Trivia: Worked as an investment banker in a Wall Street firm in New York, United States. Made his debut in Hindi series with Samandar, a series based on Navy officers. He made his film debut with China Gate in 1998.

Trivia: Described as "the finest actor of the post-independence generation" by one expert on the Indian cinema, Om Puri was one of India's most respected and prolific screen personalities, having appeared in over 140 films over the course of his career. Thanks to starring work in such films as My Son the Fanatic and East Is East, Puri also earned recognition among a Western audience, and further established himself as an actor of great range and versatility. Born in a rural area of northern India in 1950, Puri grew up planning to be a military man like his father. His ambitions shifted when, as a student at a Punjabi university, he joined a theatre group. With the support of his parents, Puri studied acting for three years at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, where he performed in a wide variety of works ranging from Indian folk plays to Kabuki drama to Shakespeare, the last of which gave him the opportunity to play Hamlet in Hindi. The actor followed his studies with a stint at the Indian Film Institute in Poona and then decided to try his luck in Bombay, India's film capital. Although he lacked the classically handsome features of most Indian film stars, Puri was able to find work based on the strength of his previous theatre experience. Once he began appearing on the screen, he found himself in great demand thanks in large part to his seemingly limitless versatility, and he became established over the years as one of his country's best-known actors.After a starring role in Satyajit Ray's Sadgati (1981), which cast him as a member of India's caste of untouchables, Puri began attracting the notice of Western filmmakers. He appeared in Gandhi (1982), Wolf (1994), and City of Joy (1992), the last of which cast him as Patrick Swayze's unlikely savior. He had his greatest international success to date as the star of My Son the Fanatic (1997), a British satirical comedy written by Hanif Kureshi. As Parvez, a liberal-minded Pakistani taxi driver living in northern England who cannot understand his son's sudden alliance with a group of Islamic fundamentalists, Puri turned in a vivid, wryly-nuanced performance that many critics deemed as one of the year's best. The following year, he earned another lavish dose of acclaim for his portrayal of George Khan, another Pakistani patriarch living in England in East Is East. Where Puri's previous character had been laid-back and open-minded, Khan was rigid and conservative (despite his untraditional marriage to an English woman), and critics and audiences alike marveled at the actor's capacity for carving such distinctive characterizations from a superficially similar mold. He later revisited the character in 2010's West is West.Puri continued to work at an astonishing rate, putting out a number of films a year, and continued to crossover to English markets with films like Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and The Hundred-Foot Journey (2010). Puri died in early 2017, at age 66.

Trivia: Formed the theatre group Motley Productions in 1977 along with Tom Alter and Benjamin Giliani. A three-time winner of a National Film Award - twice for Best Actor. Winner of three Filmfare Best Actor Awards. Honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2003. Undertook his first directing venture with Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota (2006).

Trivia: Was awarded the Padma Shree, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2003. Accomplished Nepalese singer; his songs are a favourite among the people even today. Wrote for and acted in a superhit Nepali film Saino. Was eager to join the Indian Army; had qualified for admission in the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Studied acting at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Trivia: First appeared on screen as a child actor in B.R. Chopra's Afsana (1951). The only film he directed is Soorma Bhopali (1988), starring Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. His sons Naved and Jaaved both hosted the TV show Boogie Woogie. Has appeared in over 300 films.

Trivia: Acted in over 400 films in his career in a span of over four decades. Worked in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Hollywood, Punjabi and Tamil films. Received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1979, the highest Indian recognition given to practising artists, for his theatre acting. Won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award three times, for Meri Jung (1985), Ghatak (1997), and Virasat (1997). Described by Steven Spielberg as his favourite movie villain.

Trivia: Worked in theatre extensively before working in cinema, mostly in Delhi and Calcutta. Got his breakthrough role in Shyam Benegal's Nishaant (1974) Nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Ghulami (1985). Appeared in all three parts of Deepa Mehta's Elements trilogy. Returned to the stage after a two decade long absence in 2012 at the Padatik Theatre in the play Atmakatha.

Trivia: Made his debut on the big screen in Ya Malak (1964). Also known as Kaalia, after his character in the film Sholay (1975), which made him famous across the country. Achieved most success starring in the Hindi sitcom Zabaan Smbhalke (1993). Has appeared in over 300 Marathi and Hindi films.

Trivia: Had a chance to work with Italian filmmaking legend Federico Fellini, but turned it down as he didn't speak Italian and was unwilling to invest time in learning it. Worked in Bengali cinema as an assistant to Satyajit Ray before moving to the Bollywood industry. Made his debut on the big screen in Pushpaka Vimana (1987). Cast his old friend Amitabh Bachchan in four of his films, whom he first met in 1968.

Trivia: First appeared on screen as a child actress in Kalyug (1980). Has been nominated for several Filmfare Award nominations, winning the Critics Award for Best Actress for her performance in Bhoot (2003). Sang on Asha Bhonsle's album Asha and Friends Vol 1, performing the song "Mehbooba Dilruba". Was one of the judges on TV dance reality shows Chak Dhoom Dhoom and Dance Maharashtra Dance. Mostly appeared in Hindi films, but has also featured in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi language films, the latter being her mother tongue.

Trivia: Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal remains one of the few film performers in India with an outspoken level of disdain for the craft of moviemaking -- one who has long publicly insisted that he only accepts movie roles for the fiscal gain and that his true undying love lies on the stage. A disciplined thespian known for the impressive versatility with which he can slip into roles, and the subtlety that enables him to avoid melodramatics and to naturalistically evoke characterizations onscreen, Rawal arrived in film by way of the theater. He commenced theatrical roles in 1973, when school instructors gently guided this born mischief-maker into drama as an outlet for his restless energy. Rawal moved into more serious and disciplined theater in university-level productions, and was in turn inspired to enter films by the impassioned work of Bollywood celebrity actor Naseeruddin Shah. Rawal's big career break then came at the hands of producer Karim Morani, who caught his performance in the Hindi-language play Arjun and saw, in this upstart, India's newest cinematic sensation. Role after role followed, with Rawal amassing over 200 screen assignments, in a wide spectrum of genres, by the late 2000s. Additional film projects included the 1993 Sir, the 1996 Bandish, Hera Pheri (2000), and Aitraaz (2004). In 2008, Rawal joined co-stars Sunil Shetty and Tusshar Kapoor for the lightweight crime comedy One Two Three, directed by Ashwani Dheer.