Vishal Dadlani is a versatile musician who composes, sings as well as writes lyrics. He is the co-founder of electronica/indie-rock band Pentagram – the first Indian band to perform at the Glastonbury Music Festival in the UK in 2005. He formed a music producing duo with musician
Very few know that leading Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla is an activist of sorts when it comes to environment. She is an organic farmer as well and does her bit in spreading awareness about sustainable development. A former Miss India (1984), Juhi has banned the use of plastic in her home and
Denzil Smith is a stage and film actor who has featured in several Indian and international productions that have achieved both critical and commercial success. Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House was based on partition in which he played the role of Jinnah. He also appeared in The
Harshdeep Kaur is a playback singer better known for her Sufi renditions. She sings Hindi as well as Punjabi. She sang ‘Ik Onkar’ in Rang De Basanti apart from several other soulful songs. Her track ‘R.I.P.’ composed by AR Rahman was part of Oscar-winner Danny Boyle&rs
In the early 1970s, during a talent hunt show organised by Gramophone Company of India, legendary singer Begum Akhtar gave a pat on the back to a young contestant.“Riyaz karo, bahot aage jaogi,” she told the girl. The same girl went on to become a highly acclaimed and popular folk
Roy is a budding filmmaker and screen writer from Birmingham in the UK. He has written and directed The Thought of You, a short film that won the Royal Stag Barrel Large Shorts ‘Perfect Ten’ at the 19th Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival in 2017. Th
Pandit Chhannulal Mishra is a noted exponent of Banaras and Kairana gharanas. Born in Hariharpur of Azamgarh district, he learnt musical notes from various gurus and thus his music is an amalgamation of various forms and gharanas. His classical folk music has been mesmerising music lovers acr
Nikhil Sachan is one of the most promising names among contemporary Hindi writers. His first book, Namak Swadanusar, a collection of short stories published in 2013, was praised widely in literary circles. It also made it to BBC Hindi’s top 10 books of the year. Born in Kanpur, he studi
Sudha Ragunathan is a renowned Carnatic vocalist and composer. She has performed across India and abroad. Her guru was Padma Bhushan ML Vasanthakumari, known by many as a musical genius and a doyenne of Carnatic music. Sudha’s most fascinating and memorable performance was Vande Mataram
G Bramma’s first film, Kutram Kadithal, won the national award for best feature film in Tamil. It spoke of the need for safe and healthy schooling of children. It also won the state award for best film, and was screened at various national and international film festivals. His next movi
Prahlad Tipanya is not a typical musical genius. Before the age of 24, he had no inkling of a career in singing. Nor was music in his genes: his parents were poor and unlettered. He was happy working as a schoolteacher in a village in Madhya Pradesh. But listening to folk songs and bhajans in
Sudarsan Pattnaik’s association with sand art began when the artist was only nine years old. Born in a poor family in Puri, Odisha, Pattnaik faced a lot of hardship in his formative years which he believes is what brought him close to sand art. His art was first recognised in 1997 when
Born in a small village near Hisar in Haryana, Pandit Jasraj comes from a family of musicians of over four generations. Jasraj was initiated to music by his revered father, Pandit Motiram. Soon after his death, Jasraj went through intensive tutelage under his elder brother and guru, Pandit Ma
Malavika Sarrukkai is a Bharatanatyam dancer from Tamil Nadu. She began learning the dance form at the age of seven and made her stage debut at the age of 12. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2002 and Padma Shri in 2003. Her work features in a government-commissioned documen
Sanjeev Kapoor’s first rendezvous with food business was at the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, where he was given the duty of serving pineapple juice. Kapoor was then a student of the Pusa Institute of Hotel Management, which was catering for the event. Now, Kapoor has been a househ
Vani Jairam’s childhood dream of becoming a playback singer was realised when veteran film music composer Vasant Desai gave her the opportunity to sing Bole Re Papi Hara and two other songs in the movie Guddi. After that, the multilingual singer went on to sing for eminent
Anand Neelakantan is known for his style of counter-telling Indian mythology. His first three books followed the counter-telling style, and narrated stories of mythological villains like Ravana and Duryodhana. With his recent book The Rise of Sivagami – which is a prequel to the hit fil
Oscar-nominated Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri is a phenomenal performer, teacher and composer. She grew up in a family which is into music from generations. She has performed at festivals and concerts in more than 35 countries. She was nominated for ‘Pi Lullaby’ in the film
Chetan Bhagat started as an investment banker, before turning to writing. His first novel, Five-Point Someone, sold briskly, and one bestseller followed another. Finally, The New York Times called him ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’.His boo
He accompanied his father to film studios in Chennai and helped him in designing sets, but Thota Tharrani wanted to be an artist. So he studied mural painting and print-making, but as luck would have it, he finally returned to tinsel town. And the world soon took note. In Mani Ratnam&
