1. Deepa Sahi
Discerning observers of Deepa Sahi’s film career would always be in a dilemma as to whether she has been a better director or a more talented actress. Perhaps she herself was also caught in between this duality of thought about which of her two prominent qualities she should give more priority. Whatever that may be, she has always displayed an independent trait in herself, right from the time she decided to stay back in India when all the rest of her family shifted to Canada. She proved her mettle in studies as well, being a gold medalist from the Delhi University, before attempting to hone her skills in the realm of theatre. The dichotomy that later surfaced in her versatile career, cropped up in her very first foray into theater. While she had joined the National School of Drama with the aim of becoming a director, she was swarmed with more acting offers, leaving her little option but to pursue acting.
Moving over from drama to the world of films, she was fortunate to have the company of the noted director Govind Nihalani, who cast her in the 1984 film, “Party” whose cast was almost a complete collection of actors and actresses of the parallel cinema, and basically from the world of drama. For one of her tastes and preferences it could not have been a better beginning. The film, produced by the National Film Development Corporation, participated in several Film Festivals and received rave reviews. Her next film “Aghaat”, again by Nihalani, a year later, was also well received and got the Filmfare Critics award that year, featuring once again the leading lights of parallel cinema.
The next phase of her cinematic career, however, got interlinked with her husband Ketan Mehta, himself a director of parallel cinema. Although she acted in several of his films, the one that stood out for its bold overtones and much discussed adult scenes, was the 1992 production “Maya Memsaab”, opposite the up and coming Shah Rukh Khan. Although her roles in various movies have drawn critical appreciation, the one performance most lauded was in the 1988 Doordarshan tele serial “Tamas”, in the backdrop of the partition of India. Her role as the straight talking, unabashed backward class woman from interior Punjab was on the lips of connoisseurs for long. As a director her first venture was the romantic comedy “Tere Mere Phere” in 2011, but it met with only moderate commercial success, while “Mangal Pandey: The Rising”, co produced with her husband earlier in 2005, fared better.
...2. Riya Sen
3. Sasha Goradia
4. Ketan Mehta
5. Anup Jalota
Anuj Jalota is a very popular singer, and he sings basically on Bhajan and Ghazal based songs. His birth place was Nainital of Uttarakhand, and his origin is Phagwara of Punjab. He is known for his soulful and prominent songs that made an absolute difference as a whole. He is known to be the master of Bhajans by his ardent and outstanding songs. His forte is devotional singing and got Padma Shri from the Indian government in the year 2012. His classical singing got recognized, and he seemed to do great songs in the Carnatic music. He did his graduation in Lucknow and had three siblings which include a brother and two sisters. His career took off as a singer, and he sang for the All India Radio. A few of the Bhajans that brought his fame include Chadariya Jini, Jag Me Sundar, Aisi Lagi Lagan, Rang De Chunariya, and Nahi Makhan Khayo. These songs were an immense hit, and he acquired a lot of fans for his music.
...6. Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak is a well known face in the field of comedy in Indian movies and televisions. He showed us what comedy is in the true sense, without making it a jest. In this fast moving world of noise and bustle, people want to get a respite, want to enjoy, Vinay Pathak’s movie is the right choice for them. Vinay Pathak was born in Bhojpur, Bihar. He had his schooling from Vikas Vidyalaya, Ranchi. And completed his graduation from the Allahabad University. Thereafter,he joined the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and there only he developed his interest in acting. He is not only an actor of the day, but also a dialogue writer too.
...7. Jagrat Desai
Jagrat Desai is a Bollywood actor known for his work in ‘Tere Mere Phere’. He made his Bollywood debut with this film. He is a very affectionate follower of Bollywood. He always sought of doing some work in the film industry and followed his passion for working in movies. He made his debut along with Sasha Goradia in the film Tere Mere Phere; they were cast as a married couple having several problems after marriage and which created a huge hara-kiri. The film was directed by well-known actress Deepa Sahi and was produced by Ketan Mehta. The movie was a romantic comedy but did not claim many audiences. Jagrat did various small contributions to the film industry; he was an Assistant Director in the movie Calcutta Mail in 2003.
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