The name India may refer to either the region of Greater India (the Indian subcontinent), or to the contemporary Republic of India contained therein. The term is derived from the name of the Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus(4th century BC). The term appears in Old English in the 9th century, and again in Modern English since the 17th century.
The Republic of India has three principal short names, in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant. All three originally designated a single entity comprising all the modern nations of the Indian subcontinent. These names are India, Bharat and Hindustan The first Article of the Constitution of India states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, India and Bharat are equally official short names for the Republic of India, while "Hindustan" is still widely used as an alternative name when Indians speak amongst themselves. "Hindustan" is also used in historical contexts (especially British India). Indians commonly refer to their country as Bharat, Hindustan or India depending on the context and language of conversation.India is also known as Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, "abode of the Aryans") because of its heritage.
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[edit] India
The English term is from Greek Indía (Ἰνδία), via Latin India. Iindía in Byzantine N(Koine Greek) ethnography denotes the region beyond the Indus (Ἰνδός) river, since Herodotus (5th century BC) ἡ Ἰνδική χώρη "Indian land", Ἰνδός "an Indian", from Avestan Hinduš (referring to Sindh, and listed as a conquered territory by Darius I in the Persepolis terrace inscription). The name is derived ultimately from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the river, but also meaning "river" generically. Latin India is used by Lucian (2nd century).
The name India was known in Old English, and was used in King Alfred's translation of Orosius. In Middle English, the name was, under French influence, replaced by Ynde or Inde, which entered Early Modern English Indie. The name India then came back to English usage from the 17th century onwards, and may be due to the influence of Latin, or Spanish or Portuguese. [1]

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2009)
Sanskrit indu "drop (of Soma)", also a term for the Moon, is unrelated, but has sometimes been erroneously connected, listed by, among others, Colonel James Todd in his Annals of Rajputana. Todd describes ancient India as under control of tribes claiming descent from the Moon, or "Indu", (referring to Chandravanshi Rajputs), and their influence in Trans-Indian regions where they referred to the land as Industhan.
The name[2] [3] is used for the Republic of India. Bhāratam is the official Sanskrit name of the country, Bhārata Gaṇarājya, and the name is derived from the ancient Indian texts, the Puranas, which refers to the land that comprises India as Bharata varṣam, and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents[4]. For example, the Vayu Purana says he who conquers the whole of Bharata-varsa is celebrated as a samrāt (Vayu Purana 45, 86).[4]. However in some puranas, the term 'Bharate' refers to the whole Earth as Emperor Bharat had ruled the whole Earth. Until the death of Maharaja Parikshit, the last formidable emperor of the Kuru dynasty (there were other emperors too after him but they were not as powerful as him), the whole Earth was called as Bharatvarsha.
The Sanskrit word bhāratam is a vrddhi derivation of bharata, which was originally an epithet of Agni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to bear / to carry", with a literal meaning of "to be maintained" (of fire). The root bhr is cognate with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".
The Bhāratas were Indians mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The realm of Bharata is known as Bharātavarṣa in the Mahabhārata (the core portion of which is itself known as Bhārata) and later texts. The term varsa means a division of the earth, or a continent. [1] A version of the Bagavatha Purana says, the Name Bharatha is after Jata Bharatha who appears in the fifth canto of the Bagavatha.
From: Vishnu Purana (2.3.1)[2][3]
uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇamvarṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ
उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
"The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
The term in Classical Sanskrit literature is taken to comprise the territory of Republic of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as portions of eastern Afghanistan. This corresponds to the approximate extent of the historical Maurya Empire under emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great (4th to 3rd centuries BC). Later political entities unifying approximately the same region are the Mughal Empire (17th century), the Maratha Empire (18th century) , and the British Raj (19th to 20th centuries).
Akhanda Bharata ("undivided Bharat") is a term of Hindu nationalism calling for a re-unification of the region.
From the perspective of the Malayans, Indian traders were the most common ones coming from "the West", therefore the word was absorbed into the Malay language. In the Malay language, "Barat" literally means "West".
For Middle Eastern traders, particularly Arabs and Turks, spices were the most common materials coming from the East. Hence, the term "bharat" was borrowed first into Arabic as بهرات baharāt, meaning "spices;" this migrated into the Turkish "baharat" with the same meaning.

[edit] Hindustan and Hind
Main article: Hindustan
The name Hind is derived from the Iranian equivalent of Indo-Aryan Sindh. The Avestan -stān means country or land (cognate to Sanskrit sthāna "place, land").
India was called Hindustan in Persian although the term Hind is in current use. al-Hind الهند is the term in the Arabic e.g. in the 11th century Tarikh Al-Hind "history of India"). It also occurs intermittently in usage within India, such as in the phrase Jai Hind.
The terms Hind and Hindustān were current in Persian and Arabic from the 11th century Islamic conquests: the rulers in the Sultanate and Mughal periods called their Indian dominion, centred around Delhi Hindustan. -stan is a Persian suffix meaning "home of/place of".
Hindustān, as is the term Hindu itself, entered the English language in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the term as used in English referred to the northern region of India between the Indus and Brahmaputra rivers and between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas in particular, hence the term Hindustani for the Hindi-Urdu language. Hindustan was in use synonymously with India during the British Raj.
Hind (Hindi: हिन) remains in use in Hindi-Urdu. In contemporary Persian language, the term Hindustan has come to mean the Indian subcontinent, and the modern Indian Union is called Hind. The same is the case with Arabic language, where al-Hind is the name of the Republic of India.

[edit\] Āryāvarta
Āryāvarta (Sanskrit: आर्यावर्त, "abode of the Aryans") is the ancient name for northern and central India, where the culture of the Indo-Aryans was based.The Manu Smriti (2.22) gives the name to "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the eastern to the western sea".

[edit] Tenjiku
Tenjiku is the Japanese word commonly used in reference to pre-modern India. Tian, the root word for the Japanese kanji means, 'heaven,'[5] while, jiku, means: 'the center of'[6], or 'primary concentration of'. Therefore the word is known to mean: 'the heavenly center of the world" or "the spiritual axis (center)", a reference to the Indian origins of Buddhism.

[edit] Jambudvipa
There is a story in Jain mythology and in Hindu and Buddhist texts as well that describe Jambudvipa being one of the seven islands/continents of the world. It is possible that perhaps "island" is used to refer to India because India in one time was a separate Indian Plate. Perhaps the phrase is used in the manner that the land of India is still an island in between the Indus River and the rest of the Asian Plate. Jambudvipa is also addressed in Buddhist mythology and in some he is addresses as the ruler over entire Jambudvipa and in one, "He reigned over a quarter of the land of Jambudvipa..."[

Shahrukh Khan (Hindi: शाहरुख़ ख़ान, Urdu: شاہ رخ خان) born November 2, 1965, sometimes credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian actor, who has been a prominent Bollywood figure, as well as a film producer and television host.
Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in Deewana (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, Khan has won thirteen Filmfare Awards, seven of which are in the Best Actor category.
Khan's films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, making him one of the most successful actors of India. Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.[1]
Contents[hide]
1 Biography
2 Film career
2.1 Background
2.2 1990s
2.3 2000s
3 Producer
4 Television host
5 Awards and nominations
6 Filmography
6.1 Actor
6.2 Producer
6.3 Playback singer
6.4 Stunts Director
6.5 Television appearances
7 See also
8 Bibliography
9 Notes
10 External links
//

Biography

Shahrukh Khan and family
Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India .[2] His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian freedom fighter from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.[3] His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,[5] while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India.[6] Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.[7]
Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985-1988) and earned his Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.[8]
After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991.[9] In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber (who is a Hindu) in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991.[10] They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu gods.[11][12]
In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, "King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema", was released in 2007. This book described the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.
Khan has been awarded a number of honours. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year.[13] During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”.[14]
In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision.[15] He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.[16]

Film career

Background
Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil that, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself."[17] Khan made his acting debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television series, Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai.[18] He went on to appear in several other television serials, most notably in the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's Circus, which depicted the life of circus performers.[19] The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy.

1990s
Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991,[20] Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood.[21] His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. His second movie, Maya Memsaab, generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.[22]
In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar.[23] Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar, which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula.[24] His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in.[25] In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.[26]
In 1995, Khan starred in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a major critical and commercial success, for which he won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award.[27] In 2007, the film entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it as one of India's biggest movie blockbusters.[28] Earlier in the same year he found success in Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun which became the second biggest hit of the year.
1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office.[29] This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes -- one of the biggest hits of the year-- and Aziz Mirza's comedy Yes Boss, a moderately successful feature.[30] His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.[30]
In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directoial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of the year.[31] His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas.[32] Khan's only release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser.[33]

2000s
Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, Mohabbatein, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film Josh. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success.[34] In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.[34] His work with Karan Johar continued as he collaborated on the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).[35]
In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, Devdas. It was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year.[36] Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office.[36] In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte.[37] That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.[37]
2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the comedy Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas.[38] The film relates the love story of Veer and Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama Swades. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for Swades.[38]
In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time.[39] His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Don, a remake of the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a success.[39]
Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, Chak De India, about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, Chak De India became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan.[40] The film was a major critical success.[41] In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan 's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point.[40] It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. Khan's more recent films include the 2008 release, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which was a huge box office success, and Billu.
As of 2009, Khan is filming My Name Is Khan, due for a November 2009 release.[42] While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, California, on 1 January 2009.[43][44] Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto.[45][46]

Producer
Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office failures.[35] However, his third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), proved a box office hit.[37]
In 2004, Khan set up another production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na, another hit.[38] The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which did poorly.[47] It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful at the box office.[47] His company has gone on to produce Om Shanti Om (2007), in which he starred, and Billu (2009), in which he played a supporting role as a Bollywood superstar.
Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, 'The First Ladies', 'Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and 'Knights and Angels'. Television advertisements are also produced by the company.[48]
In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Television host
In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionair?.[49] The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000-05. On 22 January 2007, Kaun Banega Crorepati aired with Khan as the new host and later ended on 19 April 2007.[50]
On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?, the Indian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.

Awards and nominations

AMITABH BACHHAN

born Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan on October 11, 1942), is an Indian film actor. Also called Big B and Shahenshah. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the

Early life

Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, Amitabh Bachchan hails from a Hindu family. His father, Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan was a well-known , while his mother, Teji Bachchan was a Sikh from Faisalabad (now in Pakistan .[3] Bachchan was initially named Inquilab, inspired from the famous phrase Inquilab Zindabad during the Indian independence struggle, but was re-christened Amitabh which means, "the light that would never go off." Though his surname was Shrivastava his father had adopted the pen-name Bachchan, 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 current family.
Amitabh is the elder 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.[4] He attended Allahabads Jnana Prabodhiniand Boys' High Schoo (BHS), followed by Nainitals Sherwood College, where he majored in the art stream. He later went on to study at KIRORO COLLEGE of the

UNIVERCITY and completed a degree. In his twenties, Bachchan gave up a job as freight broker for the shipping firm, Bird and Co., based in Calcutt now known as Kolkata, to pursue a career in acting.
He married actress Jaya Bhaduri on June 3, 1973, according to Bengali rites. The couple has two children: daughter Shweta and son Abhishek

======================================================================

Early work 1969-1972
Bachchan made his film debut in 1969 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.[5]
The critically acclaimed and commercially successful Anand (1971) followed, where he starred alongside Rajesh Khanna . Bachchan's role as a doctor with a cynical view of life garned him a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Amitabh then played the role of an infatuated lover in Parwaana (1971) opposite Navin Nischol, Yogeeta Bali and Om Prakash and was a rare instance of him portraying the villain. This was followed by several films which were not particularly successful at the box office including Reshma Aur Shera (1971). During this time, he made a guest appearance in the film Guddi which starred his future wife Jaya Bhaduri opposite Dharmendra. Noted for his deep baritone voice early on in his career, 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. He starred alongside actors such as Aruna Irani, Mehmood, Anwar Ali and Nasir Hussain.

[edit] Rise to Stardom 1973-1983
1973 saw significant development in Bachchan's career when 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,[2] a reputation he was to acquire in pictures that followed it. It was his first film as the leading protagonist to achieve box office success and earned him 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 Mukherjeeand scripted by Biresh Chatterjee addressing themes of friendship. His supporting role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Rekha was praised and won him the 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 the highest grossing film of that year, 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 was a critical and commercial success, placing Amitabh opposite Kumar himself, Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. Bachchan then played the leading role in film Majboor, released on December 6, 1974, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Zigzag starring George Kennedy. The film was only a moderate success at the box office[6] In 1975, he starred in a variety of film genres from the comedy Chupke Chupke, the crime drama Faraar to the romantic drama Mili However 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 Royand 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.[7] Indiatimes Movies ranks Deewaar amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.[8] Released on August 15, 1975 was Sholay (meaning flames), which became the highest grossing film of all time in India, earning Rs. 2,36,45,00,000 equivalent to US$ 60 million, after adjusting for inflation.[9] Bachchan played the role of Jaidev opposite a cast which included some of the top names in the industry including Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. 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.[8] 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.
After the success of films such as Sholay at the box office, Bachchan had now consolidated his position in the industry and from 1976 through to 1984 would receive an unprecedented number of Filmfare Best Actor Awards and nominations. Although films such as Sholay cemented his status as Bollywood's pre-eminent action hero, Bachchan illustrated that he was flexible in other roles, successfully playing the romantic lead, in films such as Kabhie Kabhie (1976) and comic timing in comedies such as Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and earlier, in Chupke Chupke (1975). 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 emotional eclectic of the dialogue and softness of the subject matter proved a direct contrast to some of Amitabh's earlier grittier action pictures and those he would later go on to play. The film saw him again nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award and was a box office success. In 1977, he won the 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. 1978 was possibly the most accoladed year of his career and he starred in all four of the highest grossing films of India in that year.[10] 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 the Filmfare Best Actor Award and considerable critical acclaim as with his performances in Trishul and Muqaddar Ka Sikander which both earned him further Filmfare Best Actor nominations. On account of this unprecedented run and success he encountered at this stage in his career, he was billed a "one-man industry" by the French director François Truffat.[11]
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 RajKhosla directed film Dostana, in which he starred opposite Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman. Dostana proved to be the top grossing film of 1980.[12] 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.[13]

[edit] 1982 injury during filming Coolie
While filming Coolie in 1982, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]
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.[1]
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").[1]

[edit] Politics: 1984-1987
In 1984, Amitabh took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi. He contested Allahabad's Lok Sabha seat against H. N. Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and won by the highest victory margin in general election history (68.2% of the vote).[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21]
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 almost till the end of 1989.[22]

[edit] 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.[23] 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, 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 second National Film Award, 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.[24]

[edit] Producer and acting comeback 1996-1999
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 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.[25]
Bachchan attempted to revive his acting career and had average success with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998),[24] and received positive reviews for Sooryavansham (1999)[26] but other films such as Lal Baadshah (1999) and Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999) were box office failures.

[edit] 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. The 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.

[edit] 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. 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), Dev (2004) and Black (2005). 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 Godfathr tribute Sarkar(2005), and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006). All of them were successful at the box office.[27][28] His later releases in 2006 and early 2007 were Baabul (2006),[29] Eklavya and Nishabd (2007), which failed to do well at the box office but his performances in each of them were praised by critics.[30] He also made a guest-appearance as himself in the Kannada movie Amruthadaare, directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar.

Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Best Film Actor Award for the year 2005 to Amitabh Bachchan for his role in the Hindi film Black.
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.[31]
In August 2007, a remake of his biggest hit, Sholay (1975), entitled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, proved to be a disaster at the box office[31] and was also poorly received by critics.
His first English language film, Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2007. He received positive reviews from critics who hailed his performance as his best ever since Black.[32] Bachchan is 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[33]
Bhoothnath, in which he plays the title role as a ghost, was released on May 9, 2008. Sarkar Raj, released in June 2008, was a sequel to his 2005 film Sarkar. Sarkar Raj received a positive response at the box-office.
Bachchan was scheduled to co-host the second Live Earth event, Live Earth India 2008, with Jon Bon Jov, in Mumbai India on December 8, 2008.
On January 26 2009, Amitabh was the chief guest for the opening of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri, Mumbai.[34].

Sonia Gandhi
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Sonia Gandhi

Chairwoman of the United Progressive Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
President of Indian National Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 1998
Member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Incumbent
Assumed office 2006
In office2004 – 23 March 2006
Leader of the Opposition
In office19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004
Succeeded by
Lal Krishna Advani
Member of the Lok Sabha for Bellary, Karnataka and Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
In office1999 – 2004
Born
9 December 1946 (1946-12-09) (age 62)Lusiana, Veneto, Italy
Political party
Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)
Rajiv Gandhi (1969-1991)
Children
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi
Residence
10 Janpath, New Delhi, India
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Signature

As of 19 April 2009Source: Sonia Gandhi's unofficial website
Sonia Gandhi (Hindi: सोनिया गांधी; born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino[1] in Lusiana, Italy on 9 December 1946) is the Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. She also serves as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
An influential person in Indian politics, she was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004[2] and was ranked 6th in 2007.[3] She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007[4] and 2008.[5]
Contents[hide]
1 Early life
2 Political career
2.1 Wife of the Prime Minister
2.2 Congress President
2.3 Leader of the Opposition
2.4 2004 elections and aftermath
2.5 UPA Chairperson
3 Criticism
4 Personal life
5 Notes
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
//

[edit] Early life
Born to Stefano and Paola Maino in Lusiana, a little village 20 km from Vicenza in the region of Veneto, Italy, she spent her adolescence in Orbassano, a town near Turin being raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic school. Her father, a building contractor, and former Fascist soldier, died in 1983.[6] Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano.[7]
In 1964, she went to study English at The Bell Educational Trust's language school in the city of Cambridge. She met Rajiv Gandhi, who was enrolled in Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, in 1965 at a Greek restaurant.[8] Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi married in 1968, following which she moved into the house of her mother-in-law and then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.[9]
The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and Priyanka Gandhi (born 1972). Despite belonging to the influential Nehru family, Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement in politics. Rajiv worked as an airline pilot while Sonia took care of her family.[10] When Indira was ousted from office in 1977 in the aftermath of the Indian Emergency, the Rajiv family moved abroad for a short time. When Rajiv entered politics in 1982 after the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash on 23 June 1980, Sonia continued to focus on her family and avoided all contact with the public.[11]

[edit] Political career

[edit] Wife of the Prime Minister
Sonia Gandhi's involvement with Indian public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her husband's election as Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister's wife she acted as his official hostess and also accompanied him on a number of state visits.[citation needed] In 1984, she actively campaigned against her husband's sister-in-law Maneka Gandhi who was running against Rajiv in Amethi. At the end of Rajiv Gandhi's five years in office, the Bofors Scandal broke out.Ottavio Quattrocchi an Italian business man believed to be involved, was said to be a friend of Sonia Gandhi, having access to the Prime Minister's official residence.[12]

[edit] Congress President

With then President of Russia Vladimir Putin during his State visit on 4 October 2000.
After the death of her husband Rajiv Gandhi and her refusal of becoming president, the party settled on the choice of P V Narasimha Rao who became leader and subsequently Prime Minister. Over the next few years, however, the Congress fortunes continued to dwindle and it lost the 1996 elections. Several senior leaders such as Madhavrao Sindhia, Rajesh Pilot, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Arjun Singh, Mamata Banerjee, G K Moopanar, P.Chidambaram, Jayanthi Natarajan were in open revolt against the incumbent President Sitaram Kesri and quit the party, splitting the Congress into many factions.
In an effort to revive the party's sagging fortunes, she joined the Congress Party as a primary member in the Calcutta Plenary Session in 1997 and became party leader in 1998[13].
Within 62 days of joining of a primary member, she became the party President. She contested Lok Sabha elections from Bellary, Karnataka and Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in 1999. She won both the seats. In Bellary she defeated veteran BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj. In 2004, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rai Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

[edit] Leader of the Opposition

Sonia Gandhi with Bill Clinton during his visit in 2000
She was elected the Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
When the BJP-led NDA formed a government under Atal Behari Vajpayee, she took on the office of the Leader of Opposition. As Leader of Opposition, she called a no-confidence motion against the NDA government led by Vajpayee in 2003.
She holds the record of having served as Congress President for 10 years consecutively. She's also an honororay member of the Bandwagon commission.

[edit] 2004 elections and aftermath
In the 2004 general elections, Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign, criss-crossing the country on the Aam Aadmi (ordinary man) slogan in contrast to the 'India Shining' slogan of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance. She countered the BJP asking "Who is India Shining for?" In the election, she won by a large margin in the Rae Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Following the unexpected defeat of the NDA, she was widely expected to be the next Prime Minister of India. On 16 May, she was unanimously chosen to lead a 15-party coalition government with the support of the left, which was subsequently named the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
After the election result, the defeated NDA protested once again her 'foreign origin' and senior NDA leader Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head and "sleep on the ground", among other things, should Sonia become prime minister [14]. The NDA also claimed that there were legal reasons that barred her from the Prime Minister's post, and, indeed, from Parliament.[15] They pointed, in particular, to Section 5 of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, which they claimed implied 'reciprocity'. This was contested by others[16] and eventually the suits were dismissed by the Supreme Court of India.
A few days after the election, Gandhi declined the leadership of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha, and by doing so, rejected the post as prime minister. Her supporters compared it to the old Indian tradition of renunciation[17], while her opponents attacked it as a political stunt. If she had accepted the post, she would have been India's first Roman Catholic prime minister[18].
There were also reports suggesting that if Sonia Gandhi held the Prime Minister's office, in the case of a war or emergency, the army general could use his right of rejecting her orders, since she is a person of non Indian origin.[citation needed] However, based upon Section 7 of Indian Parliament Act of 1953, it was later clarified that such reports were untrue. Had Sonia Gandhi been a person of Indian origin, it would not have made any difference to her legislative powers defined under the Indian constitution.

[edit] UPA Chairperson

Sonia Gandhi speaking at India Economic Summit 2006
On 18 May, she recommended noted economist Dr. Manmohan Singh for the Prime Minister's post.
On 23 March 2006, Gandhi announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of the National Advisory Council under the office-of-profit controversy and the speculation that the government was planning to bring an ordinance to exempt the post of chairperson of National Advisory Council from the purview of office of profit. She was re-elected from her constituency Rae Bareilly in May 2006 by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes.
As chairperson of the National Advisory Committee and the UPA chairperson, she played an important role in making the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Right to Information Act into law.[19][20]
She addressed the United Nations on 2 October 2007, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary which is observed as the International day of non-violence after a UN resolution passed on 15 July 2007[21].

[edit] Criticism
Gandhi's foreign birth has sparked intense debate and opposition[14][22][23]. Although Sonia Gandhi is actually the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947[24].
Early in her leadership, there was even criticism from within the Congress Party. In May 1999, three senior leaders of the party (Sharad Pawar, Purno A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar) challenged her right to try to become India's Prime Minister because of her foreign origins. In response, she offered to resign as party leader, resulting in a massive outpouring of support and the expulsion from the party of the three rebels who would go on to form the Nationalist Congress Party[25].

[edit] Personal life

Gandhi in May 2007.
Her son, Rahul Gandhi, was elected to Parliament from the Amethi constituency (UP) in 2004. Priyanka Gandhi has not stood for office, though she has worked as a Congress campaign manager. There has been considerable media speculation about their future in the Congress.