when one of his students suggested he try his hand at modeling, which led to an offer to act in Deedar as the lead actor.

Akshay was linked with several of his co-stars like Raveena Tandon, Shilpa Shetty, Pooja Batra and even Rekha. He is currently married to actress turned entrepreneur Twinkle Khanna and they have a son Araav.

Akshay: Unbuttoned
Akshay Kumar was accused of obscene conduct when he asked his wife to unbutton his Levis while walking the ramp in 2009.

And…..Action!
Akshay Kumar didn’t grab any headlines with his debut Saugandh in 1991. Deedar, Dancer, and Khiladi were released in 1992, with Khiladi being one of the biggest hits of the year. In 1993, he came out with atleast six movies all of which fell flat. But he more than made up for it in 1994 with hits like Mohra with Raveena Tandon, Yeh Dillagi with Kajol and Saif Ali Khan, and Mein Khiladi Tu Anari with Saif Ali Khan and Shilpa Shetty. He received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Actor award for his romantic role in Yeh Dillagi.

The Khiladi tag seemed to be a lucky charm of sorts and he proved it with the 1995 hit Sabse Bada Khiladi and then again in 1996 with Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. But the 1997 film Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi failed on that note. The same year, his extended supporting role in Dil To Pagal Hai won him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination. The next two years saw most of his films failing at the box office except for Sangharsh with Preity Zinta and Jaanwar.

He tried his hand in the comedy stream quite successfully in 2000 with Hera Pheri, which was a laugh riot. Dhadkan with pal Suneil Shetty and Shilpa Shetty also was a good performer at the box office. His role as Vikram Bajaj in the 2001 release Ajnabee won him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

The years 2003 to 2006 saw him in Awaara Paagal Deewana, Andaaz, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge (nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor and Filmfare Best Comedian award), Garam Masala, and the sequel Phir Hera Pheri. Garam Masala fetched him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role.

He proved himself yet again in 2007 with almost all of his films ending up as hits like Namastey London, Bhool Bhulaiya, and Welcome. Though the much hyped Tashan failed to do well in 2008, Singh is Kinng did exceptionally well in India and overseas.

He also kickstarted the adventure based TV reality show, Khatron Ka Khiladi.

In 2009, Akshay did not have much success with his releases as they did not match the hype. He was seen in Chandni Chowk to China with Deepika Padukone as a loser who morphs into a winner. While his fans stood by him, the critics slammed it. Nagesh Kukunoor’s 8x10 Tasveer didn’t evoke a good response. Kambakkht Ishq also fell flat. Blue was appreciated for its visuals. De Dana Dan, a comedy, with his pals from Hera Pheri did a decent job at the box office.

On a Roll….
He is currently working on five movies-Housefull, Helloo India, Action Replay with Aishwarya Rai, Khatta Meeta, and Patiala House.

Preity Zinta Biography

1. 
   Preity Zinta’s impish looks in the Cadbury’s Perk commercial and her forthright character in her debut Dil Se, which is on par with her off screen persona, stole the show and had her fans begging for more.
   
   Pretty Power
   Preity Zinta, born on 31 January 1975 in Shimla comes from a non-filmi family. Her father Durganand Zinta was in the Indian Army and her mother is Nilprabha. Her older brother Deepankar is with the Indian Army and a younger brother Manish lives in California. Zinta’s parents were in a car accident that killed her father while her mother made it with severe injuries.
   
   Zinta spent her early years at the Jesus and Mary boarding school in Shimla. She is a graduate in English from St.Bede’s College in Shimla after which she did a degree in Criminal Psychology.
   
   Her break into show business was a matter of chance, when she was featured in the Cadbury Perk’s commercial. She went on to be the Liril girl and part of other ads. She made a move into movies in 1997. Her debut Shekhar Kapoor’s Tara Rum Pum Pum with Hrithik Roshan was cancelled after which she landed a role in Mani Rathnam’s Dil Se.
   
   Zinta was dating Marc Robinson. In 2009, Zinta broke up with her long-term boyfriend Ness Wadia, a businessman who comes from the family that runs Bombay Dyeing.
   
   Skating on thin ice
   Zinta was awarded the Godfrey’s Mind of Steel Award and the Red and White Bravery Award for testifying against the underworld who had threatened her during the Bharat Shah case. She was one of the few witnesses who stood her ground.
   
   More recently, Zinta was accused by singer Suchitra Krishnamurthy for being the reason behind her divorce from director Shekhar Kapoor, which Zinta denied.
   
   IPL
   Zinta’s life has been more than just show business. She wrote for the BBC News Online about women’s issues. She is actively involved in various social causes like AIDS awareness, clean up drives in Mumbai, and human trafficking. Her prize money from Kaun Banega Crorepathi was donated to the Red Cross Society in Shimla. She was one of the celebrities, who as part of NDTV’s Jai Jawan, visited the army men based in Hisar, Haryana.
   
   In 2008, she became the youngest and only woman to own a franchise of the Mohali based Twenty20 cricket team of the Indian Premier League. She was in the news for her rapport with the team’s players and support that she extended towards them during the matches.
   
   Shaadi ke pehle, you know, honkabonkabonk???
   
   1998 to 2000
   Preity Zinta’s first release was Mani Rathnam’s Dil Se (1998) with Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Her role as the outspoken Preeti Nair and her song sequence ‘Jiya Jale’ was enough to seal the deal. Her second movie the same year was as the lead in Soldier with Bobby Deol. She won the Filmfare Best Debut Award. She also acted in a Telugu movie, Premante Idera.
   
   In 1999, she appeared in another Telugu movie Raja Kumarudu and as a CBI officer in Tanuja Chandra’s Sangharsh, which was inspired by Silence of the Lambs. In 2000, she played Priya Bakshi in Kya Kehna, which dealt with pre-marital sex and the ostracization of a single, pregnant woman. This was followed by Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega with Rani Mukherji and Salman Khan and Mission Kashmir in which she played a journalist opposite Hrithik Roshan.
   
   2001 to 2004
   She starred once again with Rani Mukherji and Salman Khan in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), which was mired in controversy as it was supposed to have been financed by the underworld. Then there was the groundbreaking Dil Chahta Hai which cast her as Aamir Khan’s love interest. Dil Hai Tumhaara, her only release in 2002, did not do well at the box office. Armaan, in 2003, saw her in a negative role and she was part of Bollywood’s sci-fi movie, Koi Mil Gaya, with Hrithik Roshan. It was Naina Catherine Kapoor’s role in Karan Johar’s Kal Ho Na Ho that cinched the Filmfare Best Film Actress Award.
   
   In Lakshya, she famously played the role of journalist Barkha Dutt. Veer–Zaara was a love story between a Pakistani woman and an Indian man and won her praise.
   
   2005 to 2010
   Salaam Namaste, set in Australia and starring Saif Ali Khan, had her in the role of Amber a radio jockey in a live-in relationship and for the third time onscreen she was pregnant out of wedlock.
   
   Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna, another multi starrer by Karan Johar, did well in 2006. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in 2007 didn’t do well in India but did better business overseas.
   
   Rituparno Ghosh’s The Last Lear got mixed reviews. In 2008, she played Kuljeet Kaur, a war-widow in Heroes and Chand in Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth that was about domestic violence.
   
   In 2009, she was seen in a cameo role in Main Aur Mrs Khanna. Her next release is Jahnu Barua’s Har Pall (2010) with Shiney Ahuja