Manmohan singh

Dr. Manmohan Singh was born in Gāh on September 26th 1932. He has been the Prime Minister of India and the political leader of Reserve Bank of India. He directed Jee Aayan Nu. Singh graduated from Cambridge University, Nuffield College, Oxford and Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been married to Gursharan Kaur. He is the father of Upinder and Amrit. He has worked as a civil servant, a politician and a teacher, and his current occupation is economist. He has lived in India, New Delhi, Assam, Chandigarh and Guwahati, and he now has a home in 7 Race Course Road.

Ajay

Shri Ajay Singh Chautala (born 13 March 1961) is a politician from Indian National Lok Dal party and a former Member of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha representing Haryana, the upper and lower house of the Indian Parliament. Currently he is serving as MLA in Haryana assembley representing Dabwali constituency.

Biography

Ajay Singh Chautala (b. 13 March 1961) is son of Shri Om Prakash Chautala, Former Chief Minister of Haryana and grandson of Chaudhari Devi Lal. He did his B.A. from Kurukshetra University, M.A. (Public Administration) and LL.B. from Rajasthan University. He joined active politics in 1980s, became MLA from Rajasthan twice: first from Data Ram Garh (1989) and then from Nauhar (1993).^[2] Former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Devi Lal, who was also his grand father, had special bonding and affection for Ajay. Ajay also consider his grand father Devi Lal to be his role model.
Ajay became member of Parliament from Bhiwani Constituency in 1999.^[3] In the recently held Vidhan Sabha elections, He was the star campaigner besides his father & INLD president Om Parkash Chautala. He is currently Member of Legislative Assembly from Dabwali in Haryana as he defeated Dr K.V.Singh by more than 12,000 votes. Earlier he was elected as Rajya Sabha member from Haryana (Member of Parliament. He became President of the Youth Wing of Indian National Lok Dal and secretary General of Indian National Lokdal Party.
In addition to his active participation in political affairs, he snatches time to pursue his academic, sports & social commitments. He is also actively associated with cooperative movement and held the office of Director, IFFCO as well as Senior Vice President of IFFCO.^[1] Ajay Chauhan has taken up various social causes like anti-polythene campaign, tree plantation drive, eye donation campaign etc.
He is also deeply interested in sports. He is President of the Table Tennis Federation of India(TTFI) since year 2000.^[4] Recently, He has been elected Vice President of Asian Table Tennis Union(ATTU) A widely traveled man, he has visited several countries of Asia, Europe, Australia, America, Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Newzeland.^[1]

Profession :Agriculturist/Farmer,Political Worker/Politician,Social Worker/Social Service
Permanent Address: H.No. 803, Chauhan House, Ram Colony, Barnala Road, Sirsa, Haryana. Tel. - (Tel. {01666} 224015, 231129)
Positions Held:1990-98 Member, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (two terms) 1999-Feb. 2004 Member, Thirteenth Lok Sabha Aug. 2004 Elected to Rajya Sabha Aug. 2004 onwards Member, Committee on Water Resources Dec. 2005 onwards Member, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture
Books Published:(i) Ch. Devi Lal: Life, Work and Philosophy, Hope India Ltd., Gurgaon, 2003 and (ii) Pratispardha Ke Yug Mein Haryana, Pragati Press Ltd., Delhi, 2003
Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special Interests :Special interest in social, cultural, literary and scientific activities in the State of Haryana; got an academy established in 2002 in order to keep the culture of Haryana alive

Sports, Clubs, Favourite Pastimes and Recreation :President, (i) Haryana Table Tennis Association Pastimes and Recreation since 1987, (ii) Table Tennis Federation of India since 2000 and (iii) Table Tennis Federation of Commonwealth since 2000; table tennis, volleyball and wrestling
Countries Visited :Visited several countries including U.S.A., U.K., China, Canada, Japan, Russia, Australia, Pakistan, Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North Korea), South Korea, Kenya, New Zealand, Austria, France, Switzerland, Abu Dhabi (U.A.E), Hungary, South Africa, Denmark and Germany
Other Information :Officiating as Head of Ch. Devi Lal Vidyapeeth, Sirsa, an institution which is working in the field of education and being run by Ch. Devi Lal Memorial Trust; Chairman, Sirsa Milk Union, 1987–90; Director, IFFCO, 2000–2004; Chief Patron, Indian National Students Organization (I.N.S.O.)

Rahul gandhi

Date of Birth

19 June 1970, New Delhi, India

Height

5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Mini Biography

Rahul Gandhi is the son of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Rahul and his younger sister, Priyanka have been in the public eye since the day they were born as at the time their grandmother Indira Gandhi was India's Prime Minister. Even their great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was a prime minister of India, in fact, the first.

Rahul studied in Modern School, New Delhi for a while and then went to St. Stephen's College (Delhi) where he did History Hons. After that he went to Harvard and then to London where he was a financial consultant. He returned to India in 1999 and was seen alongside his mother, Sonia Gandhi during the 1999 Lok Sabha campaign.

Rahul has not been too much in the public eye, but has always retained a certain enigma about him. The Indian public is always interested to learn the latest information about him. He is still not married, but is said to have a Columbian girlfriend. Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka spoke to the media for the first time in January 2004 while touring Amethi, the constituency in Uttar Pradesh that has been represented by their father and is currently represented by their mother. Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka went to Karachi and watched the first ODI match between India and Pakistan in March 2004 and the public in Pakistan were happy to see them. Their presence in the match proved to be luck for India, it won. The enigma about whether Rahul Gandhi will enter active politics is now over. On March 21, 2004 the Congress party announced that Rahul Gandhi would be the Congress party's candidate for the Lok Sabha seat from Amethi, currently represented by his mother, Sonia, who has shifted her constituency to Rae Barelli.

Trivia

Son of former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi and great grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Is the second member of the fifth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family to enter into active politics. His younger cousin Varun Gandhi joined the BJP in early 2004. Rahul is however, the first member of the 5th generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family to contest any election. Varun is still under age to stand in an election

Where Are They Now

(July 2006) Elected to Lok Sabha from Amethi in 2004. According to reports in the media and party sources, Gandhi is soon going to be inducted into the Congress Party Working Committee and become a General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh and Frontal Organisations such as the Indian Youth Congress

Sonia gandhi

Gandhi, Sonia.

AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

The story should have had a fairy-tale ending: a beautiful young girl meets her handsome Prince Charming, has two children, and lives happily every after. In 1968, however, when Sonia Maino married Rajiv Gandhi of India, the fairy tale was only half realized. She snagged a handsome prince, but she also inherited the troubled history of his country. Rajiv Gandhi was a member of a family that had ruled India since the 1940s. His grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's first prime minister, and his mother, Indira Gandhi, held that office throughout the 1970s. Rajiv himself briefly served as prime minister in the 1980s, but was assassinated in 1991 as he attempted to reclaim the post. Almost a decade after her husband's death, Sonia Gandhi reluctantly followed in her famous family's footsteps by entering politics. In 2004, after serving as president of India's Congress Party, she was called upon by members of Parliament to take up the reins of prime minister. Gandhi shocked the nation, and the world, when she declined. Members of the opposition breathed a sigh of relief, but others feared that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty had come to an end.

Love at first sight

Sonia Gandhi was born Sonia Maino on December 9, 1947, in the small village of Orbassano, just outside Turin, Italy. She was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic household, and her parents, Stefano and Paolo, were working class people. Stefano was a building contractor who owned his own medium-sized construction business; Paolo took care of the family's three daughters. When Sonia was eighteen years old, her father sent her to Cambridge, England, to study English. He did not know that his oldest daughter's life was about to change forever.
In 1965, just a year after arriving in England, Sonia met a young Indian student named Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991), who was studying mechanical engineering at Cambridge University. According to Sonia Gandhi, it was love at first sight. The courtship, however, lasted three years, perhaps because Rajiv was from one of the most famous families in India, if not the world. Sonia's parents were reluctant to have her become involved in such a different culture, and Sonia herself was nervous about meeting Rajiv's famous mother, Indira Gandhi (1917–1984), who was considered to be the "first lady" of India. Indira Gandhi's father, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), became the country's first prime minister after India claimed its independence from Great Britain in 1947, and Gandhi worked closely with him until his death. In 1965 Indira Gandhi was poised to fill Nehru's shoes.

"Power in itself has never attracted me, nor has position been my goal."

Sonia's fears were quickly overcome as she and Indira became fast friends. In 1968, Sonia and Rajiv were married in a simple ceremony in New Delhi, India; Sonia wore the same pink sari her mother-in-law had worn at her own wedding many years before. A sari is a traditional dress that consists of several yards of cloth draped around the waist and shoulders. Following the wedding Sonia and Rajiv moved in with Indira Gandhi, who by this time had become prime minister. Sonia's relationship with Indira deepened, and ultimately she became the faithful and obedient daughter-in-law, in charge of running the household. This meant that although Gandhi came into the marriage a modern woman of the West, she soon traded her miniskirts for saris and steeped herself in Indian culture. She even learned to speak Hindi, the official language of India.

Rajiv reluctantly enters politics

While Sonia Gandhi served as hostess at state functions and received visiting dignitaries along with her mother-in-law, Rajiv Gandhi remained relatively removed from politics. After leaving Cambridge, he did not go into engineering; instead he pursued his passion for flying and became a commercial airline pilot for Indian Airlines. The heir to the political throne was expected to be Rajiv's younger brother, Sanjay (1946–1980). As a result, the Gandhis lived in relative peace and quiet, while raising their two children, Rahul and Priyanka, away from the glare of the media.

India's Parliament Explained

India's government is based on the British parliamentary system. The Parliament, or ruling legislative body, is divided into two houses: the upper house, called the Rajya Sabha, consists of a maximum of 250 members; the lower house, known as the Lok Sabha, is composed of no more than 545 members. As in the United States, members of each house are elected to office, and they represent constituents who reside in a particular state. There are fourteen states in India. Legislative elections are held every five years. Following the election, if one party receives a majority of votes, one member is voted in by the party as prime minister. If one party does not achieve a majority of votes, members negotiate with other parties in order to form what is known as a coalition government.

In the meantime, the 1970s became the Indira Gandhi decade in India. The Indian public revered her, calling her Mataji, meaning revered mother. Her political opponents, however, viewed her as a sometimes ruthless leader who seemed determined to form a dictatorship. She even caused dissension within her own political party, the Congress Party (CP). The CP was particularly popular in India, because its early members were major figures in the fight for independence from Great Britain. As a result, the party controlled India's government for most of the twentieth century. In 1969, however, Gandhi split the CP; her splinter group was eventually called the Congress-I Party, the "I" standing for Indira.
By the late 1970s Sanjay had become Gandhi's primary policy adviser, and in 1980 he officially entered politics by winning a seat in Parliament. Before Sanjay had a chance to fulfill his destiny, however, he was killed in a flying accident. A stunned Indira Gandhi begged her older son to join the family's political ranks. Sonia Gandhi was vehemently opposed to the idea, fearing that her husband might be injured or killed, given the explosive nature of Indian politics. After several long discussions, however, the couple jointly agreed that Rajiv should quit his job with the airlines. Although Sonia Gandhi was not pleased, she was a dutiful wife and supported her husband's decision. In 1981 Rajiv ran successfully for Parliament and took over the seat vacated by his brother. He served as the representative from the Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India populated by approximately 160 million inhabitants.

A grieving widow

In 1984 the Gandhi family, and India, was shaken to its very core when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her own bodyguards. Tensions had been escalating for some time between various Indian religious sects, including Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. Earlier in the year, Sikh militants had stockpiled weapons in their sacred Golden Temple, assuming that the government would not dare to enter their holy sanctuary. Gandhi, however, sent troops to storm the temple, which resulted in the deaths of many militants. In retaliation, Gandhi's bodyguards, who were Sikhs, shot and killed the prime minister in her own home. Just hours after the shootings, Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as his mother's replacement.
Sonia Gandhi, resigned to the fact that her husband must lead his country, became his vigilant supporter and submerged herself in the role of a prime minister's wife. She became an art historian and worked with a team at the National Gallery in New Delhi to restore Indian landscapes. She also collected and edited letters that had been sent between Indira Gandhi and her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, which were ultimately published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Despite Sonia Gandhi's successes, however, her husband Rajiv was a less-than-successful ruler. He was never able to match the popularity of his famous mother, and his administration was plagued by one problem after another, including charges of illegal arms dealings. As a result, in 1989 Rajiv Gandhi was voted out of office.

Manmohan Singh: India's Newest Prime Minister

India's newest prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, was born into a family of very modest means on September 26, 1932, in Gah, West Punjab (now Pakistan). After earning degrees in economics from Cambridge University in England and from Punjab University, he spent the next thirty years working as a quiet but very key player in Indian politics. In the 1980s Singh served as the head of the Reserve Bank of India, and in 1991 he became the country's finance minister in the Congress Party-led government of Narasimha Rao (1921–), which was in power until 1996.
When he took the post, India was in disastrous financial straits, but during his tenure Singh became the mastermind behind the country's economic reform movement. He opened up the country to outside investors for the first time, and ended regulations that had kept India tied to the past. For example, Singh dissolved the "license Raj," which required private businesses to seek government approval before making almost any decision. By the end of the 1990s, with Singh's help, India was well on its way to economic recovery.
Perhaps more remarkable, however, was that throughout the decades of scandal that rocked the Indian government, Singh retained an incredibly "squeaky clean" reputation. In fact, in 2002 he was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. And in May of 2004, when it was announced that he would be taking on the post of prime minister, Singh was given support across the board from representatives of the various Indian parties.
Singh has been married since 1958 and has three daughters. In addition to playing an active role in government, he is also a respected professor of economics and a published author. He is a member of the Sikh faith; when he became prime minister, he became the first Sikh to hold the country's top government position.

In the 1991 elections, Rajiv hit the campaign trail determined to reclaim his family's title. In an uncharacteristic move, security was light. Following his mother's death, Rajiv had taken to wearing a bulletproof vest and had surrounded himself with bodyguards. On this trip, however, his goal was to reconnect with the masses. Unfortunately, the lack of security would prove to be his undoing. On May 22, 1991, while swinging through Tamil Nadu, a key state in south India, he was killed by a young female assassin. The woman was a member of the Tamil Tigers, a band of militants who were fighting for a separate state in northeast Sri Lanka (a country just south of India).
After her husband's assassination, Sonia Gandhi was devastated. She became a virtual recluse for the next six years, spending most of her time with her children and rarely leaving her home. She did break her silence twice. In 1992 Gandhi published a book called Rajiv, which offered an unexpected glimpse into the life she shared with her husband. In 1994 she went into more detail when she published Rajiv's World. She also preserved her husband's legacy by traveling throughout the world and establishing trust funds in his name. Remembering him in such ways provided at least some degree of healing.

Savior of the Congress Party

Throughout her seclusion, representatives from the Congress Party (CP) sent appeal after appeal to Gandhi asking her to be their leader. The CP, once the strongest party in India, had never recovered from Indira Gandhi's death, and by the 1990s it was in serious decline. At the same time, one of the opposition parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was fast gaining ground. Since most of India still revered the Gandhi name, representatives believed that Sonia Gandhi would offer the best hope of infusing new life into their party. Time and again Gandhi refused their offers. In 1997, however, realizing that the CP was in dire need, she agreed to formally join their ranks.
Although she had no political experience, Gandhi threw herself into the 1998 legislative campaign. She made more than 140 stops throughout the country, delivering speeches to packed audiences. And, even though she spoke in a very soft voice and in heavily accented Hindi, she touched the people of India. It may have been partly because she was seen as a grieving widow, or because voters saw her as a reminder of the party's past glory, but the CP was re-energized and Gandhi emerged as a political power in her own right. As one CP representative told CNN in December of 1998, "She gave the party again a nucleus around which it could get united."
Gandhi gained so much popularity that members of opposing parties, especially the BJP, saw her as a very real threat. In an attempt to undermine her credibility, they attacked her verbally and in the press, focusing on a single issue: Gandhi had no right to be involved in politics because, having been born in Italy, she was a foreigner. It did not seem to matter than Gandhi had become an Indian citizen in 1984. Such attacks did little harm, however, since most of the voting public did not consider Gandhi to be an outsider. As one male supporter told CNN in 1998, "Ever since she married Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia has lived in India. She has learned all about India and made herself an Indian. In fact, she is a good example of a good Indian woman."
Although the CP made a good showing in the 1998 elections, gaining twenty-eight seats in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party came out the ultimate winner when it formed a coalition government with seventeen other lesser parties. Therefore, in March of 1998, BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee (1926–) was named prime minister. It was, however, a short-lived victory. Shaky to begin with, Vajpayee's government remained intact only until April of 1999, which meant that elections had to be held again in the fall of the year. In the meantime Gandhi was elected president of the CP, and it seemed possible that another Gandhi would soon be in the country's top position. Once again the question of Gandhi's right to be involved in politics came into play, although this time the outcry came from several top members of her own party. Not wishing to divide the group, Gandhi resigned. The CP refused to accept her resignation, however, and instead fired the members who had dared to oppose her.
When the October elections rolled around, it was still not clear whether Gandhi was the favored CP contender for prime minister. As it turned out, the point was not an issue, since the CP had a poor showing, capturing only 112 seats. The BJP claimed victory, with 182 seats, and Vajpayee once again formed a coalition government. Known as the National Democratic Alliance, the BJP-led government controlled almost three hundred of the 545 seats in the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha. This time, Vajpayee managed to install a relatively stable coalition, and the BJP would remain in control for the next five years.

Took husband's seat in Parliament

In the same election Gandhi ran for two parliamentary positions, including the seat in Uttar Pradesh which Rajiv Gandhi had once held.

Supporters of Sonia Gandhi gather in front of her house in New Delhi, India, in 2004.

AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

Candidates in India are allowed to run for two seats simultaneously; if they win both, they must choose which post to take. Gandhi ultimately won both seats, but chose the district her husband had represented. Under BJP rule the country seemed to prosper, and by 2004 Vajpayee was claiming credit for turning the economy around. True, big business was booming and India was advancing technologically, but millions of rural Indians living in poverty were not benefiting from BJP reforms. According to statistics reported by CNN in 2004, half of the Indian population was living on less than two dollars a day. However, Vajpayee was so confident that voters were behind him that, although national elections were slated for October of 2004, he called for polls to open six months early.
Gandhi again hit the campaign trail, covering approximately forty thousand miles in the months prior to the elections, and spending long days speaking in sweltering heat that soared over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. For most of her appearances she dressed in a simple white sari, which is the symbol of widowhood in India. She also spoke simply and plainly, and made a direct appeal to the nation's poor. In direct contrast to Vajpayee, who touted big business, Gandhi's campaign, according to Egbert Bhatty of the Washington Dispatch, focused on "unity, tolerance, and love among all men." As they had in 1998, millions of her countrymen embraced the soft-spoken Gandhi, calling her desh ki bahu, our daughter-in-law.
When elections began in April, voters turned out in droves. Almost four hundred million people went to the polls, and after all the ballots were counted in May, there was a surprise upset. The CP, along with its coalition allies, captured 279 seats, a slim majority, but a majority nonetheless, in the Lok Sabha. Since it had won a majority, the CP needed to elect a new prime minister, and the frontrunner seemed to be Sonia Gandhi. Although Gandhi remained tight-lipped about whether or not she wanted the position, political analysts predicted that her victory was assured, and CP members were vocal in their support. Elizabeth Roche of The Age quoted senior official Ambika Soni as saying, "Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the Congress party. We want that our party chief should become the prime minister."

The fairy tale ends?

On Tuesday, May 17, during a meeting of the CP, Gandhi made a declaration that stunned her party, the people of India, and the rest of the world. "I was always certain," she said, "that if ever I found myself in the position that I am in today, I would follow my inner voice. Today, that voice tells me that I must humbly decline this post." Gandhi's supporters pleaded with her to reconsider, but she remained firm in her decision to decline the position. Some claimed that she was bullied into her decision by the BJP opposition, who once again berated Gandhi because of her foreign birth. Others felt that she and her children feared for her safety. But the public Gandhi indicated that she was stepping aside for the good of her party and the good of India.
The day after her announcement, Gandhi nominated longtime friend and government official Manmohan Singh (1932–) to take the reigns as prime minister. On May 19, 2004, his appointment became official. Although Gandhi did not accept the country's top post, she remained at the helm of the CP, and those around her still considered her to be very much in the forefront of Indian politics. As Mani Shankar Aiyar of the CP told Bill Schneider of CNN.com, "She is the queen. She is appointing a regent to run some of the business of government for her. But it is she who will be in charge and who will continue to direct the fortunes of the Congress Party." In addition, after the 2004 elections, it seemed that the Gandhi dynasty would continue at least for another generation, since Sonia and Rajiv's son, Rahul, was successfully elected to the Indian Parliament.

Rahul roy

Rahul Roy with his unconventional good looks and an unusual hair cut kicked up a storm with his debut Aashiqui. He disappeared from the film industry after his career took a nosedive. However, he said hello to the cameras again in Bigg Boss (2006) and went on to win the reality show.

Rahul Roy
Rahul Roy was born on 9 February 1968 in New Delhi, India. He has a twin, Rohit, who is 26 minutes older than Rahul.

Rahul dated some gorgeous women like Pooja Bhatt, Manisha Koirala, and Kamal Sidhu. He is now married to a model, Rajalaxmi.

Movies
Rahul Roy met overnight success when he landed the lead role in Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui (1990) opposite another newbie, Anu Agarwal.

He received many offers and had a successful run with the release of movies like Sapne Sajan Ke (1992), Janam (1992), and Junoon (1992). The latter saw him morphing into a vicious tiger.

He appeared as Rahul in the made-for-television movie, Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi (1993). The movie saw him in love with a disturbed woman, played by Pooja Bhatt. It was based on Mahesh Bhatt’s own life.

Many of the movies he acted in were never completed and the ones which were released didn’t do well at the box office.

He acted in movies like: Megha (1996), Achanak (1998), Tune Mera Dil Le Liya (2000), and Naughty Boy (2006). He even tried his hand at directing with Mera Juta Hai Japani but the movie was shelved when its producer passed away.

Rahul was seen on television in the reality show Bigg Boss (2006), which he won.

His next movie is Tanvir Ahmad’s Ada (2009).

Akshay kumar

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.

Dharamander

Dharamendra was voted as one of the top five handsome men in the world in the sixties. He was also known as the ‘he-man’ of Hindi cinema. He was the action hero, he was the romantic hero and one of the top actors of his time until politics came knocking.

Basics on Dharamendra
Dharamendra Kewal Krishen Deol was born on the 8th December 1935 in Punjab, India. He was born into an Arya Samaj Jatt family. His father was Kewal Krishen Deol, a school headmaster and his mother Satwant Kaur Deol, was a Sikh.

He married Prakash Kaur in 1954 and has two sons Sunny and Bobby, both of whom are actors and two daughters Ajeeta and Vijeta. At the time of his marriage he was working with an American Drilling Company.

In 1980 he converted to Islam to marry actress Hema Malini as his first wife refused to grant him divorce. His legal name after changing religion is Delawar Khan. He has two daughters with Hema Malini, Esha and Ahana. His daughter Esha Deol is an actress.

He was also involved with Meena Kumari with whom he worked in Phool Aur Pathar and many other movies.

The Filmfare spot the talent contest proved to be lucky for him as he was discovered and signed up by Arjun Hingorani in the sixties and there was no looking back as he became one of the most prominent faces in Bollywood for five decades, a fact that was recognized in 1997 when he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dharamendra in Politics
He contested from Bikaner, Rajasthan during the 2004 General Elections as part of BJP and was consequently elected Member of Parliament

Dharamendra’s Movies
1960 to 1969  Dharamendra’s debut movie was Arjun Hingorani’s Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere in 1960. Anpad (1962) was about literacy among women and he worked with Mala Sinha and Shashi Kala in the movie.
In Bimal Roy’s Bandini (1963), he starred with Nutan and Ashok Kumar as a doctor in a prison. He was cast opposite Meena Kumari in Phool Aur Pather in a negative role but whose goodness is brought out by Meena Kumari.

He worked with Sharmila Tagore in movies like Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968), Yakeen (1969) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Satyakam (1969). He starred with Mala Sinha and Mehmood in Aankhen (1968) that was a spy movie and became a hit at the box office.

1970 to 1979  He was seen as a circus owner in Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker (1970). He acted with Hema Malini and Sanjeev Kumar in Ramesh Sippy’s Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). He played the role of Shankar in the classic Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).

He worked with another rising star Amitabh Bacchan in the comedy Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Chupke Chupke (1975), as a professor. They came together again in one of the biggest movies of Indian cinema, Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975). He played a criminal Veeru who along with buddy Jai sets out to destroy Gabbar Singh and also falls in love with Basanti, which was played by Hema Malini. Dharamendra appeared with Hema Malini in Dream Girl (1977).

1980 to 1989  Dharmendra and Amitabh Bacchan were seen as brothers in Ram Balram (1980) with Zeenat Aman as his love interest. He and wife Hema Malini were paired onscreen in Razia Sultan (1983), a story about Razia Sultan’s affair with a slave.

The other movies in the eighties were Qayamat (1983), Raaj Tilak (1984), Ghulami (1985), Sultanat (1986), Insaaf Ki Pukaar (1987) and Sikka (1989).

1990 to 1999  The nineties didn’t hold the same charm and he was seen in Kshatriya (1993), Taaqat (1995), Return of Jewel Thief (1996) and Pyaar Kiya Tho Darna Kya (1998).

2000 to 2009  Dharmendra came together with his sons onscreen for the first time in Apne (2007) and the response was good. The same year he was seen as Seshadri in the critically acclaimed Johnny Gaddar. His next movie is Har Pall (2009) which stars Preity Zinta and Shiney Ahuja, in which he plays Zinta’s father.