Action News is a local television newscast format in the United States. It was conceived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) by then-news director Mel Kampmann in 1970 as a response to the "Eyewitness News" format used on rival station KYW-TV. At this time, WFIL-TV was said to be "#4 in a three-station market."

The main difference between Action News and Eyewitness News was that the former was far more tightly formatted. Time limits were set on packages—for instance, a reporter package could be no longer than 90 seconds. This difference enabled the station to cover more stories than its competitors. Another key difference was the focus on the surrounding Philadelphia suburban areas -— a response to the movement of residents from the city to the suburbs. Finally, WPVI placed more emphasis on young talent—while WCAU-TV and KYW-TV used older, respected news anchors such as Vince Leonard, Tom Snyder, and John Facenda, WPVI used a young Larry Kane as their top anchor. Later, the station would add the very popular Jim O'Brien as its main weathercaster.

The format quickly took off, and after going back and forth with KYW for first place, WPVI took the lead in 1977 and has held it ever since. Capital Cities Communications, WPVI's owner at the time, took the format to most of its other stations.

One of the major development stations for WPVI's ''Action News'' was its Capital Cities sister station, WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York. Under the leadership of news director Irv Weinstein, who had developed his own similar format under the name ''Eyewitness News'' (and before that, ''Pulse Beat News'' and ''Rock and Roll Radio News''), WKBW developed much of the talent that WPVI would later hire to boost them to #1 in the market; anchor Jim Gardner (replacing Larry Kane when he moved to WABC in New York), weatherman Dave Roberts, and iconic voice-over artist Jeff Kaye are the three highest-profile WPVI personalities to have come from WKBW.

WPIX in New York City, an independent station at the time, picked up the Action News concept (and music) successfully for its 10 p.m. newscast. The newscast won numerous awards, but the station never approached the ratings of longtime leader WNEW-TV (now WNYW).

Sister stations WFTS-TV and KSHB-TV are the first in the country to identify themselves with the Action News branding all day with no station number.

Today, Action News is usually nothing more than a name, since its innovations have been incorporated into newscasts across the country. The name is found on fewer stations than Eyewitness News. Even WPVI, which continues to use the name ''Action News'', has modified its news presentation to one more closely resembling ''Eyewitness News'' on KYW-TV.

Outside the United States, the Action News title was used by the following television stations:

Germany's RTL II (then known as RTL2) in the 1990s

CKCO-TV in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in the 1980s and 1990s

NWS-9 in Adelaide, Australia, in the 1980s

Netherlands' SBS 6 since its inception in 1995 until 2006

Colombia's Caracol TV (then as a production company for Inravisión) as ''Noticias de Acción'' in the 1980s

Theme

WFIL adopted the Action News format in 1970, along with a brass band theme written by a student at Temple University. Two years later, the station (under its new call sign WPVI) replaced the "Action News Theme" with Al Ham's well-known "Move Closer to Your World"..

Unlike most stations, WPVI still uses this theme after three decades, and the theme has arguably become as much a part of the Philadelphia consciousness as the ''Rocky'' theme. This was proven in 1996 when the station replaced it with a fuller, orchestral rendition of the same theme performed by the London Philharmonic. Viewer outcry was so great that the station dropped the more thunderous and authoritative version within five days. WPVI has made numerous remasters of the theme to keep the sound fresh and to make it sound less dated. The theme has the unique distinction of being probably the only news theme to be offered as a ringtone, which WPVI offers at no charge, and is linked here and below.

Action News was innovative in many ways, including the first 6 & 11 newscast anchored solely by a woman (Diana Robinson and then Jacqui Mullen). Diana Robinson was the first African-American female news anchor in American television. WPVI opens its broadcasts with a rapid montage featuring scenes of Philadelphia-area activities, reinforcing the "Action" brand. The scenes are rotated at the official start of every season to reflect the current season; for example, Phillies, NASCAR, CART AND DIRT and other spring footage starts showing on the open on March 21, and Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, and 76ers autumn footage starts on September 23, while the Mummers parade and other winter footage is shown from December 21 to March 21.

Although "Move Closer to Your World" is strongly associated with the Action News format by Philadelphians and many others, many stations that have used the "Action News" name actually chose to use other pieces of music for their newscasts. Conversely, stations that use "Move Closer to Your World" do not necessarily use the "Action News" name or format either. WNEP-TV in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania used the original version for many years before switching to a modern variation which only partially resembles the original.

Stations that use or have used the Action News format or name

Action News in popular culture

In an early episode of ''The Simpsons'', a local station is shown using the Action News branding plus a similar intro—but portrays the show as having more action and explosions instead of being faster paced.

In Ray Stevens' 1974 hit "The Streak", he plays an "''Action News'' reporter" on the scene of three different streaking events, every time interviewing the same person (also played by Stevens) who keeps warning his wife, "Ethel", not to look—"but it's too late." At the end of the piece, the streaker is joined by "Ethel", much to the husband's horror.

In the ''South Park'' episode "Quest for Ratings", the kids change the name of their school news program from "Super School News" to "Sexy Action School News" and add other outrageous elements in an attempt to get higher ratings from their rival program.

The 2004 comedy film ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' parodies 1970s culture, particularly Action News.

The comic strip ''This Modern World'', by "Tom Tomorrow," regularly depicts reporters from "Action McNews."

See also

NewsCenter

NewsChannel

NewsWatch

References

External links

TV newscast titles

Category:Local news programming in the United States Category:American news television series Category:Franchised television formats

nl:Action News

Coordinates	21°18′32″N157°49′34″N
name	Gary Papa
birth date	September 02, 1954
birth place	Buffalo, New York, U.S.
death date	June 19, 2009
death place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
education	University at Buffalo Law SchoolCornell University
occupation	Sportscaster
title	Action News Sports Director
spouse	Kathleen
children	2
years active	1981–2009
url	}}

Gary Papa (September 2, 1954 – June 19, 2009) was a sportscaster with WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from April 1981 to June 2009 and was the 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. sportcaster. He joined the station as a weekend sportscaster and was promoted to the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. newscasts in 1991, and was named sports director one year prior. In June 2005, he added the 5:30 p.m. newscast to his duties on an interim basis.

Prior to working at WPVI, Papa worked at WGR-TV in his hometown of Buffalo, New York.

Papa co-hosted the Saturday evening public affairs show ''Primetime Weekend'' with Cecily Tynan. He had hosted the program since December 3, 1983, when he took over after the death of Jim O'Brien.

On April 20, 2004, he revealed to viewers that he had been receiving treatment for prostate cancer and lost his hair as a result. He continued to work while receiving chemotherapy. Three years later in July 2007, during the 6:00PM ''Action News'' broadcast, Papa along with Jim Gardner announced that he once again was going through chemotherapy.

Papa died on June 19, 2009 at 2:57 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, at the age of 54. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his two sons, Nathaniel and Tucker.

References

Category:1954 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Deaths from prostate cancer Category:Cancer deaths in Pennsylvania Category:American television journalists Category:American television personalities Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania television anchors Category:Philadelphia television reporters Category:People from Buffalo, New York

Coordinates	21°18′32″N157°49′34″N
name	Katrina Kaif
birth date	July 16, 1984
birth place	Hong Kong
ethnicity	British Indian
nationality	British
occupation	Model, Actress
yearsactive	2003 – present
homepage	}}

Katrina Kaif (born 16 July 1984) is a British Indian actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi-language film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. She was voted the sexiest Asian woman in the world by ''Eastern Eye'' in the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Being a British citizen, she works in India on an employment visa.

Kaif made her acting debut with Kaizad Gustad's box office failure ''Boom''. She tasted success in 2007 with Vipul Shah's ''Namastey London'' and Anees Bazmee's ''Welcome''. She has since appeared in films like ''New York'' (2009) and ''Rajneeti'' (2010). While the former earned Kaif her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination, the latter emerged as her biggest commercial success so far.

Personal life

Kaif was born to a Indian Kashmiri father, Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Susanna Turcotte, both of whom are British citizens. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Kaif once stated, "My dad, unfortunately, and not out of choice, has had no influence on our upbringing, on our religious or social or moral bearings." Kaif has seven siblings; a brother and six sisters. From Hong Kong, she and her family moved to China, then to Japan. From there she went (by boat) to France when she was 8, and thereafter lived for a few months at a time in Switzerland, Kraków, Berlin, Belgium, and many other East European countries. Then she moved with her family to Hawaii, and eventually to her mother's home country of England. Although it is often assumed that Kaif is from London, she lived there only for three years before finally moving to Mumbai. In 2011, she confirmed she was single.

Career

Modeling and early film career (1998-2004)

Kaif began her modeling career at age fourteen; her first assignment was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London under a contract with the Models 1 Agency and did campaigns for houses such as La Senza and Arcadius, and even walked on the London Fashion Week.

Kaif's modeling work led to her discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film ''Boom'' (2003). The film, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Gulshan Grover, failed to make an impact. She then moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments, but filmmakers were hesitant to cast Kaif due to her poor command of Hindi.

Breakthrough (2005-2006)

In 2005, Kaif made a cameo in Ram Gopal Verma's drama ''Sarkar'', as Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend. The same year, she landed her first major role in David Dhawan's adaptation of ''Cactus Flower'', ''Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya'', where she was paired opposite Salman Khan. The film also featured Sushmita Sen, Arshad Warsi, Isha Koppikar and Sohail Khan in lead roles. Upon release, the film became a moderate success with Taran Adarsh, a prominent film critic, praising Kaif as a "complete revelation". The following year, she was paired opposite Akshay Kumar for the first time in Raj Kanwar's box-office flop ''Humko Deewana Kar Gaye''. However, for her portrayal of Jia A. Yashvardhan, Adarsh wrote, "Taking giant strides as an actor, Katrina is, without doubt, the star of the show. It's her magnetic presence and dependable performance that you carry home once the show has ended."

Success (2007- present)

In 2007, Kaif appeared in Vipul Shah's romantic-comedy ''Namastey London'', portraying a British Indian girl named Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra, alongside Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Clive Standen. Upon its release, the film became a major hit, with Nikhat Kazmi, of the The Times Of India praising the chemistry between the leading couple. She next played a supporting role in Anil Sharma's melodrama ''Apne''. Featuring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kirron Kher and Shilpa Shetty, the film was a box-office hit.

Her next release was David Dhawan's unofficial remake of ''Hitch'', ''Partner'', where she starred alongside Salman Khan, Govinda, and Lara Dutta. This too was box-office success. Her final film of 2007, ''Welcome'', directed by Anees Bazmee and co-starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor, was declared a blockbuster in India.

Her first release of 2008 was Abbas-Mustan's hit action-thriller ''Race''; she played Saif Ali Khan's secretary, Sophia, who is secretly in love with his hostile stepbrother (played by Akshay Khanna). The film also featured Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy in leading roles. Despite its success, Kazmi wrote, "Katrina is too pale as the blousy secretary who comes into her own only when she gets seductive with a ''Touch me, kiss me'' tenor. "

Kaif was next seen in Anees Bazmee's action comedy ''Singh Is Kinng'', portraying Akshay Kumar's love interest and Ranvir Shorey's fiancée. After its release, the film was declared a blockbuster and emerged as the third highest grossing film of 2008. Kaif's final release of the year, Subhash Ghai's ''Yuvvraaj'', was a commercial failure, but its script made its way into the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for artistic merit, original screenplay with a substance, and the film as a whole.

Kaif's first release for 2009 was Kabir Khan's terrorism drama ''New York'', with John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It was a critical and commercial success in both India and overseas. Kaif's performance was highly praised: Taran Adarsh wrote, "Katrina gives you the biggest surprise. Known for her glamour roles, Katrina proves that she can deliver if the director and writer offer her a role of substance. She's outstanding. In fact, people will see a new, different Katrina this time." For her performance, Kaif received her first nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actress category.

She next had a cameo in the star-studded action-thriller ''Blue'', popularly known as India's first underwater thriller, with Akshay Kumar and Zayed Khan. However, it was declared a flop.

In November 2009, she appeared along with Ranbir Kapoor, in Rajkumar Santoshi's blockbuster comedy ''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'', as Jennifer Pinto. Critics mostly praised her fresh chemistry with Kapoor rather than her own performance. Her final release that year was Priyadarshan's star-studded ''De Dana Dan'' with Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Neha Dhupia. Despite a good opening, the film failed to do well at the box office.

Kaif's first film of 2010 was Prakash Jha's political thriller ''Raajneeti'', where she appeared opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The film is a modern-day adaptation of The Mahabharata set against the political backdrop of Delhi. Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai and Shruti Seth also played starring roles. Upon release, the film performed extremely well at the box office, and earned Kaif favourable reviews for her portrayal of the dynamic Indu Sakseria.

Her last release was Farah Khan's brainless comedy ''Tees Maar Khan'' with Akshay Kumar. The film was released on 24 December 2010. The film received mainly negative reviews and was declared a flop. However, Kaif's item number ''Sheila Ki Jawani'' became a major chartbuster.

On 15 July 2011, she was seen alongside Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin in Zoya Akhtar's road adventure ''Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara''. which was a critical and box office success. She will also be featured in Yash Raj Films's ''Mere Brother Ki Dulhan'' opposite Imran Khan and Ali Zafar.

Voice

It should be noted that due to her poor knowledge of Hindi (and other Indian languages), Kaif's voice was often dubbed by another actress. However, with the exception of ''De Dana Dan'' she has used her own voice for all of her films since ''New York''. Earlier, she had dubbed for films like ''Namastey London'' and ''Apne''.

Awards

Filmfare Awards

Nominated 2010: Filmfare Best Actress Award for ''New York''

Star Screen Awards

Winner 2010: Star Screen Awards, Entertainer of the year

2011: Star Screen Award for Best Actress (Popular Choice) for ''Raajneeti'' and ''Tees Maar Khan''

Zee Cine Awards

Winner

2008: Zee Cine Awards, British Indian Actor Award

Nominated

2005: Zee Cine Award for Most Promising Debut for ''Sarkar''

2011: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor - Female for ''Raajneeti''

IIFA Awards

Winner

2008: Style Diva of the Year

Nominated

2008: IIFA Best Actress Award for ''Namastey London''

2009: IIFA Best Actress Award for '' Singh Is Kinng''

2011: IIFA Best Actress Award for '' Raajneeti''

Stardust Awards

Winner

2006: Stardust Breakthrough Performance Award (Female) for ''Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya''

2010: Stardust Awards, Best Actress - Popular Award for ''New York'' &''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani''

Nominated

2009: Stardust Award for Star Of The Year for '' Singh Is Kinng''

2009: Stardust Award for Best Actress In A Negative Role for ''Race''

2010: Stardust Star of the Year Award – Female for ''New York'' &''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani''

Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards

Winner 2011: Apsara Awards: Hindustan Times Reader's Choice Entertainer Of The Year Award (Female)

Nominated

2009: Apsara Award for Best Actress In Supporting Role for '' Race''

Other awards

Winner 2006: Idea Zee F Awards, Fashion Diva of the Year

2008: Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Sabsey Favourite Heroine for ''Singh Is Kinng''

2008: Apsara Film Producers Guild of India Awards, Style Diva of the Year

2009: Rajiv Gandhi Award 2009: Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Sabsey Favourite Heroine 2009: ASSOCHAM Award, Performing Excellence

Nominated 2010: Big Star Entertainment Award for BIG Star Most Entertaining Film Actor (Female) for ''Rajneeti'' 2010: Big Star Entertainment Award for New Talent of the Decade (Female)

Filmography

''Malliswari (2004 film) ''Sarkar (film) ''Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye'' ''Namastey London'' ''Race (2008 film) ''New York (film) ''Raajneeti'' ''Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'' ''Ek Tha Tiger''

Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2003	Boom (2003 film)>Boom''	Rina Kaif/Popdi Chinchpokli
2004	Malliswari'' ||	Princess Malliswari	Telugu language>Telugu film
rowspan="3"	2005	Sarkar'' ||	Pooja
''Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya''	Sonia
''Allari Pidugu''
rowspan="2"	2006	|	Jia A. Yashvardhan
''Balram vs. Taradas''
rowspan="4"	2007	|	Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra
''Apne''	Nandini Sarabhai
''Partner (2007 film)	Partner''	Priya Jaisingh
''Welcome (2007 film)	Welcome''	Sanjana Shetty
rowspan="4"	2008	Race'' ||	Sophia
''Singh Is Kinng''	Sonia Singh
''Hello (film)	Hello''	Story-teller
''Yuvvraaj''	Anushka Banton
rowspan="4"	2009	New York'' ||	Maya Shaikh	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress
''Blue (2009 film)	Blue''	Nikki
''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani''	Jennifer "Jenny" Pinto
''De Dana Dan''	Anjali Kakkad
rowspan="2"	2010	|	Indu Sakseria/Pratap
''Tees Maar Khan''	Anya Khan
rowspan="4"	2011	|	Laila
''Mere Brother Ki Dulhan''	Dimple Dixit
''Bodyguard (2011 film)	Bodyguard''
''Main Krishna Hoon''	Radha
	2012	|		Filming

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:British people of Indian descent Category:Hindi film actors Category:Living people Category:Hong Kong people Category:Kashmiri people Category:People from Hawaii Category:British actors

ar:كاترينا كايف bn:ক্যাটরিনা কাইফ da:Katrina Kaif de:Katrina Kaif el:Κατρίνα Καΐφ es:Katrina Kaif fr:Katrina Kaif gu:કૅટરિના કૈફ hi:कैटरीना कैफ id:Katrina Kaif it:Katrina Kaif jv:Katrina Kaif ml:കത്രീന കൈഫ്‌ mr:कत्रिना कैफ no:Katrina Kaif pl:Katrina Kaif ru:Каиф, Катрина sd:قطرينه ڪيف fi:Katrina Kaif ta:கேட்ரீனா கய்ஃப் te:కత్రినా కైఫ్

Coordinates	21°18′32″N157°49′34″N
name	Amitabh Bachchan
birth name
birth date	October 11, 1942
birth place	Allahabad, United Province, British India
residence	Prateeksha, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
occupation	Actor, producer, singer, television presenter
years active	1969–present
spouse	Jaya Bhaduri (1973–present)
website
signature	}}

Amitabh Bachchan ( , , born Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan on 11 October 1942) is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema.

Bachchan has won numerous major awards in his career, including four National Film Awards, three of which are in the Best Actor category, and fourteen Filmfare Awards. He is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare, with 36 nominations overall. In addition to acting, Bachchan has worked as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter, and was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984 to 1987.

Early life

Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, Amitabh Bachchan hails from a Hindu Kayastha family. His father, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a well-known Hindi poet, while his mother, Teji Bachchan was a Sikh-Punjabi from Faisalabad (now in Pakistan). Bachchan was initially named Inquilaab, inspired from the famous phrase Inquilab Zindabad, during the Indian independence struggle. However, at the suggestion of fellow poet Sumitranandan Pant, Harivansh Rai changed the name to Amitabh which means, "the light that would never go off." Though his surname was Shrivastava, his father had adopted the pen-name Bachchan (meaning child-like in colloquial Hindi), under which he published all his works. It is with this last name that Amitabh debuted in films, and, for all public purposes, it has become the surname of all members of his family. Bachchan's father died in 2003, and his mother in 2007.

Amitabh is the eldest of Harivansh Rai Bachchan's two sons, the second being Ajitabh. His mother had a keen interest in theatre and had been offered a role in a film, but preferred her domestic duties. She had some degree of influence in Bachchan's choice of career because she always insisted that he should take the centre stage. He attended Allahabad's Jnana Prabodhini and Boys' High School (BHS), followed by Nainital's Sherwood College, where he majored in the art stream. He later went on to study at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi and completed a Bachelor of Science degree. In his twenties, Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in Calcutta now known as Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.

Career

Early work: 1969–1972

Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 as a voice narrator in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film ''Bhuvan Shome''. Thereafter he got his first acting role as one of the seven protagonists in '' Saat Hindustani'', a film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and featuring Utpal Dutt, Madhu and Jalal Agha. Though the film was not a financial success, Bachchan won his first National Film Award for ''Best Newcomer''.

''Anand'' (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna. Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Amitabh then played his first negative role as an infatuated lover-turned-murderer in ''Parwaana'' (1971). This was followed by several films including ''Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971). During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film ''Guddi'' which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri. He narrated part of the film ''Bawarchi''. In 1972, he made an appearance in the road action comedy ''Bombay to Goa'', directed by S. Ramanathan.

Rise to stardom: 1973–1983

Director Prakash Mehra cast him in the leading role for the film ''Zanjeer'' (1973) as Inspector Vijay Khanna. The film was a sharp contrast to the romantically themed films that had generally preceded it and established Amitabh in a new persona—the "angry young man" of Bollywood cinema,. He earned a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. 1973 was also the year he married Jaya and around this time they appeared in several films together, not only in ''Zanjeer'' but in films such as ''Abhimaan'' which followed and was released only a month after their marriage. Later, Bachchan played the role of Vikram in the film ''Namak Haraam'', a social drama directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role won him his second Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

In 1974, Bachchan made several guest appearances in films such as ''Kunwara Baap'' and ''Dost'', before playing a supporting role in ''Roti Kapda Aur Makaan''. The film, directed and written by Manoj Kumar, addressed themes of honesty in the face of oppression and financial and emotional hardship. Bachchan then played the leading role in film ''Majboor'', released on 6 December 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag. The film was only a moderate success at the box office. In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy ''Chupke Chupke'', the crime drama ''Faraar'' to the romantic drama ''Mili''. 1975 was the year when he appeared in two films which are regarded as important in Hindi cinematic history. He starred in the Yash Chopra directed film ''Deewar'', opposite Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, and Neetu Singh, which earned him a Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor. The film became a major hit at the box office in 1975, ranking in at number 4. ''Indiatimes Movies'' ranks ''Deewaar'' amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''. Released on 15 August 1975 was ''Sholay'' (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning INR 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation. Bachchan played the role of Jaidev. In 1999, BBC India declared it the "Film of the Millennium" and like ''Deewar'', has been cited by ''Indiatimes movies'' as amongst the ''Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films''. In that same year, the judges of the 50th annual Filmfare awards awarded it with the special distinction award called Filmfare Best Film of 50 Years.

Bachchan starred in comedies such as ''Chupke Chupke'' (1975) and ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977) and in films such as ''Kabhie Kabhie'' (1976). In 1976, he was once again cast by director Yash Chopra in his second film, ''Kabhi Kabhie'', a romantic tale in which Bachchan starred as a young poet named Amit Malhotra who falls deeply in love with a beautiful young girl named Pooja played by actress Rakhee Gulzar. The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 1977, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' where he played the third lead opposite Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor as Anthony Gonsalves. In 1978 he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year. He once again resumed double roles in films such as ''Kasme Vaade'' as Amit and Shankar and ''Don'' playing the characters of Don, a leader of an underworld gang and his look alike Vijay. His performance won him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also performed in ''Trishul'' and ''Muqaddar Ka Sikander'' which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. He was billed a "one-man industry" by the French director François Truffaut.

In 1979, for the first time, Amitabh was required to use his singing voice for the film ''Mr. Natwarlal'' in which he starred alongside Rekha. His performance in the film saw him nominated for both the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the Filmfare Best Male Playback Awards. In 1979, he also received Best Actor nomination for ''Kaala Patthar'' (1979) and then went on to be nominated again in 1980 for the Raj Khosla directed film ''Dostana'', in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. ''Dostana'' proved to be the top grossing film of 1980. In 1981, he starred in Yash Chopra's melodrama film ''Silsila'', where he starred alongside his wife Jaya and rumoured lover Rekha. Other films of this period include ''Ram Balram'' (1980), ''Shaan'' (1980), ''Lawaaris'' (1981), and ''Shakti'' (1982) which pitted him against legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

1982 injury while filming ''Coolie''

On 26 July 1982, while filming ''Coolie'' in the University Campus in Bangalore, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. Bachchan was performing his own stunts in the film and one scene required him to fall onto a table and then on the ground. However as he jumped towards the table, the corner of the table struck his abdomen, resulting in a splenic rupture from which he lost a significant amount of blood. He required an emergency splenectomy and remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later, there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating. Nevertheless, he spent many months recovering and resumed filming later that year after a long period of recuperation. The film was released in 1983, and partly due to the huge publicity of Bachchan's accident, the film was a box office success.

The director, Manmohan Desai, altered the ending of ''Coolie'' after Bachchan's accident. Bachchan's character was originally intended to have been killed off but after the change of script, the character lived in the end. It would have been inappropriate, said Desai, for the man who had just fended off death in real life to be killed on screen. Also, in the released film the footage of the fight scene is frozen at the critical moment, and a caption appears onscreen marking this as the instant of the actor's injury and the ensuing publicity of the accident.

Later, he was diagnosed with Myasthenia gravis. His illness made him feel weak both mentally and physically and he decided to quit films and venture into politics. At this time he became pessimistic, expressing concern with how a new film would be received. Before every release he would negatively state, "Yeh film to flop hogi!" ("This film will flop").

Politics: 1984–87

In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's seat of 8th Lok Sabha against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by the one of the highest victory margins in general election history (68.2% of the vote). His political career, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, calling politics a cesspool. The resignation followed the implication of Bachchan and his brother in the "Bofors scandal" by a newspaper, which he vowed to take to court. Bachchan was eventually found not guilty of involvement in the ordeal.

His old friend, Amar Singh, helped him during a financial crisis due to the failure of his company ABCL. Therefore Bachchan started to support Amar Singh's political party, the Samajwadi party. Jaya Bachchan joined the Samajwadi Party and became a Rajya Sabha member. Bachchan has continued to do favors for the Samajwadi party, including advertisements and political campaigns. These activities have recently gotten him into trouble again in the Indian courts for false claims after a previous incident of submission of legal papers by him, stating that he is a farmer.

A 15 year press ban against Bachchan was imposed during his peak acting years by ''Stardust'' and some of the other film magazines. In his own defense, Bachchan claimed to have banned the press from entering his sets until late 1989.

Slump and retirement: 1988–1992

In 1988, Bachchan returned to films, playing the title role in ''Shahenshah'', which was a box office success due to the hype of Bachchan's comeback. After the success of his comeback film however, his star power began to wane as all of his subsequent films failed at the box office. The 1991 hit film, ''Hum'', for which he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award, looked like it might reverse this trend, but the momentum was short-lived as his string of box office failures continued. Notably, despite the lack of hits, it was during this period that Bachchan won his first National Film Award for Best Actor, for his performance as a Mafia don in the 1990 film ''Agneepath''. These years would be the last he would be seen on screen for some time. After the release of ''Khuda Gawah'' in 1992, Bachchan went into semi-retirement for five years. In 1994, one of his delayed films ''Insaniyat'' was released but was also a box office failure.

Producer and acting comeback 1996–99

Bachchan turned producer during his temporary retirement period, setting up Amitabh Bachchan Corporation, Ltd. (A.B.C.L.) in 1996, with the vision of becoming a 10 billion rupees (approx 250 million $US) premier entertainment company by the year 2000. ABCL's strategy was to introduce products and services covering the entire section of the India's entertainment industry. Its operations were mainstream commercial film production and distribution, audio cassettes and video discs, production and marketing of television software, celebrity and event management. Soon after the company was launched in 1996, the first film was produced by the company. ''Tere Mere Sapne'' failed to do well at the box office but launched the careers of actors such as Arshad Warsi and South films star Simran. ABCL produced a few other films, none of which did well.

In 1997, Bachchan attempted to make his acting comeback with the film ''Mrityudaata'', produced by ABCL. Though ''Mrityudaata'' attempted to reprise Bachchan's earlier success as an action hero, the film was a failure both financially and critically. ABCL was the main sponsor of the ''1996 Miss World beauty pageant'', Bangalore but lost millions. The fiasco and the consequent legal battles surrounding ABCL and various entities after the event, coupled with the fact that ABCL was reported to have overpaid most of its top level managers, eventually led to its financial and operational collapse in 1997. The company went into administration and was later declared a failed company by Indian Industries board. The Bombay high court, in April 1999, restrained Bachchan from selling off his Bombay bungalow 'Prateeksha' and two flats till the pending loan recovery cases of Canara Bank were disposed of. Bachchan had, however, pleaded that he had mortgaged his bungalow to Sahara India Finance for raising funds for his company.

Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with ''Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'' (1998), and received positive reviews for ''Sooryavansham'' (1999) but other films such as ''Lal Baadshah'' (1999) and ''Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (1999) were box office failures.

Television career

In the year 2000, Bachchan stepped up to host India's adaptation of the British television game show, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' entitled, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati''. As it did in most other countries where it was adopted, the program found immediate success. Canara Bank withdrew its law suit against Bachchan in November 2000. Bachchan hosted KBC till November 2005, and its success set the stage for his return to film popularity. In 2009 Oscar winning movie ''Slumdog Millionaire'' in the first question of ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'' contest "Amitabh Bachchan" was the correct answer to the question "Who was the star of ''Zanjeer''? Feroz Abbas Khan performed as Amitabh Bachchan in a scene in the movie while Anil Kapoor performed as the host of the contest. Bachchan hosted the third season of the reality show ''Bigg Boss'' in 2009.

Return to prominence: 2000–present

In 2000, Amitabh Bachchan appeared in Yash Chopra's box-office hit, ''Mohabbatein'', directed by Aditya Chopra. He played a stern, older figure that rivalled the character of Shahrukh Khan. His role won him his third Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Other hits followed, with Bachchan appearing as an older family patriarch in ''Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love'' (2001), ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' (2001) and ''Baghban'' (2003). As an actor, he continued to perform in a range of characters, receiving critical praise for his performances in ''Aks'' (2001), ''Aankhen'' (2002), ''Khakee'' (2004) and ''Dev'' (2004). One project that did particularly well for Bachchan was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005). The film starred Bachchan as an aging teacher of a deaf-blind girl and followed their relationship. His performance was unanimously praised by critics and audiences and won him his second National Film Award for Best Actor and fourth Filmfare Best Actor Award. Taking advantage of this resurgence, Amitabh began endorsing a variety of products and services, appearing in many television and billboard advertisements. In 2005 and 2006, he starred with his son Abhishek in the hit films ''Bunty Aur Babli'' (2005), the ''Godfather'' tribute ''Sarkar'' (2005), and ''Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna'' (2006). All of them were successful at the box office. His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were ''Baabul'' (2006), ''Eklavya'' and ''Nishabd'' (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics.

In May 2007, two of his films ''Cheeni Kum'' and the multi-starrer ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' were released. ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' did very well at the box office and was declared a hit in India, while ''Cheeni Kum'' picked up after a slow start and was declared an overall average hit. A remake of his biggest hit, ''Sholay'' (1975), entitled ''Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag'', released in August of that same year and proved to be a major commercial failure in addition to its poor critical reception. The year also marked Bachchan's first appearance in an English-language film, Rituparno Ghosh's ''The Last Lear''. The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since ''Black''. Bachchan was slated to play a supporting role in his first international film, ''Shantaram'', directed by Mira Nair and starring Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in the lead. The film was due to begin filming in February 2008 but due to the writer's strike, was pushed to September 2008. The film is currently "shelved" indefinitely. Vivek Sharma's ''Bhoothnath'', in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on 9 May 2008. ''Sarkar Raj'', the sequel of the 2005 film ''Sarkar'', released in June 2008 and received a positive response at the box-office. His latest movie was ''Paa'', which released at the end of 2009. ''Paa'' was a highly anticipated project as it saw him playing his own son Abhishek's Progeria-affected 13-year-old son, and it opened to favourable reviews, particularly towards Bachchan's performance. It won him his third National Film Award for Best Actor and fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award. In 2010, he debuted in Malayalam film through ''Kandahar'', directed by Major Ravi and co-starring Mohanlal. The film was based on the hijacking incident of the Indian Airlines Flight 814. Bachchan did not receive any remuneration for this film.

Health

2005 hospitalisation

In November 2005, Amitabh Bachchan was admitted to Lilavati Hospital's ICU once more, to undergo surgery for diverticulitis of the small intestine. This occurred after Bachchan complained of pains in his abdomen some days prior. During the period and that following his recovery, most of his projects were put on hold, including the television show he was in the process of hosting, ''Kaun Banega Crorepati''. Amitabh returned to work in March 2006.

Voice

Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He has been a narrator, a playback singer and presenter for numerous programmes. Renowned film director Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Bachchan's voice, that he decided to use his voice as commentary in ''Shatranj Ke Khiladi'' since he could not find a suitable role for him. In 2005, Bachchan has lent his voice to the Oscar-winning French documentary March of the Penguins, directed by Luc Jacquet.

Controversies and criticism

Barabanki land case

In the runup to the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007, Bachchan made a film extolling the virtues of the Mulayam Singh government. His Samajwadi Party was routed, and Mayawati came to power.

On 2 June 2007 a Faizabad court ruled that he had legally acquired agricultural land designated specifically for landless Dalit farmers. It was speculated that he might be investigated on related charges of forgery, as he has allegedly claimed he was a farmer. On 19 July 2007, after the scandal broke out, Bachchan surrendered the land acquired in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and Pune. He wrote to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh, to donate the lands that were allegedly acquired illegally in Pune. However, the Lucknow Court has put a stay on the land donation and said that the status quo on the land be maintained.

On 12 October 2007, Bachchan abandoned his claim in respect of the land at Daulatpur village in Barabanki district. On 11 December 2007, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court gave a clean chit to Bachchan in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent allotment of government land to him in Barabanki district. A single Lucknow bench of Justice said there was no finding that the actor "himself committed any fraud or manipulated any surreptitious entry in the revenue records".

After receiving a positive verdict in Barabanki case, Amitabh Bachchan intimated to Maharashtra government that he did not wish to surrender his land in Maval tehsil of Pune district.

Raj Thackeray's criticism

In January 2008 at political rallies, Raj Thackeray, the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, targeted Amitabh Bachchan, asserting that the actor was "more inclined" towards his native state than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls' school named after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra. According to media reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he admires, stemmed out of his disappointment of not being invited to Amitabh's son Abhishek's marriage to Aishwarya, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.

Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's wife, SP MP Jaya Bachchan, said that the Bachchans were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai—Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here." Raj responded to it saying, "Jaya bachchan claims she does not know me then how come she knows how much property I own?". Amitabh abstained from commenting on the issue. However, he apologized to Raj for controversial remarks from Jaya in some other incidence. "

Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, stating, "Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him. The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting."

On 23 March 2008, more than a month and half after Raj's remarks, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview to a local tabloid saying, "Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give." Later, on 28 March at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one's fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so. He also stated that he was not affected by Raj's comments.

Awards, honours and recognitions

Apart from National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards and other competitive awards which Bachchan won for his performances throughout the years, he has been awarded several honours for his achievements in the Indian film industry. In 1991, he became the first artist to receive the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, which was established in the name of Raj Kapoor. Bachchan was crowned as Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 at the Filmfare Awards. The Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001. France's highest civilian honour, the Knight of the Legion of Honour, was conferred upon him by the French Government in 2007, for his "exceptional career in the world of cinema and beyond".

In 1999, Bachchan was voted the ''Greatest Star of stage or screen of the Millennium'' by BBC online poll where he defeated many Hollywood legends. In 2001, he was honoured with the ''Actor of the Century'' award at the Alexandria International Film Festival in Egypt in recognition of his contribution to the world of cinema. Many other honours for his achievements were conferred upon him at several International Film Festivals, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Asian Film Awards.

In June 2000, he became the first living Asian to have been immortalised in wax at London's prestigious Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Another statue was installed at New York and Hong Kong in 2009.

In 2003, he was conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of the French town of Deauville. He was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate by the Jhansi University in 2004, the Delhi University in 2006, the De Montfort University in Leicester, UK in 2006, the University Brandan Foster by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire in 2007. Another an Honorary Doctorate was conferred by the Queensland University of Technology in Australia in 2009. But he turns down the honour as mark of protest to racial attacks on Indian students.

Severals books have been written about Bachchan. ''Amitabh Bachchan: the Legend'' was published in 1999, ''To be or not to be: Amitabh Bachchan'' in 2004, ''AB: The Legend: (A Photographer's Tribute)'' in 2006 /, ''Amitabh Bachchan: Ek Jeevit Kimvadanti'' in 2006, ''Amitabh: The Making of a Superstar'' in 2006, ''Looking for the Big B: Bollywood, Bachchan and Me'' in 2007 and ''Bachchanalia'' in 2009. Bachchan himself has also written a book in 2002: ''Soul Curry for you and me – An Empowering Philosophy That Can Enrich Your Life''.

Personal life

Bachchan is married to actress Jaya Bhaduri. They have two children, Shweta Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan. Abhishek is also an actor and is married to actress Aishwarya Rai.

Filmography

Latest films

''Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' ''Jodhaa Akbar'' ''Delhi-6'' ''Rann (film) ''Department (film) ''Taalismaan''

Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes
rowspan="4"	2006	''Family - Ties of Blood''	Viren Sahi
''Darna Zaroori Hai''	Professor
''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna''	Samarjit Singh Talwar (aka. Sexy Sam)
''Baabul (2006 film)	Baabul''	Balraj Kapoor
rowspan="7"	2007	|	Eklavya
''Nishabd''	Vijay
''Cheeni Kum''	Buddhadev Gupta/Ghaspus
''Shootout at Lokhandwala''	Special appearance, Dingra
''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom''	Special appearance, Sutradhar
''Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag''	Babban Singh
''Om Shanti Om (film)	Om Shanti Om''	Special appearance, Himself
rowspan="5"	2008	|	Narrator
''Bhoothnath''	Bhoothnath (Kailash Nath)
''Sarkar Raj''	Subhash Nagre aka Sarkar
''God Tussi Great Ho''	God Almighty
''The Last Lear''	Harish 'Harry' Mishra
rowspan="3"	2009	|	Special appearance, Dadaji
''Aladin (2009 film)	Aladin''	Genius the Gennie
''Paa (film)	Paa''	Auro
rowspan="3"	2010	Rann'' ||	Vijay Harshvardhan Malik
''Teen Patti (film)	Teen Patti''	Venkat
''Kandahar (2010 film)	Kandahar''	Lokanathan Sharma
rowspan="4"	2011	Department'' ||		A Ram Gopal Varma production and direction
''Bbuddah... Hoga Tera Baap''
''Aarakshan''	Prabhakar Anand
''Shoebite (2010 film)	Shoebite''	John Periera
	2012	|		Filming

Producer

! Year !! Film
1996
	''Ullaasam''
''Mrityudaata''
1998	''Major Saab''
2001
2005	''Viruddh''
2006	''Family - Ties of Blood''

Playback singer

! Year !! Film
	''The Great Gambler''
''Mr. Natwarlal''
	''Lawaaris''
''Silsila''
	''Mahaan''
1984	''Sharaabi''
	''Toofan''
''Jaadugar''
1992	''Khuda Gawah''
1998	''Major Saab''
1999	''Sooryavansham''
''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham''
2002
''Aetbaar''
2006
	''Nishabd''
''Cheeni Kum''
2008	''Bhoothnath''
2011	''Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap''

Further reading

Dwyer, Rachel. "Amitabh Bachchan: the Angry Young Man." British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 16 November 2007.

Mazumdar, Ranjani.'' Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

References

External links

Amitabh Bachchan's official blog

Amitabh Bachchan Documentary, Classic BBC Archive video and exclusive interview conducted in Amitabh's own house for BBC Asian Network

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Coordinates	21°18′32″N157°49′34″N
name	Deepika Padukone
birth date	January 05, 1986
birth place	Copenhagen, Denmark
occupation	Actress, Model
years active	2006–present
filmfareawards	Best Female Debut2008: ''Om Shanti Om'' Face of the Year2008: ''Om Shanti Om'' }}

Deepika Padukone ( - ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.

Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film ''Aishwarya''. The following year, she made her Hindi film debut in the blockbuster ''Om Shanti Om'' opposite Shah Rukh Khan, which earned her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. It also remains her biggest commercial success so far. She subsequently appeared in films such as ''Love Aaj Kal'' (2009) and ''Housefull'' (2010). While the former earned her a Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category, the latter emerged as a commercial success.

In addition to acting, Padukone is also the ambassador of prominent brands such as Tissot, Sony Cybershot, Nescafe and Kingfisher Airlines.

Early life and background

Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her family moved to Bangalore, Karnataka, India, when she was eleven months old. Padukone is of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin origin, and her mother tongue is Konkani. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a retired badminton player of international repute, and her mother is a travel agent. Padukone also has a younger sister, Anisha, born on 2 February 1991.

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and completed her pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College Bangalore. While in high school she played badminton at the state level. However, she was not keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player.

Career

Modeling

While in college, Padukone pursued a career in modeling. She was spotted in a ramp competition in NLS, Bangalore. Over the years, she has modeled for such Indian brand names as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, and has been "brand ambassador" for the Jewels of India retail jewelry show. The cosmetics company Maybelline made her its international spokesperson.

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title "Model of the Year". Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: "Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments)" and "Fresh Face of the Year". Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and later Levi Strauss and Tissot SA. In addition, she appeared in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya's song ''Naam Hai Tera''.

Acting

In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film ''Aishwarya'' opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's blockbuster ''Om Shanti Om'' opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film was a re-incarnation melodrama, featuring her in a double role. Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from ''indiaFM'' noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!" About being cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan, she said, }}

Padukone was then seen playing a feisty, modern-day Indian woman, Gayatri, in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' opposite Ranbir Kapoor and alongside Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba. The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office, but her performance drew flak. Adarsh wrote, "Deepika is a sore point. Her role isn't convincing and that's the reason why this performance doesn't work. The only consolation is, she looks gorgeous."

She played a double role again in her next film, ''Chandni Chowk To China'', which released on 16 January 2009. The film, directed by Nikhil Advani, also featured Akshay Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Ranvir Shorey in the lead. It was a critical and commercial disaster, with Nikhat Kazmi of The Times Of India commenting, "Deepika looks lost and forlorn for most of the film."

Padukone's fourth release ''Love Aaj Kal'', released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth. Padukone played the role of Meera Pandit, a practical and head-strong career woman opposite Saif Ali Khan. Of her performance, NDTV's Anupama Chopra wrote, "Deepika looks fabulous but she isn’t a strong enough actor to breathe life into the character." Despite this, she received her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination.

The same year, she teamed up with Farah Khan and Shah Rukh Khan once again for an item number in the Irrfan Khan-Lara Dutta starrer ''Billu''. She also made guest appearances in the Telegu film ''Love 4 Ever'' and in Sohail Khan's ''Main Aur Mrs Khanna''.

Her first release in 2010 was Excel Entertainment’s ''Karthik Calling Karthik''. The thriller featured Farhan Akhtar as Karthik, a troubled schizophrenic man, and Padukone as his supportive girlfriend, Shonali Mukherjee. This time, Anupama Chopra wrote, "Padukone finally seems to be thawing in front of a camera." The film, however, was a commercial failure.

She then featured in Sajid Khan's multi-starer ''Housefull'' with Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani and Ritesh Deshmukh. She played the role of Soundarya Bhagyalakshmi Venkateshwari Baassappa Rao, Kumar's girlfriend and later fiancée. The film became a blockbuster in India, with a net gross of INR 95 crores in the first week itself. As for her performance, Nikhat Kazmi mentioned her as "quite thanda".

She then appeared in her second Yash Raj production, ''Lafangey Parindey'' directed by Pradeep Sarkar; as Pinky Palkar, a blind girl, hell bent on winning a skating competition, opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh. Upon release, Taran Adarsh, of Bollywood Hungama wrote, "''Lafangey Parindey'' clearly belongs to Deepika Padukone, who suits the character and enacts it with such competence that it leaves you amazed. The pretty lass is only getting better with every film."

Her next release was Kunal Kohli's syrupy romance ''Break Ke Baad'' opposite Imran Khan, where she played Aaliya Khan, an impetuous brat. The film was a commercial failure, but won Padukone favorable reviews. Nikhat Kazmi noted, "Padukone's climactic act seems to be the best performance in her entire career: completely spontaneous, crazy and cute. "

Her final release of 2010; Ashutosh Gowarikar's ''Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'' top-lining Abhishek Bachchan, met with scathing reviews and was declared a flop. The period drama was a retelling of the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid, with Bachchan playing the revolutionary leader Surya Sen and Padukone playing Kalpana Dutta, his lover and confidant. A review carried by The Hollywood Reporter, however, mentioned her portrayal of Dutta as "impressive".

She began the year 2011 with an item number in Rohan Sippy's ''Dum Maaro Dum'' starring Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu in the lead. Her song was a remixed version of Zeenat Aman's iconic song from ''Hare Rama Hare Krishna''. The raunchy lyrics and suggestive dancing received mixed reviews. The Deccan Chronicle mentioned her moves as "mechanised gyrations", while Adarsh wrote, "Deepika scorches the screen in the title track. "

Next, she featured in Prakash Jha's reservation melodrama, ''Aarakshan'' co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan as the former's daughter and the later's love-interest. Aseem Chhabra of Rediff pointed, "Padukone looks pretty, but she cannot carry the serious, intense moments." She will next be featured in Rohit Dhawan's ''Desi Boyz'' alongside Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Chitrangada Singh; K.S. Ravikumar's Tamil film ''Rana'' opposite Rajnikanth and Homi Adajania's ''Cocktail'' opposite Saif Ali Khan.

Other work

Philanthropy

As part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, Padukone adopted Ambegaon, a village in Maharashtra, that was facing a major electricity crisis.

In The Media

In 2009, Padukone started writing weekly columns for ''HT City'', the lifestyle supplement of ''Hindustan Times''. These columns appear online on social network, Desimartini.

She appeared on the cover of lifestyle magazine ''Vogue'' on May 2010 and 2011. She also walked the red carpet at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

On November 2010, she appeared on ''Koffee With Karan'', a popular chat show along with Sonam Kapoor. Her comments on ex-flame Ranbir Kapoor lead to a lot of controversy among Bollywood inner-circles.

Personal life

In March 2008, Padukone began dating Ranbir Kapoor, her co-star from the film ''Bachna Ae Haseeno'' (2008). After her high profile break up with Kapoor in November 2009, Padukone has decided to keep her personal life away from media attention.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2006		Aishwarya
2007		Shantipriya/ Sandhya (Sandy)	Double-Winner, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award & Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
2008	''Bachna Ae Haseeno''	Gayatri
	''Chandni Chowk to China''	Sakhi (Ms. TSM)/ Meow Meow (Suzy)	Double role
''Billu''	Herself	Special appearance in the song ''Love Mera Hit Hit''
''Love Aaj Kal''	Meera Pandit	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
''Main Aurr Mrs Khanna''	Raina Khan	Special appearance
''Love 4 Ever''	Herself
	''Karthik Calling Karthik''	Shonali Mukherjee
	Sandy
''Lafangey Parindey''	Pinky Palkar
''Break Ke Baad''	Aaliya Khan
''Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey''	Kalpana Datta
		Herself	Special appearance
''Aarakshan''	Poorbi Anand
''Desi Boyz''		Filming
	''Cocktail''		Filming

See also

List of Indian film actresses

Notes

External links

Category:1986 births Category:Indian film actors Category:Indian female models Category:Indian Hindus Category:Living people Category:Kannada film actors Category:People from Bangalore Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Konkani people

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