5 posts from March 2008

Tabu (Hindi: तब्बू, born Tabassum Hashmi Khan(तबस्सुम हाश्मी) on November 4, 1970 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India) is an award-winning Indian actress who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and English films. Largely considered to be one of the best actresses working in the Indian film industry, she has won the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress twice. She is best known for her critically acclaimed acting in many films rather than achieving box office success. She is considered one of the finest and most versatile actresses in the country.

Despite a few exceptions, Tabu is known best for her willingness to play characters in artistic, low-budget films that go on to garner more critical appreciation than they do substantial box office figures such as in Maqbool (2003) or Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004). Known to be selective on her film roles the actress has said, "I do films which move me and most of all, the unit and the director should appeal to me.

Urmila Matondkar (Marathi: उर्मिला मातोंडकर) (born on February 4, 1974 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) is an award-winning popular Indian Bollywood actress.

Matondkar, who was earlier known for her bold image, was initially noted for her diverse roles in films like Rangeela (1995) and Satya (1998). During the 90s, she has frequently been featured in the Indian media as a sex symbol.

She subsequently went on to show her psychological acting abilities, and has delivered a range of critically acclaimed performances. She received various Best Villain nominations for her role as an obsessive lover in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), and won her first Filmfare Award under the Best Performer category for her portrayal of a ghost-possessed in Bhoot (2003). She was later highly praised for her roles as a merciless avenger in Ek Hasina Thi (2004) and a caring daughter in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005). Matonkar is thus considered to be a serious actress with many critical acclaimed movies to her name.

Mallika Sherawat (Hindi: मल्लिका शेरावत, born October 24, 1981 as Reema Lamba in Karnal, Haryana, India) is a popular Indian actress and model. Known for her public openness, she is frequently featured in the Indian media as a sex symbol.

Personal life
She worked as an air hostess prior to entering films and it was around this time that she married a pilot, Karan Singh Gill. They are now divorced.

Sherawat's birth name is Reema Lamba; she says that adopted the screen name of "Mallika", meaning "empress" to avoid confusion with other actresses named Reema. "Sherawat" is her mother's maiden name. She has stated that she uses her mother's maiden name because of all the support her mother has provided for her. There is also a controversy regarding her age. A news channel in India had alleged that she was already a graduate before starting to work as an airhostess and hence she can't be as young as she claims. She has also a degree in Indian philosophy from Miranda House, Delhi University.

Preeti Jhangiani (born 18 August 1980 in Mangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian actress and model. She is fluent in Sindhi, Hindi, Telugu, English. She is cusp-born (Leo/Virgo) and stands 5'5" in height. She studied in St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad.

Preeti first appeared in a Rajshri Music Video 'Chui Mui' opposite Abbas, this made them as well as the Koala bear symbol - famous. Thereafter she has appeared in Nirma Sandal soap ads. Her first film was in Malayalam which was called Mazhavillu. She made her Bollywood debut in 2000 with Mohabbatein. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Jugal Hansraj as well as four other debutantes (Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Kim Sharma and Jimmy Shergill). The film was a huge hit and started her film career. Her next hit was the comedy Awara Paagal Deewana, but she did not really have much of a role.

After the release of Mohabbatein, she received about a dozen offers, but before she could commence filming, she became so ill, that she was on anti-biotics - which altered her visage and caused weight fluctuations. She did recuperate and went on to act in some more movies, but has yet to make her mark on Bollywood. She has since been acting in mostly B grade movies. She earlier had an image of a homely girl but later on she started showing her skin rampantly, like in her movies Chhahat ek nashaa Haseena etc.

She has been romantically linked with Bollywood actor, Aftab Shivdasani, also a Sindhi; model Gautam Rodha, and is currently engaged to actor Pravin Dabas. She lives in Bandra (West), Bombay 400049.

Riya Sen (Bengali: রিয়া সেন; Hindi: रिया सेन;IPA: [ria ʃen] ITRANS:riYA sen) (born Riya Dev Varma in Kolkata, India on January 24, 1981) is an Indian film actress and model. Coming from a family of actors including her grandmother Suchitra Sen, mother Moonmoon Sen and sister Raima Sen, she started her career in 1991 as a child artiste in the film Vishkanya.

As a model, she featured in music videos, television commercials, fashion shows and magazine covers. Besides this, her first commercial success was N. Chandra's film, Style (2001), which was a comedy with a lot of sexual innuendo. Thereafter, she met with successes with Pritish Nandy's musical, Jhankaar Beats (2001), David Dhawan's comedy drama, Shaadi No. 1 (2005) and Santhosh Sivan's Ananthabhadram (2005) in Malayalam, which was based on the subject of evil and black magic.

Sen, a Bengali, took an activist role by supporting various social causes. She appeared in an anti-HIV/AIDS music video that aimed to break popular myths surrounding the subject and also helped raise funds for pediatric eye-care. Considered a sex symbol, Sen faced controversies such as the infamous MMS clip with actor Ashmit Patel, her semi-nude photograph on photographer Dabboo Ratnani's annual calender and her on-screen kisses in a conservative Indian film industry.