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: Actor Sanjay Dutt sustained a multi-decade career in his native India with roles in such continental productions as Naam (1985), Amaanat (1994), and Nehlle Pe Dehlla (indeed, his resumé qualifies as one of the most prolific in Asia). He predominantly specialized in character parts, with an emphasis on tough guy roles. Dutt achieved name recognition in his region of the world, but failed to connect with international audiences -- other than Bollywood enthusiasts -- for his first several decades. He found an unlikely (and undesired) source of global recognition in the late 2000s, however: a prison sentence for terrorist-related activities. Headlines in the late summer of 2007 announced Dutt's indictment for receiving guns from two Muslim gangsters who apparently perpetrated a 1993 bombing in Mumbai. Though acquitted for direct involvement in the bombings, the actor was sentenced to six years in prison, following an initial 16-month jail term. Insiders predicted that the stint would not harm his career.

Trivia: From the outset of his career, Hindi-language actor Manoj Bajpai developed and sustained a reputation for welcoming risky, edgy, and emotionally demanding roles. A native of Bilwa, India, Bajpai fell in love with acting from an early age, but reportedly received three separate rejections from the National School of Drama in New Delhi. Nevertheless, Bajpai persisted, and his efforts paid off with one of the lead roles in Shekhar Kapur's well-received but grueling, feminist-charged political drama Bandit Queen (1994) (officially an Indian-British co-production), and equally prominent billing in the projects Shool (1999), Pinjar (2003), and Bewafaa (2004). In 2008, Bajpai starred as Lalabhai in the madcap Bollywood ensemble comedy Money Hai Toh Honey Hai.

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.

Trivia: His family's last name was adopted by his father out of admiration for the freedom fighter Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. Started his career with the Kannada movie Anand (1986). Nearly drowned in River Shivnath in Chhatisgarh in 2014, while shooting for a film. Instituted the Vidyarthi Samman Awards to honour the unsung heroes of the country after his father's death.