Priyanka

Priyanka Chopra, armed with long legs and the Miss World crown, followed the precedent set by other beauty contest winners by joining the Bollywood bandwagon.The Nomadic MimiPriyanka Ashok Chopra was born on 18th July 1982 in Jamshedpur and is fondly known as Mimi. Her father is Capt. Dr.Ashok Chopra and her mother is Dr.Madhu Chopra. She has a younger brother Siddharth. Her father’s origin is a mix of Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi while her mother’s is a mix of Tamil, Malayali and Kannada.Her family was always on the move as her father was in the army. Some of her growing up years were spent in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. She studied at the La Martiniere Girl’s School in Lucknow before re-locating to the United States of America. While there, she studied at the Newton North High School in Massachusetts and later in North Delta Senior Secondary School in North Delta. On returning back to India, she continued her schooling in the Army School at Bareilly. She joined the Jai Hind College in Mumbai but dropped out when she won the second place in the Miss India beauty pageant. She went onto bring home the Miss World crown in 2000, becoming one of the five Indians to have won that title.Belle of BollywoodHer first film was in Tamil. Thamizhan released in 2002. This was followed by two films The Hero: Love Story of a Spy and Andaaz. Her part in the latter won her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. In 2004, she met with success in Mujhse Shaadi Karoge and Aitraaz, which was inspired by the Hollywood hit Disclosure. Her performance as Mrs. Sonia Roy was recognized with the Filmfare Best Villain Award. Her biggest hit in 2005 was Bluffmaster with Abhishek Bacchan.In 2006, she starred in two of the year’s biggest box office successes like Krrish with Hrithik Roshan and Don – The Chase Begins Again with Shah Rukh Khan. Her consequent releases in 2007 like Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love and Big Brother were flops. The year 2008 was no better. She starred in big budget films like the sci-fi Love Story 2050 with Harman Baweja, God Tussi Great Ho with Salman Khan and Drona with Abhishek Bacchan. None of the films matched the set expectations.Starring PriyankaHer other releases in 2008 are Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion in which she plays Meghna Mathur, a small-town girl who tastes success in the glamour industry. The other film is Dostana with John Abraham and Abhishek Bacchan. She will also put in a fleeting appearance in Billo Barber.She is currently filming for Ashutosh Gowariker’s What’s Your Raashee? with Harman Baweja and Kaminay, both to be released in 2009.

Aiswarya

“Hi. I am Sanjana”. That was all it took to eclipse both Aamir Khan and Mahima Choudhary in the Pepsi commercial, making this aqua-eyed beauty the talk of the town. You just knew that you had not seen the last of Aishwarya Rai and she was not one to disappoint.Ash Ash BabyAishwarya Krishnaraj Rai was born on 1st November 1973 in Mangalore. Her father Krishnaraj Rai was a marine engineer and her mother Vrinda Rai is a writer. She has an older brother Aditya Rai who is in the merchant navy. He also happened to co-produce Dil Ka Rishta in 2003, which starred Ash. The family moved to Mumbai where she studied at the Arya Vidya Mandir and later moved to Ruparel College. She was aspiring to study architecture but that did not take off while her career in the glamour industry took off.Ash won the coveted Miss World crown in 2004. Soon after this she pledged to donate her eyes after her death. She went on to become the brand ambassador for brands like L’Oreal, Pepsi and Coco Cola. She struck a pose for many international magazines like TIME and was also voted one of the most attractive and influential women by several polls. She is the first Indian actor to be part of the jury at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. She has appeared in The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and 60 Minutes. She was also the first Indian actress to be replicated in wax at Madame Tussaud’s Museum in London.She was briefly involved with actors Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi before marrying actor Abhishek Bacchan, son of the iconic Amitabh Bacchan and Jaya Bacchan. They were married in 2007.The Rai MagicAishwarya began her career in the film industry with a Tamil film Iruvar in 1997 which was a hit as opposed to her Hindi film Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya with Bobby Deol. She won the Filmfare Best Actress award for her next Tamil film Jeans, which was also an entry to the Oscars. In 1999, she gained recognition in Bollywood with hits like Taal and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, in which she played opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan, her role as Nandini fetching her the Filmfare Best Actress award.In 2000, her Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain, saw a good turnout. She took on the role of Shirley, Shah Rukh Khan’s sister in Josh and then played his love interest in Mohabbatein which won her a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress award. In Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, she played Preeti Virat, a rape victim and was considered for the Filmfare Best Actress award. The year 2001 was a quiet year for Ash.Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas (2002), in which she played Paro with Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was an instant blockbuster. It also received a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. She won the Filmfare Best Actress award. In 2003, she acted the part of Binodini in a Bengali film Choker Bali which was based on a novel by Rabindranath Tagore. The film was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.The year 2004 saw Ash in her first English film, Gurinder Chaddha’s Bride & Prejudice, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her performance as Neerja in Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat was praised. This was followed by her second English film in 2005, The Mistress of Spices with Dylan McDermott of The Practice fame. Her dance sequence Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli became one of the most popular tunes of the year.She had two films out in 2006. Umrao Jaan with Abhishek Bacchan failed to do well while Dhoom 2 where she played Sunehri and shared a ‘controversial’ liplock with Hrithik Roshan was a big hit. In 2007, she played Sujata opposite Abhishek Bacchan in Guru, based on the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani which was very successful. Provoked which was based on a real episode of domestic violence, won critical acclaim. The other English film The Last Legion did not do so well.Jodhaa Akbar, released in 2008, in which she acted the part of Jodhaa Bai with Hrithik Roshan was average while the sequel to Sarkar, Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj in which she plays a CEO alongside Amitabh Bacchan and Abhishek Bacchan, is said to be one of her best performances till date.Going StrongAishwarya has lined up quite a few films for 2009. Among them is the English film, The Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin, the Hindi film Ravana and the Tamil film Endhiran.

Deepika

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) She made her first big screen appearance with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in her second film she worked under the prestigious Yash Raj banner and her third release saw her teaming up with Akshay Kumar, and yet Deepika Padukone doesn't consider herself a celebrity.
"I don't consider myself a celebrity. I believe that I've had a fantastic upbringing and I believe my parents have kept me really grounded and rooted. I hope that success never gets to me," said Deepika whose "Chandni Chowk To China" has just hit the screens.
"I've seen my father (badminton champion Prakash Padukone) handle success really well and I hope I continue in the same way because I believe that fame and money are secondary things. The main thing is to enjoy your work," she added.
The 23-year-old was applauded for her performances in her maiden venture "Om Shanti Om" followed by "Bachna Ae Haseeno".
She is currently working in Imtiaz Ali's "Production No. 1".
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Combat training helped Nandana Sen be less vulnerable
Nandana Sen, who learnt martial arts for a film with Viveik Oberoi, says the training made her less vulnerable as a person.
"I play an undercover cop in the film and the role required me to learn martial arts. I learnt to use a real gun too," said Nandana.
"Earlier, I used to fear being in crowded places. My stunt scenes have helped me overcome that fear. The combat training really helped me come out of my shell and feel less vulnerable in crowds," she added.
The film, which is being produced by Tips and directed by Kukkee Gulati, is different from Nandana's forthcoming release "Rang Rasiya".
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Asin's stay in Bollywood not permanent
With several Bollywood projects in hand, southern beauty Asin Thottumkal moved to Mumbai from Chennai but says she has no plans to stay in the city permanently.
"This is not a permanent shift from south Indian film industry to Bollywood, it's just that I had two exciting projects, so I came here," Asin, who was adjudged the best newcomer at Nokia Star Screen Awards for her performance in Aamir Khan starrer "Ghajini", told IANS.
The 23-year-old actress, who was also in the Tamil version of "Ghajini", will be next seen in Vipul Shah's mega budget film "London Dreams" with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan.

Aiswarya

Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS) It is going to be a very busy year for Aishwarya Rai. She not only has Mani Ratnam's gruelling "Ravan" with husband Abhishek Bachchan to complete, she also begins work on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next movie, with Hrithik Roshan, to be shot in Goa.
But before that she goes into filmmaker Vipul Shah's next film with Akshay Kumar in the lead. Both Vipul and Akshay, who are co-producing the film, were very keen to get Aishwarya for what they describe as a genre-breaking drama.
Aishwarya has also signed up Excel Entertainment's untitled thriller to be directed by Abhinay Deo, who is currently busy shooting his directorial debut "Delhi Belly".
For the film, Aishwarya will once again team up with hubby Abhishek.
Confirming the news, Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment said: "It would be a very stylish thriller to be shot entirely in Greece, Thailand, Istanbul and London.
"My director Abhinay Deo and I want a particular look for the film. We're trying to get the DOP (director of photography) of the new Nike international commercial. If not, there's Jason West who shot our 'Rock On!'. He can capture that subtle sleek look which the subject demands. We want the film's visual quality to be something never experienced by our audience."
The film would be Aishwarya's second with Abhishek after "Ravan".