THALA "AJITH KUMAR" !!!!!!

49 FILMS

32 HITS

17 FLOPS

1 NATIONAL AWARD

6 FILM FARE AWARD

12 CAR RACE TITLE[WINNER]

13 BIKE RACE TITLE

D MOST STYLISH ACTOR OF SOUTH [Once ila twice ila,11 times]

SPEAKS 5 LANGUAGES FLUENTLY

STARTED CAREER AS A MECHANIC

L8R A FORMULA RACER

ENTERED CINE FIELD WITHOUT SUPPORT FRM FAMILY

7 DUAL ROLES

CBSE 5TH GRADE HAS A LESSON ABOUT HIM

ONLY ACTOR WIT FLIGHT LICENSE

ROLE MODEL FOR HARD-WORK,NEVER GIVES UP

HE IS NONE OTHER THAN OUR THALA "AJITH KUMAR" !!!!!!

It's hard to feel sympathy for Sylvester Stallone. After all, over the years his movies have made billions, with Stallone himself taking a sweet percentage. As John Rambo he's known the world over, as Rocky Balboa he's even loved. Few actors have enjoyed such long-term success, or such iconic status. Yet Stallone still has real cause for disappointment. He did not start out wanting to be an action hero. Indeed, his acting roots are in absurdist theatre and weighty, more experimental works. Throughout his career he has taken numerous steps to distance himself from that Rocky/Rambo persona, with no joy. The public always wanted him as he was - the damaged, simple, everyman hero - and would not let him go. And Stallone, who must take his share of the blame, lacked the artistic courage to leave those sure-fire hits behind. It takes sacrifice to become a Hollywood star - and a lot more to remain one.

He was born Sylvester Enzio Stallone on the 6th of July, 1946, named after his paternal grandfather. His mother, Jackie, had wanted to name him Tyrone, after action hero Tyrone Power, but her prophetic rhyme was not to be. Besides, the young boy would soon be nicknamed Binky.

Stallone's birth, in the charity ward of a public hospital (close by to the Actors' Studio - again prophetically), was a difficult process. Weighing in at 13 pounds, he did not come easily and was indeed tugged from the womb by an intern with a pair of forceps. This drastic and rather unprofessional procedure would sever a nerve above the baby's jaw, causing his famously drooping eyelid and lip and also a speech impediment that would take years of therapy to overcome.

Jackie was an aspiring dancer, one of the Long Stemmed Roses at the Billy Rose Diamond Horseshoe nightclub. Prone to weight-gain, though, she was not as long-stemmed as others, and so spent much of her working time selling cigarettes to the club patrons. Still she was ambitious and pursued her dancing career with zeal. Stallone's father, meanwhile, Frank, was a Sicilian immigrant who'd attempted to make it as a club singer but, wrecked by a stagefright that saw him performing from behind a curtain, had moved into hairdressing and was attempting to build a business.

With Jackie struggling as a dancer and Frank pumping all his profits back into his business, there was very little money to spare. For the first five years of Sylvester's life, the family would live in a cold-water flat in Hell's Kitchen, on 50th and 10th. During the week, with both parents working, the boy would be sent to live with a foster mother in Queens, an uncommunicative woman who left him to live in his own fantasy world, thus fuelling his nascent imagination.

In later years Stallone would make much of this depressed background - it was this that connected him so forcefully and fatefully to the Rocky character - but their poverty was unusual in the family, and short-lived. Nee Labofish, Jackie's father was the highest-ranking circuit court judge in Washington (tellingly, he was also obsessed with bodybuilding and once shared a room with Charles Atlas). She did not come from poverty and, with Frank quickly building a chain of salons - J Frank's Hair Stylists - she did not stay in it for long. Once Frank Jr was born in 1950, the family were able to move to the upper-class Washington suburb of Silver Springs.

The family would live here in real comfort, in a big house with impressive grounds. Soon Frank Sr would be buying polo ponies (Frank Sr had learned to play the game when stationed as a guard on the Mexican border during WW2). Yet all was not right with young Sylvester. Painfully aware of his disfigurement and flawed speech, he reacted badly to the inevitable teasing at school - Mr Potato Head being one of his kinder nicknames. Fearing that answering back to taunts would simply lead to more insults about his speech, he clammed up, became surly and difficult, his anger manifesting itself in vandalism and fighting with other children. At home, life was no easier as Frank Sr was extremely critical of his elder son. Nothing Sylvester did was good enough and when the frustrated boy dared to answer back he'd receive the back of Frank's hand. Stallone would later reveal that his father was prone to whistling before striking his son and, when he became a big star, the clearly still traumatised actor actually banned whistling from his sets.

Terribly lonely at school, and feeling disregarded at home where the good-looking, musically-gifted Frank Jr received preferential treatment, Sylvester retreated further into his fantasy world of books and comics. At one point he even made himself a Superman outfit and wore it under his clothes. Unbeknown to the rest of the world, he had a secret identity - courageous, powerful, attractive. Unfortunately, he let his secret slip and was made to strip down to his superhero costume in front of the class. More humiliation. It must have driven him a little crazy as, at age 11, he jumped off the roof using an umbrella as a parachute, just like in the movies he already loved. He was lucky to escape with a broken clavicle.

Try as he might, Stallone could never escape for long into fantasy. The real world kept breaking in to assault him.

He was still a straight F student, unable to retain academic information, suffering an ADD that probably resulted from the rickets he suffered during those poor, vitamin-deficient years in Hell's Kitchen. In fact, the real world was horrible, just an endless string of people pushing him, punching him, insulting him, telling him he was ugly and useless, aggressive and thick. Efforts were made to calm him. He was sent to therapy, even to a religious retreat, but nothing worked. And then came another dire blow when, in 1957, his parents divorced. When Jackie left, leaving Sylvester in the hands of his hyper-critical father, the boy clung desperately onto her leg, going, as she later put it, "into convulsions". He'd actually run away to join his mother in Philadelphia, being brought back by the authorities. After a raging court battle that left both kids emotionally torn, the parental access decided upon would bring further estrangement to Sylvester, with Frank Sr and Jackie agreeing to look after Sylvester and Frank Jr in alternate years. By the time Sylvester was 16 he'd have attended 20 schools.

. Nevertheless, despite his parents' split - or maybe because of it - young Sylvester at last began to find some inner stability. When Jackie remarried to Tony Filiti, owner of a frozen pizza factory in Philadelphia (this union would give Sylvester a half-sister, Toni Ann), she found herself even better off than before. Her ambitions encouraged by her new husband, she opened a gym for women, and dragged Sylvester along with her, an immensely tedious experience for the 12-year-old kid. Tedious, that is, till his interest in movies led him, in 1958, to see Steve Reeves in Hercules (a film, interestingly, shot by Mario Bava, soon to direct the horror classic Black Sunday). Due to his grandfather, Stallone would have already been well-acquainted with the notion of bodybuilding, but in Hercules all its possibilities were revealed in Reeves' magnificent form. Here was a self-made man who was unashamedly superheroic, and his body was his costume. Stallone was thrilled and utterly inspired. Onscreen he devoured Reeves' work - Hercules Unchained, Morgan The Pirate, Goliath And The Barbarians and the rest - and began to work out at his mother's gym. Making weights out of old car parts, he pumped iron at home, too.

By the age of 13, Stallone was well on the way to creating himself. Impressively buff in a physical sense, he also began to work on his mind, religiously expanding his vocabulary by one word a day. Gradually, the taunts and fights became more rare. At Lincoln High in Philadelphia he even made the track team.

At 16, his grades still relatively poor, he began to dream of a life of adventure, the navy seeming a good ticket out. His father, though, as ever unsure of his son's ability to do anything right, nixed the idea and kept the boy under his watchful eye, employing him in his hair salons.

He stood it for 6 months, then returned to school in Philly, living with his mother at 2744 Mowes Street. Even academia was more adventurous than hairdressing. Trouble was, bored by lessons, Stallone was a compulsive truant, never a good student. Finding the right school for him had always been immensely difficult. One great opportunity would have been at Montgomery Blair, a public high school in Silver Spring where he'd have been in the same year as newscaster Connie Chung, one year behind Goldie Hawn and two behind Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, but he was transferred soon after enrolment. Eventually, at great expense running into the tens of thousands, Jackie enrolled him at the Manor High School, a private institution for problem kids run by the Devereux Foundation. Here, breaking from the past by re-naming himself Mike on entry, he'd undergo group and individual therapy as well as intensive speech therapy. No longer an outsider, his confidence would quickly grow. He'd box, fence, ride and play football for the school. Amazingly, given his history, his senior yearbook would say "Mike is one of the most popular boys in school".

. Eventually, Sylvester would graduate - a big win for the rank underdog. However, his grades were such that no college would take him. Once more Jackie would come good, seeking out the American College in Leysin, Switzerland, close to the French border, near Montreux and Lake Leman at the western foot of the Alps. Though the college was ordinarily a place for the rich and aristocratic, Jackie discovered that they were presently suffering a cash flow crisis. By offering to pay in advance and have Sylvester work as boxing coach, she won him an unlikely place among the children of the rich and famous.

For two years, Sylvester was happy in Switzerland. He made vast improvements at science, maths and history and began to excel at art and literature. He painted, wrote poems, grew to love the works of Shakespeare, Hemingway and Whitman. He joined the Social Service club and the drama group for whom he starred as Biff, son of the tragic Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman. And there was romance. Philadelphia's ugly duckling was known in the 1966 yearbook as "Studly".

In 1967, Stallone enrolled at the University of Miami as a theatre major, keen to maintain the momentum he'd built up in Switzerland. Unfortunately, several of his obsessions counted against him. Firstly, he was still a committed bodybuilder, his insecurities still forcing him to impress people with his body. His tutors found him too aggressive, too physical. He wasn't natural in way that Brando, Newman and the big stars of the day were natural. Beyond this, Stallone had fallen head over heels for the Theatre of the Absurd where Adamov, Ionesco, Jean Genet and Samuel Beckett were kings - another big no-no at the university.

Rejected in drama class, Stallone began to pen his own avant garde plays, putting them on with his own troupe in garages, cellars, anywhere he could afford. He may not have impressed his teachers, but he was an underground hit with his rejection of narrative and his disruptive techniques (all very different to the films he would later produce).

. Keen to follow his own path, Stallone would drop out of college just before graduation and return to New York City, where he'd rent a room at the Sutton hotel, near Times Square. Here he'd pursue his latest passion - screenwriting - devouring books on the subject, endlessly scribbling, creating himself once again. He'd write the anarchistic Till Young Men Exit where fledgling actors take a Broadway producer hostage, he'd base Sad Blues on his brother Frank's attempts to build a pop career. Nothing doing, no response. In the meantime, he'd pursue acting, attending many, many open auditions. However, being muscley and mumbling, he'd be dismissed as just another Brando wannabe, one in millions. Oddly, he'd fail to win a part in Sal Mineo's Fortune And Men's Eyes, a prison drama concerning homosexual rape, because he wasn't angry enough.

Eventually, he would gain a part, as the minotaur in a 3-week Bronx production of Desire Caught By The Tail, Picasso's only play, written in 1941 and packed with myth, sexuality and surrealism. It would have clearly appealed to Stallone's sense of the avant garde, at one point having a bucket of ping pong balls descend onto the stage. Sadly, this was no career breakthrough. Stallone was soon unemployed and broke. Too proud to ask his parents for money, he spent time dossing in the infamous Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd Street, storing his precious notes and books in a locker there.

At his lowest ebb, as so many had done before him, he took a part in a porn film for $200. Beginning in a meaningful, almost Bergman-esque fashion, Party At Kitty And Stud's quickly resorted to softcore, Stallone cavorting with his girlfriend then inviting two girls and a guy to join them in a small-scale orgy. Studly was now just a stud and the world would witness his fall when, in 1976, with Rocky a massive hit, the film would be released under the hilarious title The Italian Stallion.

Still, $200 was $200. Stallone moved into a $71 a month apartment above an abandoned deli on 56th and Lexington. He worked cutting up fish in a deli in Manhattan, made and delivered pizza, even cleaned out the lions' cage at Central Park zoo. He worked as a bouncer at his own building, keeping the homeless out of the halls, and scored a job as an usher at the Baronet Theatre, where most major movies would premiere. Noticing how big the queues were, and how many disappointed punters were turned away, he began a lucrative side-line selling tickets to those at the back of the line.


Interestingly, during his press tour for Rocky Balboa, Stallone claimed he didn't care if he acted again. His overriding interest now, he said, was writing. If he's true to his word (and he doesn't have the greatest record there), this opens up grand possibilities. We may finally see that long-anticipated biopic of Edgar Allan Poe. And we may, just possibly, see Stallone reinvent himself yet again. Could he turn from an action hero accused of senseless violence and right-wing politics into a well-respected elder statesman of film?After all, Dirty Harry managed it - why can't Rambo?

Genelia Biography

Genelia D’Souza also known as Harini to close friends born on 5 August 1987 in England into a Mangalore Catholic family. She is an Indian film actress who appears in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu language films. Genelia is also very famous with her nickname Geenu and Cheenu. Geenu’s parents Neil D’Souza, a senior official with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Jeanette D’Souza, formerly secretary to Managing Director with a pharma MNC. She has also a elder Brother in her family. Cheenu studied at the Apostolic Carmel High School in Bandra and then she joined St. Andrews College (Bandra) to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree of Management Studies. Genelia was also a National level Football player and State level athlete.


PERSONAL LIFE OF GENELIA D’SOUZA

Watching movies and Listning the old songs is the Hobbies of Genelia D’Souza. her favorite dress is Jeans, T-Shirts and Salwar Kameez Cheenu’s Favorite music director is AR Rehman and her favorite singer is Lucky Ali. Shahrukh Khan is the favorite actor and Kajol is favorite actress of Geenu.


GENELIA D’SOUZA’s CAREER

Genelia started her career in the year 2003 with three movies – first one was Hindi movie TUJHE MERI KASAM opposite Ritesh Deshmukh another one is the Tamil movie BOYS and the third one is the Telugu movie SATYAM opposite Sumanth. Hindi Movie Tujhe Meri Kasam, which was a remake of Telugu movie Nuvve Kavali and saw an average response. Tamil Movie Boys, on the other hand, which was a hit, as was Satyam. After that Cheenu doing several movies which built her popularity and raised her profile in south India. She acted in successful telugu films like SAMBA, HAPPY and SYE. She followed it up with a pairing with actor Venkatesh in Subhash Chandra Bose which met with disappointment at the box-office. But in the year 2008 she has again appeared a golden come back in bollywood with moderately successful movie Priyadarshan’s MERE BAAP PEHLE AAP alongside Akshaye Khanna. And then Cheenu got her final breakthrough in Bollywood was through the blockbuster and the year’s hit JAANE TU YA JAANE NA. In this movie Geenu has a role of Aditi Mahant aka “Meow”. Her role has been widely admired for her sweetness and freshness, and new style of acting. And now her latest movie is a Telugu film READY in which she was paired opposite Ram was a super hit and a Hindi movie titled LIFE PARTNER with Fardeen Khan which is running successfully in theaters.


Genelia D’Souza upcoming movies are It’s MY LIFE with Harman Baweja is to be released in 2009. She will also act in David Dhawan’s movie HOOK YA CROOK opposite John Abraham and Shreyas Talpade for the first time which is a cricket film, the film will be released in 2009. Geenu also now becomes the brand ambassador of the new Fanta replacing the bollywood princess Rani Mukherjee. And also the brand ambassador of chocolate Perk replacing the heart of bollywood Preity Zinta. She now holds a distinct Limca world record of delivering 4 different super hit films in 4 different languages (Satya (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniyam (Tamil), Ready (Telugu) and Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Naa (Hindi)) in span of 1 calendar year.


AWARDS FOR GENELIA D’SOUZA

• Filmfare Award for Best Female Actress for Bommarillu (Telugu), 2006

• Nandi Jury Award for Bommarillu (Telugu), 2006
• Nandi Special Jury Award for Bommarillu (Telugu), 2006
• Santosham Award for Best Actress for Bommarillu,2006

Kamal Haasan Biography

Kamal Haasan (Tamil : கமல்ஹாசன்) (born November 7, 1954, in Paramakkudi, Tamil Nadu, India) is a highly acclaimed and highly versatile Indian film actor whose work is mainly based in the south Indian film industry. Kamal Hassan is also a critically acclaimed actor and also a box office hit maker, his recent films from the year 2000 to 2006 such as Vettaiyaddu Villayadu (Rs 450 million), Vasool Raja MBBS (Rs 400 million) and Thenali (Rs 300 million) are money spinner's at the box offices not only in India but Internationally too.

Early life

Kamal was born to Srinivasan and Rajalakshmi as their fourth and youngest child. His father gave all three of his sons the suffix of "Haasan" as a sign of his friendship to one Mr. Haasan. Kamal entered the film world as a child actor at the tender age of 6 in the film Kalathur Kannamma and has been associated with the film world since then. Kamal learnt the fine arts in his early years instead of school work. As a teenager, he started working as an assistant choreographer in movies and it was during this time that his long and fruitful association with notable Tamil film director, K. Balachander began.

alised films for a major portion of his career, but then moved away from the purely commercial ventures. He is also a trained playback singer and sometimes pens the lyrics for the soundtracks of some of his recent films. He is an able performer of the Bharatanatyam dance form. He had assisted in choreography early in his career. He is easily the greatest actor Tamil cinema has ever produced.

Sixties

Kamal made his screen debut with Kalathur Kannamma at the age of six and it won him the first National Award for Best Child Artist. He followed it with appearances as a child actor in movies that featured MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Nagesh and Gemini Ganesh.


Seventies

In seventies Kamal entered in to cinema at full swing. Apart from acting in Tamil films, he was also cast during this period in Malayalam films directed by some of the leading Malayalam directors of the day. Though he was already introduced as an adult hero in earlier films like Avargal, Aval Oru Thodarkathai, Solla Thaan Ninaikkiren, Maanavan and Kumara Vijayam, it was in the film 16 Vayathinile, with Sridevi, that established him as a popular teen idol at the age of 23. Kamal Haasan and Sri Devi were a popular acting pair and have acted together in 23 films. The year following his appearance in 16 Vayathinile, Kamal Haasan acted in director K. Balachander's Telugu hit Maro Charithra.

During the 1970s, he has played a host of characters that include:

* a ventriloquist in Avargal
* a village innocent in 16 Vayathinile
* a disco jockey in Ilamai Oonjaladugiradhu
* a psychopath serial killer of women in Sigappu Rojakkal
* a buck-toothed villager in Kalyanaraman
* Aladdin in Alavudheenum Arpudha Vilakkum



Eighties

His first attempt at direction came through an unfortunate turn of events with the demise of director T.N. Baalu during the filming of Sankarlal in 1981. Kamal reached superstardom in 1979 with multiple classics and mass blockbusters which coincided with the decline of MGR/Sivaji era in movies (MGR quit movies in 1977 while Sivaji, nevertheless continued to act till the 90s). Kamal has managed to hold off competition successfully till date by differentiating his films in scripts, roles and get-ups.

In this period, he has played amongst other roles, :

* a blind violinist in Raja Paarvai at the age of 27 (first screenplay by Kamal)
* a classical dancer in Saagara Sangamam
* a mentally challenged man who falls in love in Swathi Muthyam
* an undercover cop in Kaaki Sattai
* an underworld don in Nayagan (Leader) at the age of 33 (directed by Mani Ratnam)
* an unemployed youth who chances upon a week of opulence in the silent movie Pushpak
* an honest cop, a dwarf circus clown and a fun-loving mechanic in Apoorva Sagodharargal at the age of 35 (screenplay by Kamal)
* a corrupt mayor in Indrudu Chandrudu, Telugu

Apoorva Sagodharargal, which released in 1989, was the first Kamal film to gross almost Rs.100 million at the box office.


Nineties

Kamal's second attempt at direction came through another unfortunate turn of events when the original director Shantanu Sheroey failed to do a good job while filming Chachi 420 in 1997. Inspired by the European style of closer-to-reality docu-dramas, Kamal moved decisively towards making films for select classes in the 90s, isolating some of his ardent fans.

In this period, he has played:

* as a Doctor in hilarious tamil movie "Sathy Leelavathy"
* as quadruplets in the comedy Michael Madhana Kamarajan
* as an old and highly-corrupt mayor in Indiran Chandiran
* a mentally-challenged man in the romance Guna
* a modern youth turned villager in Thevar Magan at the age of 38 (written and produced by Kamal)
* a hapless villager who lost and re-discovers his family in a metropolis in Mahanadhi
* a revolutionary lecturer in Nammavar
* a special police squad officer against terrorism in Kuruthipunal
* a righteous old revolutionary as well as his corrupt son in Indian
* an old au pair nanny in Avvai Shanmugi (an adaptation of the film Mrs. Doubtfire) at the age of 42

Unlike the eighties, Kamal films in the nineties lost sheen and were less successful. However, Indian and Avai Shanmugi which both released in 1996 grossed almost Rs.200 million at the box office marking a new peak in his career.

Noughts

Kamal's multi-faceted talent came to the fore in off-screen departments like direction, scripting, screenplay, special effects and these reached full bloom in this decade.

Again, he has played diverse roles in this period, which include:

* a pair of twins (one of which is a deranged psychopath) in Aalavandhan
* an ardent bachelor turned lover in Pammal K Sambandam
* a randy pilot in the comedy caper Panchathanthiram
* a disabled altruist in Anbe Sivam
* a rustic wrongly jailed for the murder of his lover in Virumaandi (directed by Kamal)
* a deaf circus stuntman in Mumbai Express at the age of 51
* an old age student of MBBS degree, Vasool Raja M.B.B.S, a remake of Hindi film, Munna Bai M.B.B.S
* as DCP Raghavan, a smart and suave policeman with his "Raghavan instinct" out to trace a serial psychopath killer duo in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu

Thenali, which released in 2000, was the first Kamal film to gross almost Rs.300 million at the box office. Vasoolraja MBBS grossed almost Rs.400 million and Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu mopped up Rs.450 million at the box office. These back-to-back blockbusters proved his persistent hold on Kollywood and silenced critics.

Awards

Kamal is a three-time winner of the National Film Award for Best Actor for the films Nayagan, Moondram Pirai, and Indian. He also won the national award for Best Child Actor for his performance in Kalathoor Kannamma. He has also received the best actor award at the Asian Film festivals held in 1983 and 1985 for Saagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam respectively. Six of his movies have been sent as India's official entry to the Oscars- The only actor to achieve this feat in the sub-continent. Kamal has won the Filmfare awards 18 times. He was awarded the fourth highest recognition given to Indian civilians - the Padmashri in 1990. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Sathyabama Deemed University, Chennai in 2005. Kamal haasan has won a total of 171 awards which is more than any other actor in the world living or dead. He was named as "kalaignani" meaning - an idol of art, by M. Karunanidhi for his classical work towards tamil cinema. In his upcoming film Dasavatharam, he is playing 10 different roles, an act which is the second of its kind in the world, after the Tamil movie Dambachari (1936).

Career as a film producer

Owing to his immense popularity in the Indian film industry, Kamal began producing films. He began with Raja Paarvai in 1981. A more recent production was the film Virumaandi in 2004. His privately held production house Raj Kamal Films produced several classics like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Thevar Magan, Kuruthipunal etc. His more recent production ventures include the films Virumaandi and Mumbai Xpress.

His magnum opus, Marudha Naayagam, is a period film set in early 18th century Madurai about a warrior/freedom fighter Yusuf Khan Sahib or Muhammed Yusuf Khan. The film's launch was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II. However, the film is yet to be made.

In 2005, he launched a new business unit called Raj Kamal Audio in a drive to corporatise all his film commitments. In 2006, he purchased prime real estate for a state-of-the-art multiplex cinema.

Personal life

Kamal Haasan was married to Vani Ganapathy. He later had a live in relationship with Sarika with whom he has two daughters (Shruthi and Akshara) and with whom he is now separated.

Charity

Kamal is the first actor to turn his fan clubs into registered non-profit service organizations.He indulges in many charity work through his fan clubs by helping the needy. Fan clubs all over celebrate his birthday with some or the other charity work across the state.

Filmography

Listed below is the best guesstimate available of Kamal's 240-odd releases till date in at least six regional markets.

* 1960 - Tamil debut
* 1962 - Malayalam debut
* 1977 - Bengali debut
* 1977 - Kannada debut
* 1977 - Telugu debut
* 1977 - Hindi debut

Superstar Rajinikanth

Down south he managed the status of a Mega-star for almost a decade. Rajni, as he is referred to by millions of fans, may be short on histrionic talent, but more than makes up for it through his idiosyncratic on-screen mannerisms and a carefully-nurtured defender-of-the-downtrodden image.
He was born on December 12, 1950 as Shivajirao Gaekwad in Banglore, the son of a police constable, he worked as a bus-conductor in the city before he joined the Madras Film Institute. He made his debut with a brief role in Puttanna Kanagal's Katha Sangama and came into scorching limelight with Balachander's Apoorva Ragangal. A fanatic film viewer since childhood, his unique acting style is characterised by a trademark gesture: flipping a cigarette in the air before he catches it in his mouth.
Although he has resisted the temptation to plunge headlong into the affairs of the state as some of his predecessors in the Tamil film industry had done, Rajnikanth has often added his voice to the political cacophony, setting off speculation that he may soon join one party or the other or even float a totally new group.
His style, appreciated by teenagers, evokes a childish delight in his film acting and is aptly mobilised in Mani Ratnam's Dalapati। His delirious fans, who hang on to every syllable he utters with something akin to a religious fervor, have formed clubs all over the state dedicated to the promotion of their favorite actor। He live with his wife Latha and Daughters Aishwarya, Soundarya।
Till today, Thalapathi by Rajnikanth is one of the super hit films in Kollywood। The film was directed by Mani ratnam। "Adi Raakama Kaiya Thattu" song still attracts everyone। Ok, what's about it ? Well, the combo may be back after nearly 2 decades. Rajnikanth met Maniratnam some days back, this creates the rumour about his next movie and the latest one is that Manirathnam going to direct Rajni's next film. And some people even tells that the name of the film would be "Chakravarthi", and more than all - Rajnikanth and Kamal hassan might be the heroes in this film. There is no confirmed statement from both the sides, but if Rajnikanth - Mani Ratnam - Kamal hassan joins, it will be mega blockbuster movie.
Early Life:
Rajinikanth was born in a Marathi family in Karnataka, India. He was the fourth child to his parents, Jija bai and Ramoji Rao. His original name was Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. He lost his mother at the age of five. He had his schooling at the Acharya Patasala in Bengalooru (formerly Bangalore) and then at the Vivekananda Balak Sangh, a unit of the Ramakrishna Mission. His mother tongue is Marathi, although he has not acted in a Marathi film yet.
He began his career doing various jobs in Karnataka, while also attending a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he served as a bus conductor for the state transport corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.
Personal:

Rajinikanth married Latha on February 26, 1981, at Tirupathi and they have two children: Aishwarya and Soundarya. Latha is currently the principal of a school named - The Ashram. Aishwarya married actor Dhanush in 2005 and they have a 6 month old son, Yathra.

Acting Career:
He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973 with the help of a friend and completed basic acting course। He started his acting career with the Kannada movie Kathaa Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal, in 1975।

1975-1979

In Tamil cinema he was initially cast in supporting roles, with his first being that of a cancer patient in Apoorva Raagangal (1975), directed by K. Balachander. It was Balachander who assigned him his stage name Rajinikanth. Though Rajinikanth persistently refers to K. Balachander as his "guru" or mentor, it was director S. P. Muthuraman who actually revamped Rajinikanth’s image entirely. Muthuraman first experimented with him in a positive role in Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri (1977), as a villain in the first half and a do-gooder in the second, accepting a woman with a child ditched by her lover.Around this time Mullum Malarum (1978), directed by J. Mahendran, established Rajinikanth on the Tamil film arena. The success of Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri prompted Muthuraman to make a mushy melodrama with Rajinikanth as a hero sacrificing everything for his siblings in Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai (1979). Even while the film was in the making, Rajinikanth had misgivings about whether the audience would accept him in tear jerkers of this kind. But its box-office success made Rajinikanth popular among women audience. These films were the turning points in Rajinikanth’s career — he changed from an actor who merely enthralled the audiences, to one who could also make them weep. The acceptance of Rajinikanth sans his mannerisms proved he had at last become an "actor" from a "star."His film roles were mainly as a villain during the period 1975 to 1977, usually with Kamal Hassan as the hero, in movies like 16 Vayadhinilae and Avargal (both 1977).

1980-1989:

The next phase of his career started with Billa, a remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starer Don। With its success he was accepted as a full-fledged hero. Billa was followed by a row of hits like Pokkiri Raja, Thanikattu Raja, Naan Mahaan Alla and Moondru Mugam. Even two decades after its release, the last continues to be a box-office draw. K. Balachander’s first home production, Netrikan proved to be yet another milestone in Rajini’s career. Rajinikanth's reputation continued to solidify in the 80's primarily due to movies remade from Amitabh Bachchan's Bollywood hits. Amitabh hits such as Khud-Daar, Namak Halaal, Lawaaris, Trishul, and Kasme Vaade, were remade into hit Rajinikanth starrers Padikkadavan, Velaikaran, Panakkaran, Mr. Bharath, and Dharmathin Thalaivan, respectively. He even acted as himself alongside Meena, who was a child actor then, in the movie Anbulla Rajinikanth (1984) In his 100th movie, Sri Raghavendra, he played the Hindu saint Raghavendra Swami.

1990


Unlike the eighties, several movies of his during the nineties were successful, like Muthu and Baashha. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay for the film Valli (1993), and said to the media that it would be his last film (but it was not the case as he acted again). His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed in Japanese as Muthu: The Dancing Maharajah and become very popular in Japan. At 53, his Baba released amid fanfare. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as a miserable showing and fell short of market expectations accumulating heavy losses for the distributors. Rajinikanth himself repayed the losses incurred by the distributors who had immense faith in him. His next film, Sivaji: The Boss, directed by S. Shankar is scheduled to be released on June 15, 2007.

Other Hindi:


Apart from Tamil, Rajinikanth has acted in over 160 movies,including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon. But Rajinikanth could not concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down south. He still made a few films in Hindi , like Chaalbaaz with Sridevi. Rajinikanth also enjoys a special kind of popularity in Telugu cinema. He also had a brief stint in Hollywood with the movie Bloodstone in 1988.

Awards and Honours

Rajinikanth was rated as one of the most influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek. He has won the Filmfare Best Actor award and many awards during his career for his acting.In the years between 1977 and 1999 Rajinikanth has received awards from many organizations, like Cinema Express, Filmfans Association, Filmfare etc., for his on-screen performances and off-screen abilities in writing and producing. He has received awards in the Best Actor category for his performance in the films Padayappa, Peddarayudu, Basha, Muthu, Annamalai, Thalapathy, Velaikaran, Sri Raghavendra, Nallavanuku Nallavan, Moondru Mugam, Enkeyo Ketta Kural, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Mullum Malarum and 16 Vayathinile. He received award for Best Actor in Supporting Role for Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri. He has also received awards in Best Story Writer and Best Producer categories for Valli.He has also received other honours such as Raj Kapoor Award (2007) from the Government of Maharastra, Padma Bhushan (2000) from Government of India, Kalaichelvam Award (1995) from the Nadigar Sangam, Oshobismit Award (1995) for Spirituality from Rajinish Ashram, MGR Award (1989) and Kalaimamani Award (1984) from the Government of Tamilnadu.

Punch Dialogues


Rajinikanth's films are known for their "punch" dialogues. These are rhyming lines of dialogue delivered by the Rajinikanth to indirectly express his principles or position on political issues. Tamil magazines sometimes conduct competitions to predict possible punch dialogues for his forthcoming films. These dialogues are repeated many times in his movies and most of these have significance to the political situation at the time of release of relevant movies. Listed below are some notable.
"Punch" Dialogues:
Moondru Mugam (1982)
Ekambaram: "Ekambaramnu sonna vayithula irukura kozhandhai kooda vaaya moodum." - "Say the name 'Ekambaram' and even an unborn child will shut its mouth and hush up."
Alex Pandian : "Adhe kozhandhai kitta Alex Pandiyannu sonna, innoru kaiyale avanga amma vaayayum moodum!" - "Well, if you say the name 'Alex Pandian' to that same unborn child, it will even close its mother's mouth with its other hand!"
Annamalai (1992)
"Naan solrathaiyum seiven, sollathathiyum seiven." - "I will do what I say, I will also do what I don't say."
Basha (1995)
"Naan oru dhadavai sonna nooru dhadavai sonna madhiri." - "If i say it once, I've said it a hundred times."
Muthu (1995)
"Naan eppa varuven, eppadi varuvennu yarukkum theriyadhu, aana varavendiya neratthil correct-aga varuven."- "When I will arrive, or how I will arrive, nobody will know, but I will arrive when I ought to."
Arunachalam(1997)
"Andavan solran. Arunachalam seiran." - "God tells, Arunachalam does."
Padayappa (1999)
"En vazhi – thani vazhi." - "My way is a unique way."
Baba (2002)
"Khatham, gatham." - "The past is past."

Trivia
He had sung a song in the film Mannan (Adikkuthu Kuliru). Rajinikanth has the most diverse fan base in South India.

Bio-Data



Real Name : Shivaji Rao Gaikwad
Date of Birth : 12.12.1950
Time of Birth : 11:54 P.M.
Place of Birth : Bangalore
Star/Rasi : Sirvana/Magaram
Color : Black
Name of Spouse : Mrs. Latha Rajinikanth, Principal, The Ashram
Date of Marriage : 26.02.1981
Names of Children : Aishwarya & Sowandarya
Address : 18, Raghava Veera Avenue, Poes Garden, Chennai-86
Father's Name : Ramoji Rao
Mother's Name : Rambhai
Brother's Name : Sathya Narayana Rao & Nageshwara Rao
Guru : K.Balachandar
Spiritual Guru : Satchithananda Swamiji
Favourite God : Shri Raghavendra
Favourite Books : Books written by Shri Ramana Maharishi
FavouriteCity : Chennai
FavouriteColour : Black
FavouriteDrinks : Juice & kard
Favourite Foods : Chicken & Mutton items
Happiest Moments : To be alone
Worst Moments : Left the job of Conductor
Favourite Dress : White Kurtha
Favourite Place : Himalaya
Favourite Proverb : Beware of Everything -that is un true; stick to the Truth shall succeed slowly but steadily
Favourite work : Self-driving
Favourite Poet : Kannadasan
Favourite Musician : Illayaraja
Unforgettable Man : K.Balachandar
Unforgettable Function : Bassha Silver Jubilee Function
Unforgettable Friend : Sri Priya
First Film : Aboorva Ragangal
50th Film : Tiger (Telugu)
100th Film : Shri Raghavendrar
125th Film : Rajathi Raja
150th Film : Padyappa
Favourite Hollywood Actor : Sylvester Stallone
Favourite Indian Actor : Kamalhaasan
Favourite Actress : Rekha (Hindi)
Favourite Songs : Songs sung by Chandrababu
Favourite Film : Veera Kesari (Kannada)
Most Valuable Item : Appreciation Letter from K।Balachander for the film "Mullum Malarum"
Message to Fan : Live & Let Live
About Rajinikanth : I live for myself ; I don't care anybody but I respect everybody

DATE OF BIRTH TELLLS YOU..

If U were born on the 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th of any month U r number 1...
If U were born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th, 29th of any month then U r number 2...
If U were born on the 3rd, 12th, 21st, 30th of any month then U r number 3...
If U were born on the 4th, 13th, 22nd, 31st of any month then U r number 4...
If U were born on the 5th, 14th, 23rd of any month then U r number 5...
If U were born on the 6th,15th,24th of any month then U r number 6...
If U were born on the 7th,16th,25th of any month then U r number 7...
If U were born on the 8th,17th,26th of any month then U r number 8...
If U were born on the 9th,18th,27th of any month then U r number 9...


Number 1

You are smart, straight talking, funny, stubborn, hardworking, honest, jealous on competing basis, kind hearted, angry, friendly, authorities, famous person...always want to be and regarded as first on people position, they are often like to be independent, will never be under others, self confident people!
You are most likely to fall in love in the younger age, but will get marry when you mature! You are likely to have problems with people who have opposite views and you are most likely to take revenge over your enemies in a long time basis. You are a spender, but you will have a good profession in the future. If you are guy you will be very popular that everybody will have mental attraction and respect at you. You can go anywhere from the local shop to the heart of the parliament because you are positive and well talented in numerous issues!! But in your life you will always have some people who will work hard to bring you & your name down. This is undercover!! Coz of your smart behavior you will be hated by some people too... Your family life is very cool, you will have a very nice partner & wonderful children... You are pioneer, independent & original...

Your best match is 4,6,8 good match is 3,5,7 !!!


Number 2

No matter what, you will be loved by every one coz your ruler is the Moon and every one loves the Moon. Well.. you are a person who day dream a lot, you have very low-self confidence, you need back up for every move in your life, you are very much unpredictable. Means you do change according to time and circumstances, kind a selfish, have a very strong sense of musical, artistic talent, verbal communication. Your attitudes are like the Moon, comes to gloom and fade away so everybody can expect changes in you. You can be a next Mahatma Gandhi who does peace love or you can be a Hitler who wants to destroy the man kind and peace (I mean in the community and your own home).

If you really have a deep thought about your own believe in God you can feel the difference which will make you stronger! Most of the time your words are a kind of would be happening true! So without any knowledge you can predict the situation.. You will become poets, writers, any artistic business people!

You are not strong in love, so you will be there and here till you get marry.. If U r a girl you will be a responsible woman in the whole family. If U r a man you will involve in fights & arguments in the family or vice-versa. Means you will sacrifice your life for the goodness sake of your family...You are gentle , intuitive with a broad vision, a power behind the scenes, well balanced People!!!


Your best match is 2 ,5 ,9 no other people can put up with you !!!


Number 3

You are a person of hard hearted, selfish most of the times, religious, loves to climb up in your life. You always tend to have lots of problems within your family in the early stages but you will put up with everything.. You have the strong word power, pretty happy face.. so wherever you go always you have got what you wanted!!! And from the birth always wanted to work hard in order to achieve something.. You will not get anything without hard work! When you reach a man/ woman age you want other younger once to listen to you because you want younger people to respect people older than them. You do set so many examples to others. Generally you are not a cool person. It's not easy thing dealing with you. A tough player you are! But once you like someone's attitud! e then here you go, what can I say? It will be a lasting friendship. You always have respect from others. Your life seems to have lots of worries and problems but sure they won't be long.. You will always have brilliant kids!!! You love the money a bit too much so temptation will push you to endless trying and trying.. If you are a guy then it's over. Looking after your family and help friends, so you will spend a life time just being generous and kind (except 21st born men). And number 3s you will be such an example of how to be in the culture & life!!! If you are girl then you have good character and culture & hardworking attitude. You always follow. You are a freedom lover, creative, ambition focused, a person who brings beauty , hope & joy to this world!!!

Your best match 6 ,9. Good match 1 ,3 ,5 !!!


Number 4

You are very stubborn too, very hard working but unlucky in important matters in life, very cool, helpful, you have rough word power. Might put lots of people away from you, you may cause nuisance to others if you are a man, and you often understands others and their problems well. If you are a girl you are very good with studies and arts. If you are a guy you spend most of the time after girl friends (almost) at times, you will have sort of too much fun life with mates & girls. Your friends will spend your time & money and get away with their life and you will become empty handed and don't know what to do.. So be careful!! You love to spend anyway!!! Your good will is you are always there to help family and friends. Tell you what you people are little gem! s, specially the girls.. You always fall in love in younger age as well. You often live with disappointments, for an example you have got a degree in some thing.. but you will be unemployed.. or will do very ordinary jobs. But you will take care of your family very well...All you need to be careful of people who will take advantage of your kind heart. And beware of your relations too.. You are radical, patient, persistent, a bit old-fashioned, you live with foundation & order...

Your best Match 1, 8. Good match 5 ,6 , 7 !!!


Number 5

You are very popular within the community, you can get things done by just chatting..to even enemies! You have a pretty good business mind, you are often have no-idea what is today is like, or tomorrow is like, you are a person who does anything when your head thinks "lets do this". You will be famous if you open up a business, get involve in share dealings, music etc.. Very popular with sense of humor ,you are the one your friends and families will always ask for help, and you are the one actually get money on credit and help your friends. You will have more than 1 relationship, but when u get settle down you will be a bit selfish anyway. Coz your other half will have a pretty good amount of control in you, be careful! You tend to go for other relationships! Contacts even you are married at times 'coz your popularity.. You are someone who get along with anyone coz the number 5 is the middle number.. Changes & freedom lovers you are! You are an explorer with magic on your face. You learn your life through experience and it's your best teacher!!!

Your best match 1 ,2 ,9. Good match 6 ,8 !!!


Number 6

Ooopppss..you are born to enjoy.. You don't care about others. I mean you are always want to enjoy your life time, you are a person.. You will be very good in either education or work wise or business management! You are talented, kind (but with only people who you think are nice), very beautiful girls and guys, popular and more than lucky with anything in your lives. All the goodness does come with you. Your mind and body is just made perfect for love. You are lovable by any other numbers. But if you are a number 6 man, you will experience kind of looks from most girls and will involve in more than few relationships until you get married. If you are girl, most of you will get marry/engaged early. You are ! a caring person towards your family & friends . If you miss the half-way mark then you are about to suffer physically and mentally. Generally you will lead a very good inner-home happiness with nothing short of. You are a person of compassion, comfort & fairness, domestic responsibility, good judgment, and after all you can heal this world wounds to make peace for every life coz you have the great power of caring talent to make this world of love one step further...

Your best match 1, 6, 9. Good match 4, 5!!!


Number 7

You have got the attraction to anyone out there, you are realistic, very confident, happy, such a talented individual with your education, music, arts, singing, and most importantly acting too. You have real problems with bad temper! If you are a girl, you are popular with the subjects listed above. You give up things for your parents. I mean you value your family status a lot, you will be in the top rank when you reach a certain age. If you are a guy you are popular with girls, you are a very talented too. Most of the number 7s face lots of problems with their marriage life. Only a very few are happy. You have everything in your life, but still always number 7s have some sort of unfullfilness, such worries all their lifetime. It's probably the Lord given you al! l sort of over the standard humans talents and you are about to suffer in family life. So you need to get ready looking for a partner rather than waiting. If you don't, then you might end-up single. So take care with this issue, ok? You are wonderful, friendly, artistic, happy person. You are born to contribute lots to this world!!!

Your best match is 2. Good matches are 1,4 !!!


Number 8

You are a very strong personality, there's no one out there will understand you. You are very good at pointing your finger at some thing and say "this is what". You are more likely to suffer from the early ages. I mean poverty. If your times are not good you might lose either of your parent and end up looking after your entire family. You often suffer all the way in life. The problems will not allow you to study further, but you will learn the life in a very practical way. You are the one who will fight for justice and may die in the war too. You are normally very reserved with handful of friends and most of the time live life lonely and always prepared to help others. Well. once you get married (which is often late) then your bad lucks will go away a bit and you! u become safe. You will face un-expected problems such as : the error, government, poisonous animals, accidents. You are some one with great discipline, persistence, courage, strength which will take you to success. You are a great part of a family team. You are a fighter!

Your Best match 1 ,4, 8. Good match 5 !!!

Number 9

Hey..you guys are the incompatibles people in the world. You are so strong, physically and mentally. You are often have big-aims. You will work hard and hard to get there. Normally you suffer in the early age from family problems and generally you will have fighting life. But when you achieve what you have done, it's always a big task you have done! You are so much respected in the community, you are a person who can make a challenge and successfully finish the matter off. You are very naughty in your younger age, often beaten up by your parents and involve in fights and you seemed to have lots of injuries in your life time. But when u grow you become calm and macho type. Love is not an easy matter for you. You are good in engineering or banking jobs coz people always trust you. Your family life is very good, but will have worries over your children. Your such qualities are humanitarian, patient, very wise & compassionate. You are born to achieve targets and serve every one all equally without any prejudice. You are totally a role model to anybody in the world for a great inspiration.

Your Best match 3, 5, 6, 9. Good match 2


SO WHICH ONE IS YOU...???

BIOGRAPHY OF JENNIFER LOPEZ

Name : Jennifer Lopez


Nickname : ''La Guitarra'' (guitar shaped body)


Date of Birth : July 24, 1970


Place of Birth : New York, New York USA


Sign : Sun in Leo, Moon in Aries


Height : 5'6''


Eyes : Brown


Hair : Brown


Occupation : Singer, Actress & Model

Father : David Lopez - A computer operator


Mother : Guadalupe Lopez (School Teacher)


Sisters : Lynda & Leslie


Spouse : Ojani Noa [Divorced- February 1997 - 1998]


# Fan Mail : 897 Granite Dr Pasadena,
CA 91101,USA


# Jennifer Lopez
C/O United Talent Agency
9560 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 500
Beverly HiLLS

* Jennifer Lopez was awarded Children's Humanitarian Award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. She's a long time supporter of the 103-year-old Children's Hospital LA, she spends long hours visiting patients & even invited a group of sick kids on the set of her upcoming movie "Monster-in-Law".
* She started taking singing and dancing lessons at age 5.
* Grew up in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. It was from this neighborhood that she took the local "6" train to get to her auditions in Manhattan, as well as the inspiration of her debut album "On the 6".
* Was a gymnast in high school. Also played softball and tennis.
* Her younger sister, Linda Lopez, is a DJ on New York's WKTU and an Entertainment Correspondent for WB Network Channel 11 News in New York.
* Jennifer Lopez was engaged at 15 with David Cruz, "The best looking guy in the neighborhood."
* Was nicknamed "The Supernova" by her friends in her hometown. Has also been called "La Guitarra" because her shapely body is curved like a guitar.
* Her x-husband Ojani Noa proposed to her at the "Selena" post production party; presenting her with a large marquis-cut diamond ring. She said 'yes.' The marriage would soon result in divorce.
* Lopez and x-boyfriend musician "Puffy" were arrested in connection with a night club shooting. Police found them with a stolen gun. Police dropped charges originally pressed against Jennifer Lopez and released her from jail.
* Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
* Voted #1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women list.
* Has her own line of perfume entitled Glow.


Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1970. Her parents came to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is the middle of three sisters. At the age of 7, young Jennifer went on her first tour - around New York City with her dance class.At the age of 16 Jennifer got a little break with a bit part in the film ''My Little Girl'' (starring Mary Stuart Masterson). But Jennifer's first love was still dance, and when she read about a scholarship to a dance school in Manhattan, she went down and grabbed the opportunity. At this time she was taking a full time course load at Baruch, working in a law office and taking her dance classes. Eventually this would lead to a falling out with her mother, who didn't want Jennifer to pursue dance as a career. When her mother gave her the ever popular ''you live by my rules as long as you live under my roof'' speech Jennifer took that as her cue to break out on her own. Not having anywhere else to live, she took up residence in the building where she took her dance classes. A year and a half of auditioning with no success brought Jennifer to the verge of a breakdown. But salvation would come in the form of a tour that sent her dancing across Japan. Before this, she had auditioned to be a ''Fly Girl'' for the show ''In Living Color'' but she had been turned down. Upon returning from Japan, she received a call from ''In Living Color'' asking her to audition again. This time she made the cut and it was off to Hollywood. She didn't really enjoy her time on ''In Living Color'', as she longed for an acting career that would put her in the spotlight. Her first television job as an actress, on the Fox series ''South Central'' came her way because the producer of the show was married to one of the other fly girls, and he took notice of Jennifer during a special Fox aired about the Fly Girls. ''South Central'' only survived one season, but she quickly resurfaced on television screens appearing as ''Melinda Lopez'' first in the short lived ''Second Chances'' series, then ''Hotel Malibu.'' In 1995 she jumped onto the big screen in her first major role, opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in ''Money Train.'' She would go on to work opposite such talents as Robin Williams and Jack Nicholson, but it was her work with Gregory Nava, who directed her in ''My Family, Mi Familia'' that would lead her to the role that would make her a star.

After an extensive nationwide search, Jennifer was chosen to play Selena Quintanilla Perez, in the official biopic of the life of the fallen Tejano star. Taking part in the production of ''Selena'' would impact Jennifer's life in many ways. On the personal side, Jennifer's fianc��, Ojani Noa, proposed to her at the wrap party for Selena. The couple had met in Miami while Jennifer was filming ''Blood And Wine'' with Jack Nicholson. Ojani, a Cuban immigrant, was an aspiring model working as a waiter at Gloria Estefan's restaurant, Larios On The Beach. They were married in Miami on February 22, 1997, after knowing each other less than a year. Jennifer's sudden rise to fame with the release of ''Selena'' the following month would put an excessive strain on the marriage, and the couple filed for divorce just a little over a year after they were married.

After news of the divorce made headlines, the gossip papers quickly had her romantically linked to the likes of rap impresario Sean ''Puffy'' Combs, Sony Music President Tommy Mottola and Salsa singer Marc Anthony. Jennifer herself remains tightlipped - and rightfully so - on the subject of her personal life (although she has recently admitted that she is in fact having a relationship with Puffy). Back on the professional level, her role as Karen Sisco in 1998's ''Out Of Sight'', opposite George Clooney, has brought her into the major leagues, making her the highest paying Latina actress in history. Playing Selena also brought back Jennifer's interests in being the ''all around'' entertainer, and she decided to record a demo of her singing, completely in Spanish. After a bidding war among a number of record companies, Jennifer was signed to Sony Music's Work Group label. Her first CD, a pop album with a Latin flavor (although mostly in English) was released June 1, 1999. Working with the likes of Emilio Estefan, Rodney Jerkins and Sean ''Puffy'' Combs, the music world is buzzing that Jennifer is ''the next Gloria Estefan'' set to become the mainstream Latin crossover star Selena herself surely would have been, had she been given the chance. That early prediction seems accurate, as her first single, ''If You Had My Love'' shot to 1 on the Billboard chart, and has been certified platinum (one million sales).

BIOGRAPHY OF ANGELINA JOLIE

Name : Angelina Jolie

Full Name : Angelina Jolie Voight

Date Of Birth : 4 June 1975

Place Of Birth : Los Angeles, California

Sign : Gemini

Height : 5'7

Hair : Brown

Eyes : Blue

Father : Jon Voight

Mother : Marcheline Bertrand

Brother : James Haven Voight

Spouse : Billy Bob Thornton (May 2000-present)(actor, director,
writer)Jonny Lee Miller (1996-1999)(actor)

Profession : Actress

Angelina Jolie is the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, and former actress/model Marcheline Bertrand. Jon Voight separated from Bertrand when Jolie was 1, remained in California while the family lived on the East coast. ''He was the perfect example of an artist who couldn't be married,'' she says. ''He had the perfect family, but there's something for him that's very scary about that.'' Jolie, is her middle name. Ultimately, she decided to use it because, she says, ''I love my father, but I'm not him''.

Angelina began training and performing at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute at around 12. She was seen in several stage productions at the Institute. She worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has also appeared in music videos for such artists as the Rolling Stones, Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, Antonello Venditti and The Lemonheads. In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven. She landed her first feature film starring part in HACKERS, about a group of high school computer hackers. Previously, she had roles in independent features Gathering Evidence and Oh No, Not Her.Angelina was married to her co-star from Hackers, Jonny Lee Miller. The marriage took place in May of 1996 where she wore black rubber clothes (although they are now divorced). She has a extensive dagger collection (likes knives) and has several tattoos (one is the Japanese word for death on her shoulder). Today Angelina splits her time between New York and Los Angeles.

BIOGRAPHY OF WIIL SMITH

Name : Will Smith

Birth Date : September 25, 1968

Birth Place : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth Name : William Christopher Smith Jr.

Height : 6' 2

Education : Overbrook High School in Winfield, Pennsylvania

Profession : Actor, musician

Nationality : American

Claim to fame : Fresh Prince of Bel-Air television series

Will Smith was one of the biggest superstars of his time not only a pop music sensation, he also conquered television and eventually feature films, starring in a string of box-office megahits. Born September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, he was 16 when he met aspiring DJ Jeff Townes; joining forces as DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, the duo immediately became local favorites, but their continued existence was threatened when Smith graduated high school and was offered a scholarship to MIT. Ultimately, he chose to pursue a career in music, and in 1987 he and Townes issued their debut record, Rock the House, scoring a hit with the single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble."

Propelled by the smash "Parents Just Don't Understand," DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke into the mainstream a year later with He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, one of the first hip-hop LPs to achieve double-platinum status. And soon Hollywood began taking notice of Smith's success; in 1990, he was tapped to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sitcom for NBC. An immediate hit, it made Smith a household name, and continued in production through 1996.

Smith also continued his music career, and in 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince scored their biggest chart hit to date with the excellent "Summertime," from the album Homebase. The year following, he made his feature film debut in the drama Where the Day Takes You; in 1993, his supporting turn in Six Degrees of Separation was the subject of much critical acclaim. That same year, the final Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince record, the disappointing Code Red, was released. In 1995, Smith co-starred in the action film Bad Boys, a major box-office hit; it set the stage for his leading role in 1996's Independence Day, the summer's biggest smash. A year later, he starred in Men in Black, again the box-office champ of the summer season; recording for the first time under his given name, he also scored a smash with the movie's rap theme. Smith's debut solo LP, Big Willie Style, also appeared in 1997, notching the hits "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Just the Two of Us," and "Miami." Shortly on the heels of his first box-office disappointment, 1999's Wild Wild West, he returned with the album Willennium.

BIOGRAPHY OF KAMAL HAASAN

Born: November 7, 1954 Paramakudi, Tamil Nadu, India

Nick Name: Abu

Mother: Rajalakshmi

Father: Srinivasan

Brothers: Charu Haasan, Chandra Haasan.

Debut: Kalathur Kannamma ( Tamil )

Universalhero Kamal Haasan is the youngest of four children in his family. is a three-time winner of the National Film Award for Best Actor for the films Nayagan, Moondram Pirai and Indian and one as Best Child Artist .


Kamal Hassan Acted Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali Languages. He is also a playback singer and sometimes pens the lyrics for the soundtracks of some of his recent films.When time permits he writes poems and short stories in Tamil as well.

In the 1960s, Kamal Hassan made his screen debut with Kalathur Kannamma produced by AVM production at the age of six and it won him the first National Award for Best Child Artist.

Kamal Hassan own Awards:

* Three-time winner of the National Film Award for Best Actor

* National award for Best Child Actor for his performance in Kalathur Kannamma.

* Best actor award at the Asian Film festivals held in 1983 and 1985 for Saagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam.

* Six of his movies have been sent as India's official entry to the Oscars- The only actor to achieve this feat in the sub-continent.

* Filmfare awards 18 times.

* fourth highest recognition given to Indian civilians - the Padmashri in 1990.

* Honorary doctorate by Sathyabama University, Chennai in 2005.

*Kamal was also conferred with a very unique honour this year(2007) as "Living Legend" in the film business by FICCI,India

*won a total of 172 awards which is more than any other actor in the world living or dead.

Kamal Hassan Acted in More than 100 movies some of recent films are in 2005 Mumbai Express (Tamil), in 2005 Rama Shama Bama ( Kannada ), in 2006 Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu ( Tamil ), in 2007 Dasavatharam ( Tamil ) .

Kamal Hassan producer for Apoorva Sagodharargal, Thevar Magan, Kuruthipunal ,Virumaandi and Mumbai Xpress.

BIOGRAPHY OF GENELIA

Popular Telugu actress Genelia D'Souza was born on August 5, 1987, in England. She is also known to people close to her as Harini. Her parents originally hail from Goa and later moved to England. Genelia made her move from England to India in pursuit of her childhood dream of becoming an actress. She got her first break in the movie 'Boys' directed by Shankar. The film was a box-office hit and soon Genelia started getting more roles. Genelia has so far acted in over a dozen Telugu, Tamil and Hindi movies.

Genelia's success rate in Tollywood has been pretty good. Her movies Satyam, Masti, Samba, Sye and Happy have all fared pretty well at the box office. Despite getting good roles and her movies doing average business commercially, Genelia was still waiting for that one big hit that could change her career. The wait was not long as her most recent movie 'Bommarillu' has had a huge positive impact on Genelia’s career.

Bommarillu, with Genelia and Siddharth Narayan in the lead, became a super duper hit and gave her career the much needed boost. In the movie Genelia plays the role of a talkative and bubbly girl 'Hasini' who does whatever she likes to do. Her acting skills have been well appreciated throughout the industry and she won many awards for the movie.


Finally the true acting talent of Genelia has come to forefront with 'Bommarillu' and now time will tell if Genelia can become the number one actress in South India. Her latest movie Dee with Vishnu directed by Sreenu Vytla is expected to come out in January or February. Genelia also recently bagged the role of leading lady opposite Aamir Khan's nephew Imraan Khan in his debut Bollywood movie Tu Ya Jaane Na.


Genelia is happy to be paired with young heroes in the industry and she said that, she has big dreams but is ready to wait patiently to achieve them one after another. The young actress also said that she should have a meaty role in a movie and does not like to be branded as a heroine who appears in a couple of scenes and songs and fades away from a movie.

Recently industry sources have reported that Genelia is rejecting new offers as her marriage is on cards. Genelia fell in love with a Tamil hero, Bharat. Love between the couple blossomed during the shooting of the Tamil film ‘Chennai Kadal’.

BIOGRAPHY OF A.R RAHMAN

INTRODUCTION

The name A.R.Rahman needs no introduction. The man who redefined contemporary Indian music and is the pride of the entire nation and an idol for millions all over the world needs no preamble. But if you happen to be one, still among the few unfortunate souls, who are a stranger to him and his heavenly music, then read on.

PROLOGUE

The year was 1991. Ace Tamil movie director Mani Ratnam was on the lookout for a new composer to give music for his films. His long standing fruitful association with the doyen of Tamil film music Illaiyaraja, which had spanned over 10 films and as many years had come to an end when the two had had a fallout after the latter reportedly made some sarcastic comments during the making of Mani Ratnam's then latest film 'Dalapati'. One day, at an awards function for excellence in the field of advertising, Mani Ratnam chanced upon a young man who received the award for the best ad jingle which he had composed for the popular Leo Coffee ad. At the celebrations party that followed the awards presentation ceremony, Mani Ratnam was introduced to the young composer by his cousin Sharada Trilok of Trish Productions for whose company the young man had produced some outstanding work. Sharada had words of high praise for the young composer. Mani was curious and requested him for a sample of his wares. The composer readily complied and invited the director over to his studio. Mani Ratnam turned up at the studio only after six months, where the 24 year old lad played out a tune that he had been pushed into composing by his school friend G.Bharat alias Bala when they both had been greatly disturbed by the socio-political tensions in South India over the Cauvery river waters issue. Listening to the tune that was played, Mani was hooked instantly. Without a second thought he signed on the composer to score the music for his next film. That film did not work out but Mani signed him on for a new film which was to be produced by the veteran Tamil director K.Balachander for his respected 'Kavithalayaa' banner. That film was 'Roja'. That tune would become the song "Tamizha Tamizha" in 'Roja'. The music of the film would be a phenomenal success that would revolutionise modern day Indian film music. The name of the 25-year old composer was A. R. Rahman. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Cut to the year 1998. Mani Ratnam's then latest film, his first in Hindi and his fifth with Rahman, 'Dil Se..' hit the screens. The movie all but bombed in India. But the music, yet again was a resounding success. The music sold like hot cakes even six months after it was released in the market. In a recession hit Indian Film industry, the two biggest hits of the year, 'Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya' and 'Ghulam' had sold 2 million cassettes each. Such was the confidence of the music company, Venus, in the Rahman-Ratnam combination that they started with an unprecedented initial run of 2 million cassettes, then notched up sales of 6 million and are still going strong. It even successfully survived the onslaught of what later became the year's biggest hit, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. So much so, that just on the strength of its music, Dil Se.. succeeded in gaining the distinction of being the first Asian film to enter the U.K. Top 10. Moviegoers in London said that it is the music that drew them to the movie halls. Such is the spell that the music from the Rahman-Ratnam combination has cast over music lovers.
The Rahman-Ratnam combination forged six years ago is now five films strong and has given the world of Indian films some of its best music. The combination has taken music to new heights that has succeeded in captivating millions of listeners not just across India but even in far flung corners of the world. Rahman says about his mentor, "I was blessed to be picked by a director like him. He encouraged me a lot. It was as if I studied in Mani's own university of music. He is like a brother to me."

BACKGROUND

Going back in History, the following question arises. Six years ago, who listened to Tamil music? Only Tamilians. Five years ago, what did teenagers dance to at discotheques? What else but Michael Jackson, Dr.Alban or the latest Western dance hit of the day. But one man singlehandedly changed all that. With his universally appealing tunes, A.R.Rahman has demolished all conventional rules in Indian film music. He amazes with the manner in which he seamlessly integrates traditionally incompatible harmonies. If anyone can make a perfect potpourri of the latest dancehall rhythms, electro-pop, Latin melodies, Western and Indian classical and pepper it all with a local folk touch or even something as otherworldly as Reggae and serve it all in a contemporary Indian manner that mesmerises listeners, it is A.R.Rahman. His music transcends all barriers - geographic, age or linguistic. Everyone from 6 to 60, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, as the cliché goes, are fans of his music. He was the first to successfully and solidly bridge the gap across the Vindhyas with Hindi speaking denizens who did not understand one word of Tamil enthusiastically lapping up his music. He gave film music a trendy legitimacy, a legitimacy that made Indian youth who were till then ashamed of admitting in public that they enjoyed Indian film music, dance to Humma Humma, Muqabla Muqabla, Musthafa Musthafa and Chaiyya Chaiyya at every pub, club and disco. Overnight, Indian film music considered 'infra-dig' by the youth became 'cool' and 'hep'. All in all, quite arguably, no one has influenced Indian music as much as Rahman has in recent times.
He is the man who helped south Indian cinema go national in a way that was considered impossible even a decade ago. He bridged the gap between Tamil (and even Telugu on occasion) and Hindi with that most universal of all languages: music. Predictably Rahman would later say "I hate the discrimination between south, north, Tamil, Hindi. If I represent India that is good enough for me. But we should cross all these barriers." Rahman did more: he made, to use film industry jargon, music a territory in its own right. Thus, the soundtrack of each movie was sold as if it were a separate entity from the film itself. And as if to prove him right, his music assumed a life of its own, flying off the shelves at record speed even when the film in question bombed at the boxoffice.
Rahman's strength lies not only in his perfect sense of melody and rhythm but also in his immaculate sound engineering. His music has been hailed as that of the digital age and has also been assailed for the very same reason. His music can never be adequately described in words. One has to personally experience the pleasure of his creations. Many of his compositions might actually sound ordinary the first time. But his music has this amazing capacity to grow on you and establish a firm hold on the listener. His compositions are an intriguing cocktail of musical pieces that literally blow your mind. His music is unique in its offbeat instrumental interludes, unconventional harmonies, and use of far from perfect voices and thumping rhythms.

EARLY DAYS

A. R. Rahman or Allah Rakha Rahman was born actually A. S. Dileep Kumar on the 6th of January in the year 1967, in Madras (now Chennai), to a musically affluent Tamil Mudaliar family. The second of four children he had three sisters Kanchana, Bala (now Talat) and Israth, Kanchana being elder and the other two younger. His father R.K. Sekhar was a composer, arranger and conductor in Malayalam movies and had worked under the likes of Salil Chowdhary and Devarajan. His mother was Kasthuri (now Kareema Begum). Dileep's baptism in music happened early in life. Dileep's earliest memories of the studio are with his father. On one of those visits, a music director Sudarshanam Master found the four year old playing a tune on the harmonium. He covered the keys with a cloth. It made no difference. Dileep replayed the tune effortlessly. This impressed the music director who suggested that he be trained in music. Dileep started learning the piano at the tender age of four. He recieved his early training in music from Dhanraj Master.
But he wanted to grow up to be an electronics or computer engineer. He says today, in reminiscence " I was not crazy after music. I was more interested in technology". He was first drawn to music strongly when his father bought a synthesiser, one of the very first in film circles then, from Singapore. Till then he now says, "As a child, music seemed to be a means of earning bread and butter. I had no special fascination for it... it was associated purely with work. Yet I couldn't take my eyes away from the synthesiser, it was like a forbidden toy." This instrument was an object of much curiosity to the young Dileep and caught his fancy. Dileep used to spend hours experimenting with the novel instrument. This instrument was to shape the future of this child. It was perhaps divinely ordained that the synthesiser would become Dileep's favourite instrument since it was the ideal combination of music and technology.
Rahman's early years were one of struggle and hardships. At the age of 9, his father passed away following a mysterious illness with rumours abounding that he was the victim of black magic practised by his rivals. Unfortunately R. K. Shekhar passed away the very same day his first film as composer was released. It was at this time that Rahman's belief in God first took a beating. Much of his time was filled with hospital visits, pain and anxieties. It is an issue that Rahman outrightly refuses to discuss even today. After his father's death the pressure of supporting his family fell on the young Dileep. At first the family subsisted by lending out his father's musical instruments. At the age of 11, he joined Illaiyaraja's troupe as a keyboard player in order to earn for his family's upkeep. He also learnt to play the guitar. Thus Rahman formally entered the world of music. He also began to play the keyboard for programmes on television.
It was his mother Kareema Begum who encouraged him to follow in his father's footsteps and fully supported him in his vocation. But all this had an adverse effect on his formal education. Infrequent attendance and an unaccommodative management forced him to shift schools from the prestigious Padma Seshadri Bal Bhavan to the Madras Christian College and finally he dropped out of school altogether when he was doing his 11th grade. He also played on the orchestra of M.S.Vishwanathan, Raj-Koti and Ramesh Naidu and accompanied Zakir Hussain and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan on world tours. He also appeared playing the keyboard on a few popular music shows on televison like 'Wonder Balloon' on the Madras Doordarshan channel. He also supposedly composed a few short pieces of music in Ilaiyaraja's films, a notable one being the theme music in K.Balachander's 'Punnagai Mannan'.
All this experience enabled him to earn a scholarship to the famed Trinity College of Music at Oxford University from where he obtained a degree in Western Classical Music. He came back with a dream to bring an international and contemporary world perspective to Indian music. After he returned, he continued to be a part of various local music troupes. He was also a part of local rock bands like Roots, Magic and Nemesis Avenue where he performed with his future colleagues like Suresh Peters, Ranjit Barot and Sivamani Anandan. This, he says, was a very valuable learning experience. Thus Dileep came to be totally immersed in music. The only source of joy to him was music, so much so, that friends like guitarist John Anthony would say, "Who is the Prime Minister of India, do you know? Get out and see beyond your nose in Kodambakkam". But he was not at all sure he wanted to turn professional.
Dileep thus firmly established himself this way and worked for nearly 8 to 9 years with various music directors. He also worked as an arranger for Illaiyaraja, M.S.Vishwanathan, Ouseappachan and Raj-Koti. He has this to say of his stint with Illaiyaraja "Until then I thought you had to drink or take dope to be a good artist. But Ilayaraja was making such beautiful music and leading a pure life!'' " I was under the impression that if its music, whoever it is, they must have some bad habit. When I saw them with drinks and drugs I thought 'Oh! they are music people. They have to take drinks, smoke and cocaine to get their inspiration'. The man who changed these impressions altogether was only Ilayaraja. He proved that he can make good music without any bad habits! Even now he is an inspiration for me being so religious today."
But the young and enthusiastic Dileep felt shackled by just plain arranging and could barely withstand the monotony of playing in an orchestra all the time with all his creative urges being suppressed. The kind of sound he liked was already there in fusion - in L. Shankar and L. Subramaniam whom he worked with, and in the then popular 'Shakti' group. He played on the keyboard for T. V. Gopalakrishnan and Kadri Gopalnath, with Sivamani on the drums. He says, "It gave us some kicks.'' At this time, Vizi Manuel, the lead keyboard player in Illaiyaraja's troupe advised him to try other alternatives for pursuing a musical career, like advertising. This was a suggestion that appealed to him and he explored some avenues seriously. The complexes increased. "I thought, what if the film world ends? I learnt driving, so that I could survive as a driver.'' The restlessness pushed him into making jingles for ads. Fortunately for Dileep he soon got his first break in advertising when he was asked to compose the jingle to promote Allwyn's new Trendy range of watches, in 1987. The ads were a success and Dileep's work in them was appreciated. Dileep quit playing in orchestras and moved full time into advertising as a few more offers came his way. Thus began Dileep's 5-year successful saga in advertising where he went on to not only compose more than 300 jingles, but would also be the stepping stone to his entry into films. Working as a jingle composer not only gave him an outlet to his creative urges but also gave him the much needed exposure to the music industry. The people he came in contact with during his work in advertising gave him a pathway to the film world. During his stint in advertising, he released his first ever complete music album, of Islamic devotional songs, titled 'Deen Isai Malai', in Tamil. This was later followed by 'Set Me Free', an album of English songs which was the launch album of singer Malgudi Subha, by Magnasound, where Dileep set the songs to tune. Subha had earlier sung for Dileep in many jingles. Both the albums went somewhat unnoticed in the market. He also set to tune the poems of poet-author Randhir Khare.
Around this time, in 1988, one of his sisters fell seriously ill and numerous attempts to cure her failed. Her condition progressively worsened. The family tried everything from medicine to religious methods like havans and prayers in the church. The family had given up all hope when they came in close contact with a Muslim Pir - Sheik Abdul Qadir Jeelani or Pir Qadri as he was popularly known. The family had earlier gone to the Pir when his father had similar troubles, but were too late to save him. With his prayers and blessings, Dileep's sister made a miraculous recovery. Rattled by the bad experiences earlier in the case of his father and now his sister and influenced by the teachings of the Pir and the succour that they found in him the entire family converted to Islam. Thus A. S. Dileep Kumar became Allah Rakha Rahman. Today, Rahman says 'Islam has given me peace. As Dileep I had an inferiority complex. As A. R. Rahman I feel like I have been born again.'
Both his father and mother were believers in Astrology. His mother took him along once to a astrologer to get the horoscope of Bala (Talat) done. She asked the astrologer to suggest an Islamic name for Dilip. The astrologer on seeing Dilip immediately told his mother to name him as Abdul Rahman and shorten it to A. R. Rahman. When his mother asked the astrologer why the other initial 'R', the astrologer replied "Give him a name with two initials and mark my words, he will grow up to be a great man". His mother did accordingly. But the A and R would later become Allah Rakha on the suggestion of reknowned composer Naushad Ali.
In an interview, he was to say about his father, " My father passed away when I was 9 years old. My mother used to narrate many tales about my father which used to make me very happy. My father was regarded to be highly knowledgeable in music by many people. I still listen to many of the old songs tuned by him. I think that its his enormous knowledge of music that has come down to me by the grace of God".
When asked what prompted him to convert to Islam, he says "I remember my father suffering. He was taken to eight to nine hospitals, including the CMC hospital in Vellore and the Vijaya hospital in Madras. I saw him suffering physical pain... I remember the Christian priests who would read from the Bible beside his hospital bed... I remember the pujas and the yagnas performed by the pundits... by the time, the Muslim pirs came , it was too late. He had already left us. After my father passed away, for some years when I was a teenager I believed there was no God. But there was a feeling of restlessness within me. I realised that there can be no life without a force governing us... without one God. And I found what I was looking for in Islam. I would go with my mother to durgahs. And pirsaab Karim Mullashah Qadri would advise us. When we shifted to this house, we resolved to stick to the faith."
Rahman became a very religious and devout Muslim. After this period his career graph began to take the upward path. More and more advertising offers came his way. In 1989 Rahman was very intent on having an own studio so that he would have dedicated recording facilities where he could not only equip himself with the latest infrastucture but also experiment with music at his convenience. At this time, the Pir came to his house and blessed him saying that he would attain unparalled success. The very next day the Pir passed away. Thus Rahman decided to establish his studio at the very spot where he had been blessed by the Pir. He called his studio Panchathan Record Inn and it was attached to his house in Kodambakkam. Even today, the first thing that you notice when you enter his studio is a framed photograph of the Pir. The studio abounds with Islamic inscriptions. This studio would later develop into one of India's most well equipped and advanced recording studios. In his established state-of-the-art sound and recording studio he began experimenting in sound engineering, design and production. He also began a collection of sound samples, creating one of the most comprehensive sonic libraries in Asia.
Continuing with his stint in the advertising world Rahman did a lot of popular ads like those for Parry's, Leo Coffee, Springz Mineral Water, Boost featuring Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev, Titan, Remanika Sarees, Premier Pressure Cooker, MRF Tyres, Hero Puch, The Hindu Young World and Asian Paints. He also scored the title music for television channels like JJTV, Sun TV, and Asianet. He also scored the music for numerous television and radio commercials, scores for corporate films and documentaries, multi-media audio-visual scores national integration programmes, social awareness and public campaign programmes and international documentaries in many languages. These scores range from 10 seconds to a complete hour. The jingles that he composed for the Leo Coffee ad starring Aravind Swamy and the Asian Paints ad directed by Rajeev Menon also won him awards and recognition. He also won an award for composing the theme music of the Madras Telugu Academy's Spirit of Unity Concerts. Later he would say about his stint in advertising " Working in ads contributed to the precision in my music. In jingles, you only have a few seconds to create a mood, or convey a message or emotion. Jingles taught me discipline."

EPILOGUE

The man behind the music is still much of an enigma. "If a music artiste wants to blossom into a full-pledged person, it's not enough if he knows only classical music; nor it's enough if he's well-versed only in raagaas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, atleast in some corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow," he says.
When asked if turning religious helped his work, he says "After a point, it is energy which comes from above and removes your insecurity. Then you can go ahead. The world can abuse you but your confidence cannot be shaken. You want fame, but once you get it you lose your head. So just leave it to God and carry on with your work. It makes it all easy. If I put it in my head that I did it, then I fall flat because I can't take the next step. When asked why there is so much back-biting about him, he says "See, you can never be a better person to everyone,'' he says ingenuously. "To achieve something you have to offend someone. I am doing five films and someone says, do mine too. I say no. And he goes around saying, "Rahman? Bullshit!'' because I'm no longer useful to him. Besides, so much is happening outside, you need to hang on to something peaceful''. When asked if he is scared of disappointments he states frankly "Disappointments? Failures? The holy book says they test you. A few years down the line you see the setback was a good thing, it stopped disaster''. He wants to be like a boat on a river without a sail, the currents having freeplay. 'I am like a boat in the river, I go where ever it takes me', he says. Rahman's visits to dargahs and long prayer sessions have been criticised as unprofessional interruptions of his schedule."If there's no mental peace, what schedule? I need that spiritual cleansing, I meet the friends of God who have learnt so much and helped so many.'' He sees dargahs as beyond religious conflicts. The Sufi way of love answers his need. Rahman discloses also that with that gain in confidence, he has become more considerate towards others.
If all this reveals a man mature beyond his years, he responds by saying " I have been with older people since I was eleven.Only when I saw my photograph in the newspaper while scoring for Roja did I discover I didn't have grey hair, why, I was quite young!'' He continues "I know there is no point in all this success. I remember father, I remember how he suffered. And I learnt the hard lesson. When a musician is in demand everyone flocks around him... otherwise he's abandoned like a shirt that is torn and tattered. I've seen the callousness of the world with my very own eyes at a young age. Today, I know that success doesn't last forever. It could disappear suddenly one day. In fact,I feel every new film that I take up will be my last one. If I'm wanted today, I could be discarded tomorrow. they'll simply say, 'look this boy has failed and he thought he was in a position of advantage.' " He adds, "Each movie is like a child to me. If the child is beautiful, its a matter of pride for me."
Rahman, for whom music is not just a profession but 'a spiritual experience', completed 9 years in the film industry on August 15th 2001. In this short span he changed the very face of film music in India and touched heights that no music director ever had previously. He has built up a repertoire of scintillating scores that anybody would kill for. He has become a national icon. He is also arguably the most well known Indian composer of popular music internationally. He has successfully taken popular Indian music international. He has fans not just among expatriate Indians but also among natives of places like Brazil, Sweden and Australia. He changed the image of a music director from being a paan-chewing, harmonium-clutching copycat to that of a technology-savvy person. He took Tamil music global and established the universal appeal of his music, whatever the language the lyrics be in. He set the standards by which music came to be rated in India. The benchmarks set by him were what others aimed to achieve. The soundtracks of his unsuccessful scores sold more than the soundtracks of the successful scores of other composers. He also collected inumerable accolades for his work - a Padmashri, 14 Filmfare Awards in 10 years (9 years on the trot in Tamil and 5 in Hindi), 3 National Awards, 6 Tamil Nadu State Awards and numerous others - a feat unparalleled and not likely to be overhauled in the foreseeable future. Every director of repute yearns to work with him and every actor hopes to dance to his tunes, literally.
At the age of 35, when many others are just starting out, Rahman has garnered achievements that many others cannot in a lifetime. He has already worked with internationally reputed artistes like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Jackson, Jean Michel Jarre, Sir Andrew LLoyd Webber, Deep Forest, Apache Indian, Zakir Hussain, Dominic Miller, L.Shankar, David Byrne, Kadri Gopalnath, Vikku Vinayakram, Ustad Sultan Khan and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt among many others. On a recent trip to India, David Byrne met Rahman and was so impressed that he went on to record some sessions with Rahman for a projecthe is currently completing (as yet unreleased). It can be safely said that the current modern era will be considered as to have been greatly influenced by the 'Rahman School of Music'. Rahman lists among his musical favourites Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Carpenters, Carnatic, Rock and fusion and among film composers Naushad, S. D. and R. D. Burman and in Tamil K. V. Mahadevan and Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy.
When asked what music means to him, he says "Many things. Its hard to define: bread and butter, peace, happiness, and devotion. When you are working on a piece and it turns out to be good its like a moment of magic. It gives you a lot of happiness when you think that millions are listening to your music. Its also a whole process- making it likeable to myself first andthen taking it towards perfection. Music is beyond description and without boundaries. We have to keep expanding our horizons and make room for new things. take a small butterfly or insect - if you look at it closely you discover so many new things. When I do something, I want to be original. I sit, just blank my mind and pray. and I come up with something. Mostly its good and gets approved. It could be so simple and even a child could have composed it, but to give it soul that's what's important. Music is a spiritual thing not a formula. "If a music artiste wants to blossom into a full-pledged person, it's not enough if he knows only classical music; nor it's enough if he's well-versed only in raagaas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, atleast in some corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow."
"I'm inspired any time I watch a good musician playing. When I'm programming my music on my own, I always think of some great drummer or some great bass guitarist. When I'm playing on the keyboards, I think of how beautifully another musician plays the instrument. And that inspires me to play." "When I see Mughal-e-Azam I feel the whole sound track has been produced with a continuous, intense feeling. No cracks, no jerks. It took Naushad two years of concentration, as if he couldn't see anything else''.
When asked if dealing with constant pressures of delivering somthting different would lead to a burnout, Rahman says, "I believe that a burnout occurs when one is not happy with what he is doing. Probabaly he's doing it out of family pressures or financial hassles. But not for the passion of it. But I am in this profession because I thoroughly enjoy doing what I do, and wouldn't want to do anything else. That's the reason why I have never felt overworked or then felt like taking a break from my work. At times, all I want to do is absorb the things happening around me and study more about music. But everything that I do has to be related only to music. So, there's no concept of a burnout occuring in my life. God forbid." "Above all I am a strong believer in destiny. I also believe that destiny can be changed by prayers."
"I am surprised when good things happen. I am cool when something bad happens, also. I trust God and in that way helps me to get rid of unnecessary things like jealousy, greed and all that stuff. Although I'm not fully out of it, at least I am almost at the surface of getting out of it. These things kind of give me a security for doing music. I don't have to worry if whether I'll be good, if I'll be successful, I'll be a failure or if I'll be thrown out or anything like that. Your almost like a vacuum, straight about everything. Which gives you a completely sublime, lonely feeling apart from others."
Never one to boast or brag about his accomplishments, he credits all his inspiration and success to Allah. "I am whatever because of my parents' prayers to Allah. I am whatever I am because the prayers I pray conscientiously, sincerely and with full faith five times a day. I will be whatever I am only because of Allah, I know it. He has given me everything. He can take everything away and I accept His decision without any questions, without a murmur. Allah is my everything. I am just an infinitesimal creation of His. He has created me for a specific mission. I will be committing a sin if I don't fulfil that mission. That's my only belief. That's the only thing that matters to me. I don't care for all the other temptations of the world. I am born for music. I live for music. I will live for music till the very end. That's Allah's will. That's all I Know", Rahman says. "The problem is, you can create only as long as you have the gift, only as long as the almighty wishes. After that, you can stand on your head, it still won't come. If God wills it so, it may happen to me too. I can take that. I belive that every individual, even an atom, can move only with the will of God. I don't take credit for doing all this. If I did, then I would fall flat. '' "Destiny has been the biggest influence in my life. Without the will of God I would have never reached where I have. That's why I believe I am like a boat in a river without a sail and a firm destination".
Apart from the Almighty he credits all his success to his mother who encouraged him to take up music when his interest lay in electronics. His maxim is that only total dedication and concentration to one's profession can help in producing good work. Rahman is certain that this dedication must increase with fame. Rahman makes his presence felt again despite maintaining a low profile in public life. It is well known that he is seldom seen at social gatherings, film parties or functions. "Fans, VIPs wanting to meet you, functions, parties - the moment you stop making good music all will stop. The only formula is - yes, we are back to it - total concentration on the work." All this success has not uprooted him from his roots, "Beyond what people achieve and strive for the only things that are really important are - personal values, family and friends." Ever the great improviser he never stops till he is fully satisfied. "If an album is to please all age groups, go beyond current fads, it must have a couple of memorable melodies. 'Hai rabbas' don't satisfy me. They make hits but are soon forgotten. You want to do something that lasts.''
Rahman treats his compositions with a Sufi's dedication. When a tune comes to him he ceases to function normally. "When music comes to me," he confessed in an unguarded moment, "I stop sleeping. I continue to work on spontaneously at nights for seven to eight hours at a stretch. When I finally pop off to sleep early in the morning I have these dreams that people are waiting for me. I can't even complete these dreams ."
In response to all the acclaim he has received, he says "It's a great responsibility. I am trying my best to combine traditional and contemporary styles. But sometimes the result isn't in my hands at all. It depends on the film and the director. Trends come and go but I have to keep doing my own thing.". "You have to learn from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is only teacher and that is your soul.
For Rahman, who eats music, thinks music, breathes music and lives music, the bottomline is that his music should reach out to the soul of humankind. "I know there are many people who say I don't know what music is. There are so many who say that what I create is not music. But I know the people are with me. The people love my music. I know Allah is with me all the time while I am creating and with Allah by my side I know nothing can go wrong. My music comes from somewhere deep within me. I could have created any kind of music but I create only that kind of music that comes from within my being. My music has a mission. It has to reach the bodies, the souls of the millions for whom I strive to create my music, music that springs from deep within me. I am a within man more than without. It is the language of the heart and the soul together that makes my music. And I don't have to make great efforts because my kind of music does not come by force or necessity. It has to flow from within me. That's the only way I know how to create. There's no other way. Let the people who don't like my music say what they want, I say again and again. Allah be with them. It is this music which he helps me create which appeals to both the body and the soul that is going to be one of the greatest forces that will help people from all over the world come closer, become one in body and soul in the millennium to come. I am working on that music for the future."
Amidst all this heady success, Rahman remains unchanged. He is as humble, modest, shy, low profile, unassuming, self-affacing, devout and down-to-earth as he was at the beginning of his career. A man of few words he believes in letting his work do all the talking. He prefers to save his energies for his work instead of fighting out numerous controversies. His personality is summed up in his favourite prayer which goes thus "O God, if I worship thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I worship thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise, but if I worship thee for thy own sake, grudge me not thy everlasting beauty." The man has given immense pleasure to millions of music lovers world-wide with his compositions, music that brings a cheer to one's face and helps in forgetting one's troubles. It is probably these very divine qualities that made him the great man he is and the same will hopefully help him touch greater heights and touch newer glories and keep millions enchanted with his blissful music for years to come.