Sridevi is considered to be one of the first Indian female Cinema Superstar and an all time favorite, who is said to have ruled Bollywood for more than a decade as the Number One actress. She is known for her acting prowess and also has acted in many regional language movies, where she won praise and accolade from her fans. Such is her personality and acting skills that producers and directors were always ready to make her part of their next movie assignment.

Personal Life

Born to a Tamil family on 13th August, 1963, Sridevi was said to have talent for acting from her childhood days. She was inspired by her father Ayyapan, a lawyer and mother Rajeswari to pursue the art of acting. She married the famous film producer and the elder brother of well known actor Anil Kapoor in the year 1996. After marriage, she left acting and gave birth to two daughters.

Professional Life

Sridevi started her acting career at the age of 4 for a Tamil devotional movie, Thunaivan and continued on acting in several South Indian regional movies. However, she got her first breakthrough in a Tamil movie named ’16 vayathinile’ at a tender age of 13 as the leading actress, opposite Rajnikanth and Kamalahasan. By the age of 17, she was considered to be veteran in the film industry.  She did her first Bollywood movie ‘Julie’ at the age of 12. She then did several award winning movies like Sigappu Rojakkal, Moondram Pirai, etc. Sridevi’s first success in Bollywood came with Sadma, followed by Nagina, Chandni, Chalbaaz, Lahme, etc. The mind blowing performances in these movies had established her as the undisputed leading actress in Bollywood. She was placed on the cover of Filmfare, a leading Indian movie magazine, which stated her as the No. 1 Bollywood actress.

Achievements

Sridevi acting prowess has been not only liked and loved by the mass, but also by critics alike. She won four of Filmfare’s ‘Best Actress Awards’ of which two was for Hindi, one for Telugu and one for Tamil. Her comeback after a long hiatus with the Hindi movie ‘English Vinglish’ was critically acclaimed and won laurels from all. ‘Variety’, the weekly American entertainment put up a review of the movie stating that Sridevi was charming disarmingly, recalling Audrey Hepburn. Meanwhile, the Canadian media called her as ‘Indian Meryl Steep’.

Unlike other actress, Sridevi did not have to undergo much struggle to get stardom. With only a few movies, she could confine her foothold in the industry. The main reason for her immense popularity is due to her mass appeal, witting dialogue throwing and superb acting. She is very natural in her acting and does not overact. She tends to get into the character that she is portraying in the movie, thus presenting genuinity in the acting. She has acted with almost all the leading Bollywood male personalities including Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Kamal Hasan, Sunny Deol, etc. to name a few. She is very versatile in her acting and could easily get into the characters, much to the delight of her directors. She is rather the darling of directors and producers who could at any point of time bet their money on her movies.

Even after coming from a long retirement, Sridevi has not forgotten an inch of her acting skills, which was very evident from the latest comeback movie ‘English Vinglish’. Almost all her films were box office hits and earned the producer huge amount of money. There were various types of character roles played by her during her long stint in acting. She played the role of a lover, sister, mother, wife and student and portrayed her character in an entertaining manner. Apart from her impeccable acting, she was also known for her penchant for dancing. Due to her efforts, she was awarded several Filmfare, National and State Awards. Most of her songs are still a fascination among the younger generation and are played at occasions and parties.Her huge hit was with the movie ‘Himmatwala’, which was a gross earner and placed her as a super-star in Bollywood and with ‘Mr. India’, she cemented her position as the No. 1 star of Bollywood. With women centric movies like ‘Nagina’, ‘Chandni’, she earned huge positive reviews from both India and abroad. With Sridevi having made a comeback to acting in Bollywood movies, the heroines of the current generation have plenty of challenges ahead of them. She could easily don traditional as well as modern roles with ease and comfort.

Even during her retirement, she appeared in several television serials like ‘Malini Iyer’ and also was a judge in ‘Kaboom’. She is one of the Directors of the AAFT. She has also walked on ramps for famous designers such as Queenie Dhody, Priya Chinttan and Neeta Lulla.

Nicolas Kim Coppola or commonly known by millions of his fans as Nicolas Cage is an actor, director and producer based in America and is considered one of the finest actors of all time. Born in California and raised in a Catholic Family, he delivered some of the biggest hits of all times like Raising Arizona in the year 1987, the Rock in 1996, Face Off in 1997 and many other hits throughout the years. One of Hollywood’s highest paid actors Nicolas Cage has delivered cult films like 8mm, Raising Arizona and blockbusters like National Treasure and Ghost Rider alike.

He has often received good reviews by international and well known critics like Roger Ebert who stood beside Cage in reviewing the film Knowing. Acted in more than 60 films Cage has a long list of films like- Con Air in the year 1997, Gone in 60 seconds in the year 2000, Adaptation in the year 2002, the highly successful National Treasure series began in the year 2004, then came the offbeat film Lord of War in 2005, after that the highly successful Ghost Rider series came into existence in the year 2007, Kick Ass happened then in the year 2010 and lastly the final installment of Ghost Rider which is a successful one.

Personal Life

Cage’s father, August Floyd Coppola, was a literature professor and his mother, Joy Vogelsang was a choreographer and dancer but his parents divorced in 1976. Nicolas Cage was born in the year January 7th, 1964 and his schooling was done in the Beverly Hills School which even today proudly claims many of its alumni to have become entertainers of the highest level. Though he is the nephew of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Cage has created an own niche for himself through his acting.

Married for three times, Cage’s three wives are-Patricia Arquette (she is a lead singer in a band named Eyes of Nocturn) to whom the actor was married from April 8, 1995 and divorced on May 18, 2001. Then came along songwriter/singer Lisa Marie Presley who was the daughter of Elvis Presley and this marriage lasted for a very short duration from 10th August, 2002 to 25th November 2002. The last marriage of the actor was with Alice Kim (she is a waitress at a Los Angeles based restaurant and pub) who also happens to be Cage’s current wife. Nicolas has two sons till date, Weston Coppola Cage from his first wife Patricia Arquette who was born on December 26, 1990 and more recently Kal-El born on 3rd October, 2005 (after the original birth name of Superman) with wife Alice Kim.

Often described as one living life beyond his means, Nicolas Cage once had huge castles and beautiful multimillion dollar homes to his credit. But everything does not go according planned and recently the actor is facing cases regarding paying of taxes and other monetary issues. Cage bought a property on the Paradise Islands, Bahamas and in the year 2006, the actor bought a stunning 40 acre island located in the Exuma archipelago which is located southeast of a place called Nassau. the actor also owned the posh castle of Schloss Neidstein in Germany between the years 2006 and 2009. He also owned the Midford Castle in Somerset, England. But in the coming years the actor was trapped in a huge financial crisis during which the actor bought and sold many homes, castles and manors. Nicolas Cage was also arrested once for domestic violence for which he was held in police custody until a bail of $11,000 freed him.

Professional Life

Cage’s first role as an actor was a small role in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High with actor Sean Penn. Nicolas Cage has appeared in a large number of mainstream and offbeat movies and over the years he has become a household name. Most of Nicolas’s successful films are action films like the highly successful National Treasure where he plays the role of an eccentric and mad historian who goes on to find the treasure that was hidden by America’s Founding Fathers. Also the highly successful ($208 million in a weekend all over the world) Ghost Rider saw him playing the role of Marvel Comics’ superhero.

Though the actor has tried many offbeat roles many of which suit him, it was always the action films that fetched him more money. Some of the actors’ alternate roles are- his performance in Leaving Las Vegas in which he played a suicidal alcoholic also won him an Academy Award, he also learnt to play Mandolin from the beginning for his film Captain Corelli's Mandolin and though his portrayal of his roles in the films The Weather Man and Lord of War. He made his directorial debut with Sonny. Lastly he is the only actor to have created a new acting method called the Nouveau Shamanic and plans to write about it one day.

A personality who became famous in whole bollywood by his sonorous voice and the marvelous dailogue delivery. A person who shook the film industry by just saying "Jaani.." and "Hum..". That Legend was Bollywood Super Star Raj Kumar.

Personal Life

Born in 1929 Raj Kumar is one of the biggest Hindi film icons of the seventies. Belonging to a Kashmiri Pundit family, his real name was Kulbhushan Pundit. In the 40’s he moved to Mumbai as a Sub inspector and he got married to Gayatri in 1962 when he was a well established actor. His movie “Mother India” made him a star in 1957 and he continued to do quality cinema since. He died in July 1999 of throat Cancer, a big tragedy, since it was his resonant voice quality that was a big factor in his success story. Today he is survived by three children- Purru, Pannini and Vastvikta Rajkumar, although none of his children could establish themselves as actors in the same way as their father.

Professional Life

Although he started out as a Sub Inspector in the Mumbai Police, it was the brilliance of the silver screen that lured him to dabble in the arena of acting. With his unforgettable role in the Oscar nominated movie "Mother India” he has always delivered movies par excellence. At the same time his films always endeavored to appeal to different classes of people and to their varying tastes. In the super hit movie Waqt he played a debonair businessman whereas in Paigham he played a simple mill worker. His portrayal of a romantic hero was much different than what we see in cinema today. He did not jiggle on songs rather he serenaded his love with Urdu poetry and soft music. A famous example of such love would be his super successful movie Pakeezah wherein his dialogue “inn pairon ko zameen par mat rakhna , yeh maile ho jaayenge”, is still remembered fondly. His Urdu dialect and deep voice were a very rare combination.  All the dailogues delivered by him in Tiranga gave a huge boost to his stardom. And he proved that very few can deliver such marvelous dialogues.

Nature

A super star of his time, he was known for his down to earth nature. His persona was such that it intimidated other actors to work with him. If one notes his earlier successful venture have either been solo hero projects or similar. But later in life when he made the movie Saudagar in 1991 with Mr. Dilip Kumar, their ego hassles were legendary. He was known to address everyone as Jaani even in real life, as he often did in his movies. It is said that he has always injected his own style and trait in his words both in his real and screen life.

Success

Raj Kumar’s first hit was Mother India in 1957. After that he gave another super hit Waqt in 1965. His career graph has seen a lot of high and lows.  In 1992 his movie Tiranga released which was also a hit. But after the release of this movie he did not deliver any super hits. Although his super stardom has yet not ceased but his no. of hits compared to that of his peers was much less. 

It is absurd to think that mere technical brilliance and high tech audio visual effects are the main features of a cinema. It is the honesty of an actor towards the character played by him, is what appeals to the audience. Raj Kumar had that austere quality in him which drew the public to theatres to watch his movies. His thoughtful and somber characteristics are still remembered fondly by people of all ages.

Madhuri Dixit is one of the renowned Indian actress in Indian film industry who was born on 15th May 1967 in Bombay, India. Madhuri Dixit is the daughter of Shankar and Snehlata Dixit. She belongs to a Marathi family. She has two elder sisters, Rupa and Bharati, and an elder brother, Ajit. In 1999 she married the Indian-American cardiovascular surgeon Sriram Madhav Nene.

Personal Life

This Bollywood Queen spends her time both in India as well as in Los Angeles. She has two sons: Arin her first son, was born in 2003, and her second son Ryan, who came into the world in March 2005. After her first child was born, she wanted to return to Bollywood business, but her second pregnancy made that impossible. After the birth of her second child she took her film projects postponed again. Madhuri wanted to become a microbiologist, but the fate decided something else for her. Her qualities as an actress and a dancer make a huge star in the early 1990s and some saw her as a reincarnation of the actress Madhubala. In addition to the five Film fare awards for best actress; she also received the Padma Shri in 2008 which is the fourth highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.

Professional Life

She started her career under Rajshri Productions in 1986 with the film Abodh. This film did not meet the public's favour, but she was noticed by the audience. In the same year, her two more films, Swati and Manav Hatya are released, but both the films failed to attract the audience at the cinema hall. Very next year, she worked on three more movies Mohre, Hifazat and Uttar Dakshin, but the same tradition continued at the box office. The film which propelled her top is Tezaab of N.Chandra in 1988. Madhuri's performance in the song "Ek do tin" gave her a popular recognition. This film became that year's biggest blockbuster movie. It was her first breakthrough movie at the Bollywood film industry. First time, Madhuri Dixit was nominated as a Filmfare Best Actress Award for her remarkable performance in Tezaab.

In 1990, Dixit worked in the movie Dil opposite of Aamir Khan which achived great commercial success in India and Dixit's tremendous performance in this film received her the first Filmfare Best Actress Award. She was counted as one of the top actresses of the Bollywood film industry after the great success of Dil and Saajan. After the great success of Dil and Saajan Madhuri was noticed by Subhash Ghai. He proposed a role in Ram Lakhan. The film was a great commercial success. Subhash Ghai does not stop there. He wanted to make his protegee the new queen of Bollywood instead of Sridevi. He achieved this by the film Khalnayak. Beta, directed by Indra Kumar in 1992, is a big "Blockbuster Movie" which won four Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress for Madhuri and best actor for her partner, Anil Kapoor.

Madhuri voluptuously interpreted by the sensual song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga. This scene appeared regularly in the top 10 of the most evocative scenes of Indian cinema. After this song, she came to know as the "Dhak Dhak Girl". The wheel turned again and the audience got attracted by other younger actresses. Between 1995 and 1998, failures accumulated, the film Mrityudand was well received by critics but shunned by the audience. After a series of films shunned by the public and critics, "Raja" and "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun" both films allowed her again to reconnect with the successes in 1995 which offered her a new Award for Best Actress. Dil To Pagal Hai with Shah Rukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor, directed by Yash Chopra in 1997 confirmed her return with a double reward for the role of Puja: the Fimfare Awards for Best Actress and Zee Cine Awards.

She made a big come back through the movie Pukar in 2000. Lajja, a dramatic role for which she won the Zee Cine Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2002.  Before leaving the cinema, she shocked millions of viewers with the role of Chandramukhi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas. She had the courage to interpret a prostitute and her talent has given her a particular dimension. In this film, Madhuri gave an overview of her mastery of Kathak, the classical dance of North India. Her eyes are so expressive and her incomparable smile which earned a place in the heart of the Bollywood fans. She won the Filmfare Award for "Best Supporting Actress" for Devdas in 2002. Madhuri Dixit is such an icon that film released in October 2003, Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon which tells the story of a village girl who wants to become a star like Madhuri Dixit. Madhuri Dixit is the muse of artists like the painter M.F Hussain. She appeared in the film Gaja Gamini of Hussain in 2000. The film Gaja Gamini was a tribute to the beauty and talent of Madhuri.

Her talent and her great mastery of dance are universally recognized.